Back to SCCU home page
1.4.00
KENT AND SURREY TO MERGE?
We're not altogether happy about this, and we've been keeping it under wraps for obvious reasons, but we can now reveal that the Kent and Surrey County Chess Associations have for some time been involved in informal negotiations on a merger which, if it comes to fruition, will be the largest upheaval in the SCCU since the departure of the East Anglian counties in 1983.
It is probably unprecedented for two counties to merge their chess activities while retaining their distinct "political" identities, and the obstacles will be formidable. (Your Webmaster hopes, privately, that they'll be insuperable.) Not least among them are potential fears that a combined county will be unfairly strong in Counties Championship terms. Kent and Surrey will make every effort to allay these fears, and if the proposals get past the respective counties' AGMs this year there may well be joint proposals at the SCCU Council meeting in a year's time. It should be noted that Cyril Johnson, the BCF Home Director, has already intimated that since both are paid-up BCF counties (Rule 3.2) a joint entry would be acceptable to the BCF. The SCCU President, so far, has maintained a discreet silence.
It would be foolish to pretend that there is unanimity in the two counties concerned. However, opinion seems to be moving in the direction of amalgamation. Some reasons cited:
(a) Match captains, and county teams. It is probably no secret that Surrey have had some problems finding match captains lately. What may be less well known is that Kent are at risk of losing most of theirs next season. Both counties, moreover, have defaulted more games since October than they would have wished to. The merger would go a long way towards answering SCCU fears about the viability of the inter-county competitions. It is envisaged that the two counties may continue to run separate teams in some divisions, while merging in others.
(b) Juniors. Kent, while traditionally strong in "Boys" chess, need an input in Girls chess which Surrey are uniquely equipped to provide. It is felt that the two counties would complement each other admirably.
(c) Match venues. Charlton House, the Kent venue, suffers from various drawbacks including parking problems when Charlton Athletic (we think they're called) are at home. The Coulsdon venue, if less pretty, is at least as easy to get to and on the whole more practical. A combined county would probably use both venues.
(d) Admin, and internal organisation. The potential savings here are obvious. It is likely that the club competitions would continue on a split basis, for a while at least, while allowing greater flexibility in the long term for border clubs.
It may never happen, and there's a long way to go before it's anything like finalised. We'll keep you posted.
Back to SCCU home page