ACHIEVEMENTS/CONTRIBUTION TO AUSTRALIAN CHESS

• Jenni identified a number of problems with management of the Australian junior team overseas. In 1998, she worked with Lionel Smerdon and Marge Lip to bring a new structure to the management.

• Since 2000, Jenni and Tony have been involved in management of the Australian team, either on their own, or with Mona Lee.

• Jenni and Tony have sponsored and organised a number of grandmaster coaching camps for the team travelling to the World Youth Chess Championships. This involved 5 days of coaching and has contributed enormously to both the team spirit and the chess preparation of the children going to the Championships.

• Jenni was involved with Robert Jamieson in drawing up the ACF code of conduct for juniors travelling overseas as Australian representatives.

• Jenni and Tony have had a pivotal role in the development of the NECG (& now ERGAS) Elite Australian Squad including the organisation of the program in its first two years and hosting the first training camp.

• Jenni is the ACT representative on the ACF Junior sub committee. She was instrumental in the formation of this committee and makes a significant contribution to debate, discussion & decisions affecting junior players on a national level.

• Jenni was largely responsible for the highly successful Australian Schools Team Championship run in Mt Buller in 2004.

• In 1996 and 1997 Jenni and Tony shared the responsibilities of ACT Chess Association (ACTCA) Treasurer.

• From 2000 (and currently) Jenni and Tony have shared many responsibilities for Belconnen Chess Club including the role of Treasurer and been responsible for all manner of tasks from buying the equipment to booking the venue. They started the very popular lightning and party night and have been the driving force behind encouraging junior players to participate at the senior club, making Belconnen the most dynamic and exciting venue for chess in the ACT.

• Jenni was team Captain and Tony manager of the Belconnen Team, which took part in the inaugural Australian Teams Championships in Caloundra.

• Jenni has held the position (jointly) of the ACT ACF ratings officer.

• Jenni brought the ACT rating problems to Bill Gletsos’ notice and worked with Bill on its rectification.

• Jenni has been ACT State delegate to the Australian Women’s Chess League since 1999 and has organized the Dorothy Dibley matches as well as contributing the ACT news for the magazines.

• Tony has been a runner and DOP for many Dorothy Dibley matches, helped with the phone during matches, as well as setting up and running the computer network for the online format.

• Few ACT weekenders take place without the presence of Jenni & Tony. If in no official capacity, you can still expect to find them involved in setting up, packing up, taking entries, running errands, sitting on dispute & appeal committees, encouraging entries, providing sponsorship, soothing ruffled feathers and providing reports & publicity.

Jenni and Tony Oliver were part of a group of parents and chess coaches who formed ACTJCL in 1997. ACTJCL is a non-profit community organisation aiming to promote chess at all levels for all junior players in the ACT and surrounding areas. In the early years, Jenni held the position of Treasurer of ACTJCL. Jenni and Tony forged links with ACT schools that saw ACT Primary and High School competitions grow steadily from year to year. In those early years, Tony was a roving instructor, visiting schools for free and giving chess instruction and advising schools on how to run chess clubs. Together they established the "St Monica's Girls' Chess Club," graduates from which remain the mainstay of ACT girls' chess. Jenni and Tony have coached and prepared teams for ACT High School and ACT Primary School Championships for both St Monica’s Primary School and Radford College. Such has been their dedication and ability to inspire their pupils that either or both schools have represented the ACT and competed at the ASTC every year since it began in 1998.

It is no coincidence that Jenni & Tony worked tirelessly at St Monica’s Primary School & Radford College and those schools became, respectively, the first ACT school to win an ASTC title and the first ACT school to achieve a place in a Secondary School division.

Jenni was responsible for having ACT junior tournaments rated and spent many years preparing & submitting ACT junior tournaments for rating.

Having made a significant contribution to the establishment of a thriving junior chess community, Jenni and Tony stepped down from the committee during 2000 & 2001. In late 2001, having run a successful Australian Junior Championship event in Canberra, the remaining original committee members also stood down. At this time, late in 2001, the future of ACTJCL was in the balance with declining numbers at school tournaments, declining numbers at the junior clubs and few weekend tournaments run at all.

Jenni Oliver returned from overseas shortly after the 2001 AGM and agreed to take on the Presidency of ACTJCL. She remained in that position for over 2 years. In her time as ACTJCL President Jenni, -

• Reinvigorated ACT schools' chess with participation in ACT Primary School and ACT High School Championships at record or near-record levels. Jenni liased with ACT Education to have chess included on the School Sports calendar. Jenni modified the team format for ACT Girls' High School Championships to allow this event to take place and to grow steadily in recent years. Jenni increasingly involved schools in the running of zone events with several schools "hosting" their zones and more keen to do so in the future. Jenni and Tony have taken time away from their own business to run school championship events. Along with all the prior planning and liaison with schools this has included attending & running up to 13 interschool championships annually. More than 1500 children benefit from participation in these events. Tony exercised primarily responsibility for the between-match coaching and most DOP and arbiter responsibilities at these events. Responding to the initiative of local schools themselves, Jenni and Tony have given their time to assist with and administer a Catholic Schools Tournament and a "Campbell Cluster" event. In 2005 this saw them travel as far as Boroowa to assist in a new regional event in the NSW town.

• Jenni took on the administration of ACTJCL's "Norths" club. At the time she took over, the Club was floundering with declining attendance, poor supervision and poor quality chess. It was at risk of closing altogether. The Club now thrives and a strong group of youngsters are graduating from Norths into the senior chess environment. Jenni was able to pass on the responsibility of running the Club to other parents and former junior players.

• Jenni revamped and reinvigorated ACTJCL's tournament schedule. Young players in the ACT have the opportunity to play in many more tournaments, and in a greater variety of tournaments, than their counterparts in other states. Jenni gained sponsorship for a new ACT under 16 event in 2003, which led to several interstate competitors travelling to the ACT to participate in the event.

• Membership of ACTJCL more than doubled under Jenni's leadership. Having run few events in 2001 and with many events in 2000 attracting only 10-20 participants, ACTJCL had the enviable position in 2003 of requiring bigger and bigger venues for events, with weekend tournaments regularly attracting over 100 participants. ACTJCL has hosted Australia's biggest Under 8 events and best attended "girls-only" events. Considered on a per-capita basis, ACTJCL's numbers are even more significant. Jenni maintained ACTJCL's first email list, which is now established as the primary means of communication between the organisation and those with an interest in junior chess activities.

• Jenni’s efforts led to the establishment of the ACT Junior Chess Centre with almost all events able to be conducted at the Campbell High School venue.

• Jenni presided over a significant initiative for ACTJCL - the Development Squad program. A program unique in Australian chess. The Development Squad ran for the first time in 2002 and involves around 30 children each year. The aim of the Development Squad is to foster children who have demonstrated some potential and great enthusiasm for the game. The result has been a significant increase in the depth of talent in every age group. Jenni attracted Grandmasters and International Masters to Canberra to run "Grandmaster Camps" for our elite and developing players. This has provided a great learning experience and plenty of inspiration. Although ACTJCL has always catered to the "mass" of young players, few, if any, opportunities like this have been available to our elite players in the past. Under Jenni's leadership, ACTJCL more closely met the aim of promoting chess at all levels.

• A not unexpected spin off of Jenni’s numerous coaching and development initiatives has been an overall lift in the standard of ACT junior chess. Although we are the first to concede that there is still a long way to go (and the shortage of top quality local coaches & higher rated senior players remains a difficulty for us), the opportunities and encouragement that has been provided is reaping benefits for all levels of players but is particularly evident as more of our mid-strength players begin to knock at the door of our traditional elite.

• Under Jenni's leadership, ACTJCL became more financially sound than ever before, enabling the organisation to make long overdue equipment purchases. ACTJCL was able to subsidise coaching and development activities to a greater extent than in the past, making these opportunities affordable and accessible for every young player. This was first demonstrated by the high level of support to the ACT team at the Australian Juniors in Adelaide, 2003. A practice which has only continued & expanded with subsequent Aus Junior teams. Jenni led ACTJCL to a position as a dynamic organisation with an increasingly high profile in the local community, able to achieve great success in obtaining sponsorship and public recognition.

• No doubt numerous other contributions by Jenni and Tony have been overlooked in this document. They can be found at almost every chess event in Canberra, lending assistance, taking scores, moving tables, encouraging youngsters and building links between ACT junior and senior chess and between ACT junior chess and other junior associations in Australia. Sometimes it seemed ACT junior chess could collapse without them but one of Jenni’s most significant contributions in her time as President was been her ability to draw others into the organisation. Jenni and Tony have helped ACTJCL grow as an organisation, not just in numbers of participants. ACTJCL meeting can attract 20 or more interested contributors. Jenni has helped parents to run chess events themselves and helped them to enjoy doing so. Her desire to involve others has built a strong future for the organisation.