Arbiter Titles – FIDE & Chess South Africa (Circular 1)

FOR IMMEDIATE IMPLEMENTATION

It has come to our attention that the FIDE NA licence is misunderstood and we would like to clarify its meaning to the arbiters in South Africa.

It is important to note that the FIDE NA licence is not an arbiter title. In simple terms, it means that you are a qualified arbiter in your country. That is why one cannot simply obtain the licence from FIDE, as the arbiter’s qualification must be confirmed by the National Federation i.e. Chess South Africa.

Please read the extract from the FIDE Handbook regarding FIDE recognised arbiter titles and the NA Licence:

  1. Arbiters’ Titles
    1. FIDE and FIDE Arbiters’ Commission recognize the following titles (in order of expertise)
      1. International Arbiter (IA)
      1. FIDE Arbiter (FA)

1.5 Arbiters of National Level (NA)

The title of the Arbiter of National Level (NA) is under responsibility of the National Federations. FIDE Arbiters’ Commission registers and issues Licences for Arbiters of National Level (NA) after recommendation of their Federations.

One of the AOC-titles for arbiters is known as a National Arbiter (NA). Due to the same acronym, it causes confusion with the Fide licence. It was therefore decided to change the AOC title from National Arbiter to Senior Arbiter (SA).

In the event that an individual seeks to apply for a NA Licence from Fide, the following process must be followed:

  1. A formal e-mail must be sent to the Chairman of the Ratings Bureau
  2. The e-mail must state the reason for the registration with Fide
  3. The following documents must accompany the e-mail:
    • Surname + full names (no nicknames)
    • Date of birth
    • Gender
    • Colour head-and-shoulders photo (similar to passport/ID photo)
    • Proof of payment of 20 Euro paid into Chess SA’s bank account
    • FIDE ID
  4. Once the e-mail is received, the Ratings Bureau will confirm the arbiter status of the applicant. If satisfactory, the application will be processed. If not, the applicant will be informed of the reason(s).
  5. Under no circumstances may any person contact FIDE direct to apply for the NA licence.
  6. It must be noted that, in accordance to current regulations, only qualified Provincial Arbiters and Senior Arbiters will be approved by the AOC for a FIDE NA licence.

Additionally, the AOC title previously designated as Regional Arbiter (RA) will now be referred to as Candidate Provincial Arbiter (CPA). Within the AOC structure, there are only two official arbiter titles: Senior Arbiter (SA) and Provincial Arbiter (PA). The CPA designation (formerly RA) signifies that an individual has passed the AOC exam with a score of 80% or higher; however, this does not confer arbiter status. In order to be confirmed as an arbiter the CPA still needs to complete their norms. The change was prompted by the realization that the RA acronym led to misunderstandings, causing individuals to incorrectly assume that they were certified arbiters.

The titles known as School Supervisor (SS) and Tournament Supervisor (TS) remain unchanged.

Yours sincerely

Ricardo Minnaar
Chairman
AOC

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