General Assembly
REPORT ON THE 3RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE WORLD PUZZLE FEDERATION
Brno, Czech Republic, October 10, 2001
The meeting was called to order by chairman Will Shortz (USA) at 10:05. Board
members present were Peter Ritmeester, general secretary (Netherlands); Rob
Geensen, treasurer (Netherlands); Erja Gullstén (Finland); Vitezslav
Koudelka (Czech Republic); and Will Shortz.
The WPF member countries present were: Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Korea, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia,
Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and United States. France was represented by Peter
de Hen of Belgium. Observers attended from Japan. The meeting was held in two
sessions over the morning and afternoon.
Will opened the meeting by welcoming the participants. The delegates introduced
themselves and identified the organizations they represent. Especially welcomed
were the new members from Bulgaria (Mensa Bulgaria, represented by Rossy Alexieva)
and Switzerland (the Swiss Puzzle Federation, represented by Mark Stenzler).
Also a special welcome went to Jubong Park, representing Korea on behalf of
Puzzleland Co. and present for the first time at a WPC.
The minutes of the 2nd General Assembly of the WPF (Stamford, USA), as printed
in the World Puzzle Newsletter #6 (pages 22-25), were approved.
Reports of the board
a) Logo
Peter Ritmeester recapped the development and adoption of the WPF logo, as explained
in the recent Newsletter (pages 2-3).
Peter said that for official documents and the WPF website, the logo will be
presented in green, but members may use the logo in another color if they have
a good reason to do so.
Serhiy Grabarchuk (Ukraine) asked about other forms in which the logo may be
used: black-and-white (instead of color), light letters on a dark background
(instead of dark letters on a light background), in three dimensions, or with
the block elements stacked in a 3x2 or 2x3 arrangement (instead of in a straight
line). Peter said that all these forms could be acceptable. Before these or
other forms are used, though, the WPF office should be consulted for an official
version of the format.
Peter reported that international registration of the logo is too expensive
for the WPF at this time. He is finalizing a contract by which the designer
of the logo will transfer the rights to it to the WPF.
b) Newsletter
Peter discussed the WPF newsletter and his intention to publish two new issues
before the next World Puzzle Championship. He asked members to send him articles,
news items, and photographs. The deadline for the next issue is January 15,
2002. Polished English is not required for text; all articles will be copyedited
and, if the authors request, returned to the authors for approval before publication.
For pictures, digital photos are preferred (1600 x 1200 pixels), but standard
photos are acceptable as well.
c) Website
Next Peter reported on the new WPF website (www.worldpuzzle.org) with news and
information on the WPF and reports, results, and photos from the WPC. Additionally,
the site features a forum on which puzzlers can present news, discussion, and
puzzles to solve.
Serhiy asked if a single email address can be created by which WPF members
can contact all other members at once. Peter said he would handle this. Hüsnü
Sincar (Turkey) offered to help. Peter said this address should be used sparingly,
though, to avoid cluttering members' mailboxes.
Peter was thanked and applauded for his work on the website.
d) Finances
Rob Geensen handed out a WPF financial report. He pointed out that the WPF has
incurred a number of expenses during the past year that are not yet paid, so
the organization is not as financially well-off as the report might suggest.
e) Judging committee
Will, Peter, and Vitezslav discussed the continuing work of their committee
on WPC judging rules. When the proposed set of rules is ready, Will said it
will be posted on the WPF website for discussion.
New Business
a) Soliciting members
Peter expressed his intention to solicit new WPF members and WPC participants
during the next year. He asked current members to send him names and contact
information for puzzlers and puzzle publications in nearby countries. Rob invited
members to take extra copies of the Newsletter for distribution.
Valter Kvalic (Croatia) proposed broadening interest in the WPC/WPF by including
knowledge and word puzzles in the WPC. The pros and cons of this suggestion
were discussed. György Istvan (Hungary) said that WPC-style logical puzzles
were becoming increasingly popular in Hungary. Will said that the WPF has adopted
standards of fairness in WPC puzzles (as printed in Newsletter #2, page 14),
which don't include puzzles with language and cultural biases. Discussion of
this topic will continue on the website forum.
b) General assembly breaks
On behalf of Jan Farkas, a contestant from Slovakia, György proposed allowing
breaks in the WPF general assembly meetings so that participants who are also
team captains can perform their captain's duties. He also proposed allowing
breaks before votes on important matters so that participants can consult their
team members or others. This motion was passed 14-1.
c) Membership fee
On behalf of the board, Rob proposed that the WPF membership fee for 2001-02
be set at 500 euros. Members who can afford more are encouraged to pay more,
and members who cannot afford 500 euros may apply to the board for a reduction.
This motion was passed 14-0.
d) Copyrights
Rob discussed the issue of copyrights in WPC puzzles and the question of what
rights to grant WPF members for Internet use. The current rule is that the WPC
organizer owns the copyright in the puzzles and grants WPF members a transferable
license to reprint the puzzles within their respective countries. This rule,
however, does not cover websites, whose audience does not stop at national boundaries.
Rob suggested setting up a committee to explore the issues and draft a proposal.
This suggestion was agreed upon. The committee will consist of Rob, György,
and Hüsnü.
In the meantime, György and Nick Baxter (USA) proposed that 10% of the
WPC puzzles be available for posting on members' websites. The WPC organizer
will select the 10%, and these puzzles will be the same for everyone. This motion
was passed 15-2.
Will said that, notwithstanding the above, a few WPC puzzles will be made freely
available to publications and websites — whether WPC members or not —
for publicity purposes. Anyone using these puzzles will have to print the WPC
organizer's copyright notice and contact information for the WPF.
e) 2003 WPC
Only one offer to host the 2003 WPC was received by the board before the general
assembly, so according to the bylaws this was the only offer eligible to be
considered. However, as another serious offer was brought to the meeting, it
was proposed to consider all offers that might be made. This motion was passed
8-7.
Rob proposed the Netherlands, in or near Amsterdam, under the sponsorship of
Puzzelsport. Valter Kvalic proposed Croatia, in the Adriatic area of Kvarner,
under the sponsorship of Feniks magazine. A paper ballot was held, and the Netherlands
was selected 13-4.
f) Future WPC's
Tentative expressions of interest to host the 2004 WPC were made by Valter (Croatia),
György (Hungary), and Peter de Hen (for France).
Erja Gullstén announced plans for the 11th WPC, which will be held in
Oulu, Finland, provisionally during the last week of September. It will be organized
by a Finnish puzzlers' organization. The sightseeing will include a bus trip
to the Arctic Circle. The puzzles will be created by contributors from several
countries, including Finland, and overseen by Peter Ritmeester. These puzzles
will be checked for language and culture neutrality, as the WPC rules stipulate,
by an international panel.
g) Election of board members
According to the meeting's agenda, two new WPF board members were due to be
selected for three-year terms. György, however, proposed that rather than
elect two new board members this year, the WPF elect four new members next year.
This motion was passed 9-8.
Closing
On behalf of the WPF, Will thanked Vitezslav and his associates for an exceptionally
fine and well-run WPC. Vitezslav was enthusiastically applauded.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 16:45.
[Minutes prepared by Will Shortz]
