Becoming a member

Thank you for your interest in our club!

Click here to join!

Please fill in this form to apply for membership for the 2023–24 season (whether you are a new, rejoining or renewing member). Our membership year now runs from September 1st to August 31st.

If you’re not yet ready to become a member, but are interested in receiving information about our events by email, please also fill in the form.

Please read our privacy notice for details of how we store and use your personal information when you do so.

Benefits

The benefits of membership are:

• Eligibility for selection for our league teams (e.g. Middlesex League)
• Eligibility for ECF-rated friendly games at standard or rapid time limits
• Eligibility for the summer Club Championship
• Discounted entry to our FIDE Blitz tournaments: worth £5 per tournament
• Free, discounted or priority entry to other events throughout the season (please check our calendar for what’s on)
• Social chess, including casual competitions such as the Hendon Rapid League, on home club nights where there is space
• Discounted entry to the Golders Green and Muswell Hill rapid tournaments (provided you are an ECF member at Silver level or above, and that you register in advance): worth £5 per tournament
• Eligibility to play for Middlesex in the SCCU County Championship (if you aren’t already eligible through living, working, or being born or educated in the county)

If you play in a lot of blitz and rapid tournaments, you could easily make savings adding up to more than your membership fee!

See our activities for further details.

ECF membership requirements

Many Hendon events involve playing games under tournament conditions, whose results are sent to the ECF and/or FIDE for rating. In order to be eligible for rated play at standard or rapid time limits, you must be a member of the ECF. ECF membership is separate from club membership: neither one includes the other.

ECF membership gives you various other benefits (depending on the level you choose), including discounted entry to chess tournaments and events around the country. For more background information, see this guide.

Here is some general advice about ECF membership:

• Most Hendon members are either Silver or Gold ECF members, though this is mainly because people want to play in other tournaments outside the Club. Bronze is sufficient for most club activities, though there are some exceptions (see below).
• At the time of writing, we advise juniors not to sign up for Bronze ECF membership, because junior Silver membership is available for no extra cost.
• Juniors and students who have never been ECF members before get free Silver membership for the first year. We advise players eligible for this not to sign up for Bronze!

See the following table for details of what types of ECF membership are required for club activities (OTB refers to “over-the-board” chess, as opposed to online chess):

If you have any questions about how ECF membership affects participation in club activities, please contact us. General questions about ECF membership should be directed to the ECF.

Membership fees for 2023–24

Since all memberships run to the end of the season (31st August), the fees depend on when you join (your membership begins on the date of payment):

The concessionary rate is available to:

• Juniors (people who are under 18 on the date of registration)
• Students in full-time education (18+, not retired)
• Unemployed people (18+, not retired)

Additional concessions are available in cases of genuine hardship (please contact our Treasurer for further details).

In line with the ECF’s recommendation in March 2022, we are offering free membership for the 2023/24 season to any Ukrainian refugees who have been granted refugee or asylum status by the UK Government since the beginning of 2022. Anyone wishing to take advantage of this offer should contact our Membership Secretary with details of their FIDE UKR registration or ECF membership.

We strongly prefer payment by bank transfer; the application form contains payment instructions.