Dear members of the chess fraternity,

1. The upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 24th September 2023 will also feature the Election of Board Members for the SCF Governing Board (formerly SCF Executive Committee) under our updated Constitution. As this is substantively different from prior SCF Elections, we thought to send out the details early so that those who might wish to participate in the Elections will have time to prepare accordingly.

Governing Board Elections

2. The Board will have 5 elected Board members, up to 3 appointed Board members, and an Athlete Commission Chairperson. More than half of the Board will have to be Singapore citizens. The upcoming Elections will be for the positions of the 5 elected Board members only.

3. Nominations for the Board election must reach the SCF by 10th September 2023, using the forms that the SCF will provide in due course. Each nomination must be proposed by a Full Member and seconded by another Full Member.

4. The current Elections will be conducted by SCF CEO GM Kevin Goh (who had stepped down from the current Executive Committee upon assuming the role of CEO) via secret ballot, with results determined by a simple majority of the votes cast. Any tie in votes that affects the outcome of the Elections will be resolved via subsequent round(s) of voting. If the tie persists after two rounds of voting, GM Goh will draw lots to resolve the tie.

5. The counting of the votes will be performed by 2 scrutineers from among the SCF members who are not contesting the Elections. They will be nominated by GM Goh before the start of the Elections.

6. Note that in the future, Elections will be conducted by an independent Board Member (see 9. below) wherever possible.

Composition of the Board, post-Elections

7. Following the Election, the elected Board Members will appoint up to 3 Board Members, and elect from among themselves key office bearers, namely:

a. President – a person who has served and made positive contributions to the sport of international chess and/or SCF as an ex-athlete, official or elected Board member, or a prominent individual of good standing within the sport and/or community.
b. Vice-Presidents (2)
c. Secretary-General
d. Treasurer – preferably should have a recognized Accounting qualification and/or appropriate practical experience

8. The President, Vice-Presidents and Secretary-General must be elected Board Members.

9. At least one appointed Board member must be an independent member who is not a registered member of the SCF and who does not have any vested interest in the affairs or business of the SCF.

10. For other criteria for Board members, please refer to the SCF Constitution sections 21 to 23.

11. Please feel free to reach out to us for further clarifications or queries.

Dr Hsu Li Yang
President
Singapore Chess Federation