Membership rates & joining details

Things to know before joining the ECF / renewing or upgrading your ECF membership …

1) Junior Silver membership is available FREE for the first year to junior players who have not previously been members of the Federation in any category. When you log in as a new member at https://ecf.justgo.com, choose ‘Free Junior Silver’, and please make sure you complete the process, as although no money changes hands, the FJS must still be ‘purchased’ or the membership is not valid. Junior memberships are open to all players aged under 18 on the date the membership is taken out.
2) ECF Student Silver membership is available FREE for the first year to student players who have not previously been members of the English Chess Federation in any category. When you log in as a new member at https://ecf.justgo.com, choose ‘Free Student Silver’, and please make sure you complete the process, as although no money changes hands, the FSS must still be ‘purchased’ or the membership is not valid. Student memberships are open to all student players aged between 18 and 25 on the date the membership is taken out.
3) PARENTS PLEASE READ — Please don’t register yourself with the ECF in order to register your children, unless you want your own membership as a chess player. In addition, if you are adding two or more children to the ECF membership database at this time, make sure you choose a username for each of them in turn, rather than accepting the default (your email address) as each subsequent child added will otherwise trigger a ‘username already in use’ dialogue box.
4) In case of difficulty (lost usernames, password lost or forgotten), in the first instance email the office staff, who will respond as soon as possible. Please note office hours are 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday.

Existing members – renew or upgrade here

Existing member renewing? Click the button above – you will be asked to login to the JustGo system with your username [usually your membership number e.g. ME123456, your email address or the username you set for yourself] and password. If you don’t know your username, please email membership@englishchess.org.uk or phone the ECF office on 01424 775222 and we will help. If you have your username but have forgotten your password then just click on the ‘Forgot password’ link and follow the email instructions*. Once you have logged in you will just need to confirm your details, select a membership package and check out.

* this will only work if we have the correct email address for you. If in doubt, email or call us.

Rolling Membership – Renewals and Upgrades

Once you have logged in to JustGo you should provide details as requested, click on Membership > Renew or Add your Membership, and select the relevant membership package for purchase, renewal or upgrade.

The introduction of the rolling membership system has led to a change in the way that renewals are processed when an upgrade or downgrade is required.  This is because renewals are defined by JustGo as someone taking out the same level of membership; upgrades or downgrades are treated by JustGo as new memberships. For upgrades (but not downgrades at present)  a rebate is calculated and discounted accordingly for the amount of unspent membership fee relating to the original membership. For downgrades members should contact the ECF Office if they would like their membership extended to the end of the month in which renewal takes place.

For renewals, the renewed membership is deemed to start at the end of the month in which the renewal takes place. For upgrades/downgrades, the new membership is deemed to start at the beginning of the month in which the upgrade/downgrade takes place.

Please see ‘Membership Upgrades’ and Membership Downgrades’ sections below for how membership fee rebates/discounts (upgrades) and membership expiry date extensions (downgrades) are handled.

Membership Renewal on Existing Basis
Membership can be renewed on the existing level from 28 days before the membership expires.  So a membership renewal on, for example, 15 August 2023 will expire on 31 August 2024.

Membership Upgrades
Membership upgrades can be made at any time during the membership year.  The new level of membership will run until the end of the month prior to the upgrade being made.  So a membership upgrade on, for example, 15 September 2023 will expire on 31 August 2024 irrespective of the expiry date of the original membership.  A rebate of the unused portion of the previous membership level is deducted from the cost. 

Please note that when members upgrade they are not charged for a ‘lost’ month’s membership; JustGo takes account of this when calculating the requisite membership fee discount.

Membership Downgrades
Should members wish to downgrade their membership on renewal they can do this via the online system, but they should contact the ECF Office if they would like their membership extended to the end of the month in which renewal takes place.

New members – join here

New member joining? Click the above to register with the GoMembership System and complete the new member or supporter joining process. Once registered with the system, you should select your preferred membership or supporter package and checkout to complete the joining process, and ensure that you have an active membership in place.

Membership rates and benefits for 2023/24

Supporter – £10.00
Supporter membership grants you access to ECF online members clubs and events on Chess.com and Lichess, together with free online rating of results in all ECF rated online events, and access to the various benefits and discounts available here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-partners-and-benefits/

Queen’s Gambit Scheme Supporter
This category of membership has been withdrawn from sale from 1st September 2023. Existing holders will retain their membership and benefits until their scheduled expiry date.

Bronze member – £18.00
Bronze membership grants you free rating of results in club competitions, leagues, county championships, and the right to elect representatives to present the views of individual members to the ECF Council; plus access to the various benefits and discounts available here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-partners-and-benefits/

Silver member – £27.00 | Junior Silver member – £6.00 | Student Silver member – free
(for the first membership year)
Silver membership grants you free rating of results in club competitions, leagues, county championships, congresses (excl. FIDE-rated standard play tournaments), and the right to elect representatives to present the views of individual members to the ECF Council; plus access to the various benefits and discounts available here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-partners-and-benefits/

Gold member – £39.00 | Junior Gold member – £19.50
Gold membership grants you free rating of results in club competitions, leagues, county championships, congresses, FIDE-rated standard play tournaments, and the right to elect representatives to present the views of individual members to the ECF Council; plus access to the various benefits and discounts available here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-partners-and-benefits/

Platinum member – £75.00
Platinum membership grants you free rating of results in club competitions, leagues, county championships, congresses, FIDE-rated standard play tournaments, and the right to elect representatives to present the views of individual members to the ECF Council; plus access to the various benefits and discounts available here – https://www.englishchess.org.uk/ecf-membership-partners-and-benefits/ – and a free print copy of the ECF Yearbook each year.