Forming a real-life chess club...any ideas?

My University is reforming the chess society. We are going to have it run by real chess players, imagine that! Anyway, we are re-buliding from the ground up, any ideas,tips, hints on it? I'm looking for anything that has to do with a chess club. Things you have liked in your own clubs, things you hated, or things you'd like to see....

Will there be money/dues involved? If so you'll probably need a president, treasurer, secretary, and such.  And by-laws and other bureaucracy. You'll need a tournament director or two, and these should be USCF certified.  In addition you'll probably want the club to be recognized by the USCF.

If you're at a university, I am sure there are rules you'll have to abide by. 

You'll need a clean, well-lit place to play and hold tournaments.

You'll need equipment - sets, boards, and clocks.  This means you'll need some start-up money.

Finally, you'll need to decide the goal of the club - are you a social club, or do you see the members traveling to other universities for tournaments.

Thank you Stormcrown, i'll answer your question so other's can add (if they want)

No dues willbe taken, BUT we have already set up the postiosn you mentioned, presiedent and so forth...We are lucky and have an 2 ex-pros (real ones) at the campus to help with USCF stuff.

The uni is very lax about rules, they don't care about us.

We are still picking a place to play....can a room be too big?

For equiment, a few founding members are forking (me inculded) over some money for first costs.

We very much would like to play at other uni's, high schools and the like. We are also looking into online college vs. college games.

 Anyone else with ideas?

The room probably cannot be too big. However, it should be well lit and not smell too bad (so the gym's out). Ideally, it is a good-sized room that is rather deserted, or at least is deserted at the time you are planning to meet. If a class lets out and 50 students pass by, or if it is just a high traffic area in general, the players will probably be distracted and play might become poor. Windows might also be a bad idea, for the same reason. Of course, if the room is not on the floor level, smaller windows might be okay. Frosted glass, or windows with shades should also be fine. It also needs to be a place where you can get plenty of tables and chairs in and out rather quickly, so a nearby supply closet and double doors would be nice.

It kind of sucks that you have to pay for the equipment yourself, but that's just chess club. Make sure you have more equipment than you are expecting to need. At least you should be able to provide more equipment as the club grows. It is no fun to sit around waiting for others to be done, especially with longer time controls. And chess club will never work as bring-your-own-board.

Another, very important thing is to be able to contact the members. Ask everyone that comes to sign up on the e-mail list or whatever, and maybe have a place where they can put their rating. At ASU, the club met somewhere at night, but I also saw them out in the middle of campus occasionally. This seemed like a clever way to attract new members. Just have someone ready to pop over and ask any watchers if they might want to come or at least get on the contact list.

Hope that helps!

~TO 

"can a room be too big?"

No, but it can be too noisy or have too much non-chess traffic in it.

"For equiment, a few founding members are forking (me inculded) over some money for first costs."

See if you can get a university grant for cheap electronic clocks.  They are about $35 each, probably less if you buy 10 or so.  Also get a dozen or so USCF "specials" board and set combos.  They are cheap and awesome.  Sell these to the players.  Hold tournaments wth cash prizes, pay out 80% of the gross, use the rest for reimbursing the people who donated.  I'd probably charge a nominal club dues, like $20 a year.  The first year is waived if they bring a tournament set.  The 2nd year is waived if they bring a clock.