Privacy Policy

Lichfield Chess Club Privacy Policy

Last updated: 22nd May 2026

Lichfield Chess Club is a local voluntary chess club. We collect and use a small amount of personal information so that we can run the club, organise chess activities, keep members informed, and meet our responsibilities to members, including junior members. This privacy policy explains what information we collect, why we use it, how we keep it safe, and what rights you have.

This policy is intended to be clear and practical. It does not replace the club’s safeguarding responsibilities or any separate rules used by chess leagues, venues, or the English Chess Federation.

1. Who is responsible for your information?

Lichfield Chess Club is responsible for the personal information it collects and uses. For privacy questions, please contact:

Club Secretary: John Fryer (jefryer@talktalk.net)

2. What information we collect

We may collect and use the following information about members, prospective members, parents/guardians, volunteers, committee members, and people involved in club activities:

name;
email address;
phone number;
parent or guardian details for junior members;
ECF rating code or other chess-related identifiers needed for league chess;
chess ratings and playing records;
membership and subscription information;
records of team selections, fixtures, match results and league results;
photographs from club events, matches, tournaments or activities;
committee member names and contact details where these are needed for club administration.

We try to collect only the information we reasonably need.

3. Why we use your information

We use personal information for the following purposes:

to manage club membership;
to collect and record subscriptions;
to contact members about club news, fixtures, events, meetings and other chess activities;
to organise teams, matches and fixtures;
to enter players into league chess and club competitions;
to record and publish match reports, player names, ratings and results;
to manage junior membership and communicate with parents or guardians;
to help meet safeguarding responsibilities;
to keep basic club administration and financial records;
to publish appropriate information about the club, committee members and club activities on the club website.

The Information Commissioner’s Office says privacy notices should explain what personal information is used for, people’s rights, and how they can complain if they are concerned.

4. Our lawful reasons for using personal information

Under UK data protection law, we need a lawful reason to use personal information. Depending on the situation, we may rely on one or more of the following:

a. Legitimate interests. We use information where it is reasonably necessary to run the club, organise chess activities, communicate with members, publish chess results, and maintain the club’s records.

b. Contract or membership arrangement. We use information where it is needed to provide membership services, such as organising club nights, teams, fixtures and subscriptions.

c. Consent. We ask for consent where appropriate, especially for the use of photographs of junior members on the club website or in club publicity. Consent should involve genuine choice and be capable of being withdrawn.

d. Legal obligations. We may need to keep some information for legal, accounting, safeguarding or regulatory reasons.

e. Safeguarding and welfare. We may use or share information where this is necessary to protect a child, young person, vulnerable adult, member, volunteer or other person.

5. Junior members and photographs

Lichfield Chess Club has junior members, so we take particular care with children’s information.

For junior members, we may collect parent or guardian contact details and use those details for membership, safeguarding, fixtures, events and general club communication.

We will only use photographs of junior members on the club website or in club publicity where we have appropriate parental/guardian permission. Where a child is old enough to understand, we will also take their views into account.

The ICO says that if a child can be recognised from a photograph, the image is usually personal data, and the organisation should be clear about how the photograph will be used. The ICO also says children should be given clear information about how their personal data is used, in a way they can understand.

Parents or guardians can withdraw permission for future use of photographs by contacting the Club Secretary. We will then stop using the relevant photograph where reasonably possible. Please note that it may not always be possible to remove images from printed materials or from historic records already published or distributed.

6. What we publish

The club may publish some information on its website or in club communications, including:

match reports;
player names;
team selections;
league results;
ratings;
photographs from club events;
committee member names and contact details.

We publish this information to record club activity, promote the club, celebrate member achievements, and support participation in league chess. We will try to be especially careful when publishing information about junior members. Junior photographs will only be used with appropriate permission.

We do not sell personal information. We may share limited information where necessary for club administration or chess activities, including:

with chess leagues and competition organisers, where needed for fixtures, team registration, eligibility, results and ratings;
with the English Chess Federation systems where required for league chess, ratings or membership-related chess administration;
with committee members, captains or volunteers who need the information to carry out their club role;
with banks or financial institutions when processing subscriptions by bank transfer or cheque;
with safeguarding bodies, statutory authorities, or other appropriate organisations if needed for safeguarding, welfare, legal or safety reasons.

Although ECF membership and related data may be handled directly by the ECF, the club may still need to use a member’s ECF rating code or similar chess identifier for league chess.

8. Email and communications

The club may use email, phone, messaging or similar methods to contact members and parents/guardians about club matters, including:

club news;
fixtures and team selection;
match organisation;
membership and subscriptions;
meetings;
junior chess arrangements;
safeguarding or welfare matters.

We may also contact members about events, tournaments or opportunities connected with chess or the club. Members can ask not to receive general club news, but we may still need to send essential membership, fixture, subscription, safeguarding or administrative messages.

9. Website Analytics

We use first-party analytics (Tinybird) to count anonymous page visits. No tracking cookies are set, and no personal information is shared with third parties for advertising.

10. Payments and subscriptions

Subscriptions may be paid by bank transfer or cheque. We may keep basic records showing who has paid, the amount paid, the date of payment, and the membership period covered.

We do not normally need to store members’ full bank details. Bank transfer details may appear in bank statements or banking records.

11. How long we keep information

We keep personal information only for as long as we reasonably need it. As a general guide:

current member records are kept while someone remains a member;
former member records may be kept for up to six years for administration, accounting or historical record purposes;
payment records may be kept for up to six years;
safeguarding records may be kept for longer where necessary;
match reports, results, ratings, photographs and other website content may be kept as part of the club’s historical record, unless there is a good reason to remove or amend them.

If you would like information removed or corrected, please contact the Club Secretary.

12. How we keep information safe

We take reasonable steps to keep personal information safe. This may include:

limiting access to people who need the information for club purposes;
keeping membership records in appropriate club files, spreadsheets, email accounts or other systems;
avoiding unnecessary sharing of personal information;
taking extra care with junior member information and photographs;
deleting or updating information when it is no longer needed.

As a voluntary club, we rely on committee members, captains and volunteers handling information responsibly.

13. Your rights

Under UK data protection law, you have rights over your personal information. These may include the right to:

ask what personal information we hold about you;
ask for incorrect information to be corrected;
ask for information to be deleted in some circumstances;
object to certain uses of your information;
ask us to restrict how we use your information in some circumstances;
withdraw consent where we are relying on consent, such as for future use of photographs.

Some rights depend on the lawful basis we are using and the reason the information is held. To make a request, please contact the Club Secretary.

14. Concerns or complaints

If you are concerned about how Lichfield Chess Club uses your personal information, please contact the Club Secretary first so that we can try to resolve the issue. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which is the UK regulator for data protection.

15. Changes to this policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The latest version will be published on the Lichfield Chess Club website.