Originally posted by techsouth
I am a lifetime member.

I enjoyed OTB tournaments, but it has been years since I've been, partially because they are not frequent in my area and partially because I have a wife and kids now. I enjoy getting a magazine, and for sure the articles could teach me a lot if I had time to carefully read them. I think online chess has reduced the demand for O ...[text shortened]... , I have a lifetime membership, but there's a good chance it won't be around as long as I am.

Originally posted by zebano
Rating are now updated the day after the TD submits the tournament report and are viewable online at uschess.org/msa

If anyone lives in Iowa I am an assistant TD for the Cedar Rapids Leatherjackets tournament Jan 31. Come play and say hello.

http://iowachess.org/tournaments.asp

If you want to play in a tournament around my area you have to join the USCF AND the local State organization which, of course, the directors run and for which you get nothing in return except a really crappy "booklet" which they use to promote themselves. I complained to the USCF that paying them for the right to play in USCF sanctioned tournaments should mean just that. They asked for details, which I gave them, but nothing was ever done about it.
Apparently it means "the right to play in USCF sanctioned tournaments if you pay off the local directors". I consider this system corrupt, dropped my membership and never went back.

Yea I had to pay a state regulation too. Is it really that much money to be upset about? in total I bought a uscf membership for like %60 that covers 3 years! And I payed 25 to the state for a year. 95 bucks for some fun? How about bowling, golfing, shooting pool. Those will cost you 100 bucks in 3 weeks! It is wroth every penny and one of the cheapest forms of entertainment if you ask me.

That doesn't account for tournament fees, but they are cheap too. If you pay 15 dollars for a tournament fee and you play for ten hours thats a little over a doller an hour. Tell me a place that charges a dollar an hour to take up space? There are fees for reasons too. Uscf and state regulators don't run on hopes and dreams. I'm a college student who makes around 588 a month and I can afford so I'd say its cheap.😀

Where I live, you pay the USCF membership, and the local membership. However, the local membership is just like 8 bucks a year, and although you don't have to buy it, at least 70% of the tournaments are rated with the local rating system, so If you don't buy it, it will take you a very long time to get an accurate rating.

Originally posted by kmac27
Yea I had to pay a state regulation too. Is it really that much money to be upset about? in total I bought a uscf membership for like %60 that covers 3 years! And I payed 25 to the state for a year. 95 bucks for some fun? How about bowling, golfing, shooting pool. Those will cost you 100 bucks in 3 weeks! It is wroth every penny and one of the cheapest forms of entertainment if you ask me.

That anaolgy is terrible. Organizations need money to run themselves, advertise for tournaments and pay the people who run the advertisements. Its not like they are robbing you of your money. When I was registering I was told that I would have to pay to be able to play in the state of washington as well.

I think a better analogy is more like buying a car and having to get it registered in your state. Then you have to buy insurance and other things in order to use it in your state. If I take my car to the next state over I can still drive it there as long as I don't live there. Same with chess If I go to the next state then I can still play tournaments.

Lol Your complaining about 2 dollars a month to an organization.

Originally posted by Buzz Meeks
Principles count sometimes. If you buy a movie ticket and find out that you can't see the movie unless you slip the usher another 5 that would be the same thing to me. If they charge it up front you can decide whether it's cheap enough.
If I wanted to join the local organization I couldn't play in the tournament without joining the USCF also.
If the won't) deliver. You won't get too many new members that way and I don't think they care.

Originally posted by kmac27
That anaolgy is terrible. Organizations need money to run themselves, advertise for tournaments and pay the people who run the advertisements. Its not like they are robbing you of your money. When I was registering I was told that I would have to pay to be able to play in the state of washington as well.

I think a better analogy is more like buying a car ...[text shortened]... an still play tournaments.

Lol Your complaining about 2 dollars a month to an organization.

The Iowa State Chess Association charges $15 / year for which you get four booklets of games played in Iowa with a few of the best ones annotated and usually an interview with one player. The real draw is to be able to play in all the Iowa tournaments. I'm not positive it's worth it, but I have 2 kids and just organizing tournaments is enough time that I'm not going to start a competing organization.

Originally posted by zebano
The Iowa State Chess Association charges $15 / year for which you get four booklets of games played in Iowa with a few of the best ones annotated and usually an interview with one player. The real draw is to be able to play in all the Iowa tournaments. I'm not positive it's worth it, but I have 2 kids and just organizing tournaments is enough time that I'm not going to start a competing organization.

In New York, you only have to join the NYSCA to play in NYSCA events which are fairly few. I think it's $11 but there are a lot of local tournaments where NYSCA membership is unnecessary.