ORGANISING AND PARTICIPATING IN A SEMINAR

Eligibility

The FIDE Trainer’s Commission (TRG) seeks to facilitate the organizing of FIDE Trainer Seminars in all major and regional languages,

TRG, directly or together with select FIDE Academies, will work with Continental and FIDE Affiliated Organizations, fellow FIDE Commissions and other designated partners for the promotion and conduct of FIDE Trainer Seminars.

The current preference, except in exceptional cases, is for TRG to conduct seminars online directly as quality and compliance with a greater reach is assured at a lower cost.

Organiser Application & Approval Process

Where TRG allows a non on-line seminar, the organiser must complete and submit the application form: https://www.dropbox.com/s/feshonux3ronp6k/Application%20to%20Organise%20a%20FIDE%20Trainer%20Seminar.docx?dl=0 which is to be sent to the TRG Secretary (trainers.fide.com) a minimum of four weeks before the proposed dates of the seminar.

The organiser has to accept the seminar organising conditions, format, official lecturers, as communicated by TRG, and then will be expected to cooperate in jointly preparing the seminar prospectus which will become official when published on the TRG website.

Note that TRG however reserves the right to impose any additional conditions for the seminar it deems necessary to protect the integrity of the FIDE Trainer System.

Participation in a Seminar

Information about a FIDE Trainer Seminar will be published on the TRG website as soon as it becomes available.

Everyone who plays chess can attend a FIDE Trainer Seminar but he or she may only take the examination to qualify for a FIDE Trainer License if they have a FIDE ID issued by their respective Federations and is at least 18 years of age.

The FIDE Regulations for the Titles of Trainers can be found at this link: https://handbook.fide.com/chapter/B07

In all seminars, the FIDE Trainer Online Seminar Privacy and Rules regulates your participation and by default applies to all attending a seminar: https://www.dropbox.com/s/b324bsqghgnun5x/Agreement%20on%20the%20Privacy%20Policy%20and%20Rules%20for%20Participation%20in%20FIDE%20Online%20Seminars.docx?dl=0

The Conduct of a Seminar

Seminars must be conducted over a minimum three (3) days and take no longer than two weeks, with 10 hours of lectures and six (6) hours of panel discussions for a total of 16 hours.

A new teaching curriculum: https://www.dropbox.com/s/l4v5txypx5ty1gk/New%20Teaching%20Curriculum.xlsx?dl=0 is now used with the topics and lecturers as well as panellists approved by the TRG Secretary who may consult with the TRG Chairman and/or TRG Council.

In case of an online seminar, Zoom is the official platform.

Here is the participant registration form: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qv6g98ehzfi5onkr5j37k/7.-Participant-Registration-and-Information-Form.docx?dl=0&rlkey=go6z6sunev7be663mz46kldwz to be completed and returned to the organisers with copy to trainers@fide.com.

This includes a trainer information section which will be the basis of 80 percent of the title award evaluation and so needs to be carefully completed.

Should the seminar not be held online and without the direct participation or supervision by TRG, the organizer is then responsible to ensure minimum standards in terms of facilities for a successful seminar including:

  1. A fully equipped seminar room with all required teaching tools, AV equipment as well as Internet access, and with sufficient distancing of the tables and chairs for the participants.
  2. Cooperating fully with TRG to ensure the integrity of the title evaluation process which includes the conduct of the written exam.
  3. Providing a full report after the seminar together with a copy of all participant registration forms for TRG review and for use for publication on the TRG website.

The organizer’s the financial rights and obligations are then as follows:

  1. Only to charge up to Euros 300 per participant (not including transportation and accommodation costs) and to collect an additional Euros 50 as exam fee for FIDE.
  2. Make direct payment of the lecturer(s) fees – the official rate is Euros 100 per hour – together with accommodation and meals costs at a suitable hotel, and the agreed travel and related expenses.
  3. Note that in the case of being allowed to conduct an online seminar, not more than Euros 200 per participant may be charged and the platform recommended to be used will be Zoom.

Title Evaluation

On approval of a seminar application, the TRG Secretary will inform the Exam Panel (or the TRG Council in its absence) and provide a copy of the seminar prospectus together with any needed documentation.

The Exam Panel will then appoint a supervisor who will in turn appoint one or more examiner(s) to assist in completing the trainer evaluation based on information given in the participant registration and information form and to prepare and mark the written exam based on the topics to be taught at the seminar.

In the absence of a supervisor, assistance will be provided by the TRG Secretary to the Exam Panel to facilitate any needed language translation and to request sample exam questions from the lecturers and to provide liaison with the organizers.

Up to four titles will be awarded at seminars with the scoring broken down as follows:

  1. FIDE Rating or Equivalent (20%). This is your highest ever FIDE rating to take into account the playing level which is normally a pre-requisite for training at higher levels.
  2. Overall Student Results (30%). This is based on level of participation, high placings in the same competitions, and consistently achieving this.
  3. Experience / Special Achievements (20%). This measures the time working as a trainer needed to do the work professionally and also to recognize extra-ordinary contributions.
  4. Trainer & Related Professional Skills (10%.) This includes work in publishing and writing, organizing, teaching in various contexts, etc.
  5. Written Exam (20%). This is designed to confirm the both the typical qualities and knowledge of a trainer and understanding of what was taught at the seminar.

Based on 1,000 points scoring, the award of a FIDE Trainer title requires a score of 800, FIDE Instructor a score of 600, National Instructor a score of 400 and a Developmental Instructor a score of 200.

The examiners are given up to a 50 points discretion for possible title upgrades on a case by case basis under exceptional circumstances.

Prior participation in TRG seminars, workshops and course also have points awarded and counted towards the final score.

Scoring by the examiners may take up to two weeks with the results published on TRG website only after review by both the Exam Panel and the TRG Council.

The results announced by TRG ae final even if we allow appeals made no later than five days after publication and are also interim as they are subject to approval by the FIDE Council at its quarterly meeting and any appeal submitted to the TRG Secretary will be considered to be a report for their final decision.

Note that the overall guidance as to award of title will be based on the work being done as stated in the regulations given in the FIDE Handbook as follows:

  • Developmental Instructor (DI)

This license is given to trainers who bring the love of the game to children and adults starting out in chess and have the ability to teach the first steps in chess and then bring him or her to the level of participation in a FIDE rated tournament. Typically, teaching players rated up to 1200.

  • National Instructor (NI)

This license is given to trainers who can grow his or her talent to be able to successfully participate in national and international cadet and regional youth championships. Typically, teaching players rated from 1201 to 1700.

  • FIDE Instructor (FI)

This license is given to trainers who have the ability and knowledge to improve a student’s foundation and successfully compete in national, regional and international cadet and youth championships. Typically, training players rated from 1701 to 2200.

  • FIDE Trainer (FT)

This license is given to trainers who played at a professional level and who also have the ability, knowledge and skills to help a student at international competitions in pursuit of title norms, and championships. Typically, training players over 2200.