1. Who We Are

The Sligo Chess & Culture Festival is organised and operated by Sligo Chess Club.

Sligo Chess Club is the data controller for personal data processed in connection with the Sligo Chess & Culture Festival, except where another organisation acts as an independent data controller for its own processing activities.

In this Privacy Policy, references to the “festival”, “we”, “us” or “our” mean Sligo Chess Club operating the Sligo Chess & Culture Festival.

Data Controller: Sligo Chess Club
Festival: Sligo Chess & Culture Festival
Email: info@sligochessfestival.com
Telephone: +353 89 485 9892

This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, how it may be used and shared, how long we retain it and the rights available to you.

2. Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with the festival, we may collect information including:

• your name;
• email address;
• telephone number;
• age or date of birth where relevant;
• chess federation and federation ID;
• FIDE ID;
• Irish Chess Union ID;
• chess ratings and titles;
• club or school affiliation;
• tournaments or activities entered;
• payment and transaction information;
• correspondence with the festival;
• information required to administer prizes;
• accessibility or other arrangements you ask us to make;
• photographs and video in which you appear;
• chess games and tournament results;
• information contained in Fair Play, safeguarding or Code of Conduct reports; and
• technical information generated when you use our website, where applicable.

We aim to collect only information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose.

3. Why We Use Personal Data

We may process personal information for purposes including:

• registering participants for tournaments and festival activities;
• processing entry fees and other payments;
• confirming and communicating registrations;
• determining tournament eligibility and allocating players to the appropriate rating section;
• preparing pairings, results, standings and prize lists;
• submitting rated tournaments and results to the Irish Chess Union, FIDE and other appropriate chess bodies;
• publishing player lists, tournament results, ratings and chess games;
• operating Fair Play procedures;
• responding to enquiries;
• making reasonable accessibility arrangements;
• administering prizes;
• maintaining the safety and security of participants;
• responding to Code of Conduct, safeguarding or Fair Play concerns;
• complying with legal and regulatory obligations;
• documenting and reporting on the festival;
• promoting the festival and future editions where appropriate;
• maintaining appropriate financial and administrative records; and
• sending marketing communications where we have an appropriate legal basis to do so.

4. Our Legal Bases for Processing

Depending on the circumstances, we process personal data on one or more of the following legal bases.

Contract

We process information where it is necessary to administer a registration, provide an event or service that has been requested, process payments or otherwise fulfil our obligations to participants.

Legitimate Interests

We may process information where necessary for our legitimate interests in organising, administering, securing and documenting the festival, provided those interests are not overridden by the rights and interests of the individuals concerned.

These interests may include tournament administration, maintaining tournament integrity, protecting participants, maintaining records, communicating about the festival and reporting on festival activities.

Legal Obligations

We may process information where necessary to comply with legal, tax, accounting, safeguarding or other statutory obligations.

Consent

Where appropriate, we may ask for consent for a particular use of personal information.

For example, where we wish to use an identifiable image of an individual player specifically for promotional or advertising purposes, we will seek permission before doing so.

Where processing is based on consent, that consent may be withdrawn at any time. Withdrawal does not affect processing that lawfully took place before consent was withdrawn.

Vital Interests

In exceptional circumstances, personal information may be processed where necessary to protect someone’s life or physical safety.

5. Tournament Information and Results

Chess tournaments require certain participant information to be publicly available.

Player names, federation or club information, ratings, titles, pairings, results, standings, prizes and similar tournament information may therefore be published on:

• the festival website;
• Chess-Results or similar tournament-management services;
• Irish Chess Union systems;
• FIDE systems;
• live-game and chess-broadcast platforms; and
• other appropriate chess results or reporting services.

Where required for tournament rating, title or regulatory purposes, relevant information will be provided to the Irish Chess Union, FIDE or other appropriate governing bodies.

Some tournament records may remain publicly available indefinitely as part of the historical sporting record.

6. DGT Smart Boards and Game Broadcasts

Games played on DGT Smart Boards are recorded electronically.

Games may be broadcast online, normally subject to any broadcast delay adopted by the festival, and may be viewed, downloaded, analysed, archived or commentated upon by the festival and third parties.

The playing area may also appear in video used for live or recorded tournament commentary and coverage.

Participants entering tournaments using DGT Smart Boards should therefore expect their games and associated tournament information to form part of the public sporting record.

7. Photography and Video

Official photography and filming may take place during the festival for the purposes of documenting and reporting on the event.

Photographs and video may be published on the festival’s website and social-media channels, provided to media organisations, or otherwise used in connection with reporting on the festival.

Where the festival wishes to use an identifiable image of an individual player specifically for promotional or advertising purposes, we will contact that person and obtain permission before doing so.

Participants who have concerns about photography or filming during the festival are welcome to speak to a festival official.

8. Children and Photography

Particular care will be taken when photographing or filming children and young people.

General photographs or video documenting the festival may include children as part of tournament halls, prize ceremonies, group activities or other festival events.

Where the festival wishes to use an identifiable image of a child specifically for promotional or advertising purposes, permission will be obtained from the child’s parent or guardian before the image is used.

Where appropriate, the wishes of the child will also be taken into account.

9. Fair Play and Code of Conduct Information

Reports made under the festival’s Fair Play Policy or Code of Conduct may contain personal and potentially sensitive information.

Access to such information will be restricted to those who reasonably require it to assess, investigate or respond to the matter.

Information may be shared where appropriate with persons involved in an investigation or with bodies such as the Irish Chess Union, FIDE, Women in Chess Foundation, An Garda Síochána, Tusla or other competent authorities where there is an appropriate legal basis or obligation to do so.

Anonymous reporting options may be provided, but information supplied within a report could nevertheless identify the reporter or another individual depending on its contents.

10. Payments

Payments may be processed by third-party payment providers.

The festival does not retain complete payment-card details where payment is handled directly by the payment provider.

Payment providers process information in accordance with their own privacy policies and legal obligations.

We may retain transaction information necessary for registration, accounting, refunds and financial record-keeping.

11. Mailing Lists and Marketing

We may send information directly connected with a person’s registration or participation where necessary to administer the festival.

Marketing communications will be distinguished from essential administrative communications.

Where consent is required for electronic marketing, we will seek that consent.

Recipients of marketing emails can unsubscribe using the method provided in the communication or by contacting us.

Withdrawing from marketing communications does not prevent us from sending information necessary to administer an existing registration.

12. Who We Share Information With

Where necessary and appropriate, personal information may be shared with:

• the Irish Chess Union;
• FIDE;
• tournament-management and results providers;
• payment processors;
• website, email and IT service providers;
• festival venues and service providers where necessary;
• arbiters and authorised tournament personnel;
• Fair Play and safeguarding personnel;
• professional advisers;
• photographers, videographers and media organisations where appropriate;
• competent public authorities where required or permitted by law; and
• other organisations where necessary for the proper administration of the festival.

We do not sell participants’ personal data.

13. International Transfers

Some service providers, sporting bodies or online platforms used by the festival may process personal information outside Ireland or the European Economic Area.

Where personal data is transferred internationally, we will seek to ensure that an appropriate legal mechanism or safeguard applies where required by data-protection law.

14. How Long We Keep Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for any applicable legal, accounting, regulatory or dispute-resolution requirements.

Retention periods vary according to the type of information.

Tournament results, ratings, games and other information forming part of the historical sporting record may be retained or remain publicly available indefinitely.

Financial and transaction records will be retained for the period required by applicable law.

Routine registration and correspondence information will be periodically reviewed and deleted or anonymised when it is no longer reasonably required.

Fair Play, safeguarding and Code of Conduct records may be retained for an appropriate period having regard to the seriousness of the matter, possible future safeguarding or disciplinary relevance, legal requirements and the rights of the individuals concerned.

15. Security

We take reasonable organisational and technical measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss or destruction.

Access to sensitive information, including incident reports, is restricted to people who reasonably require access to perform their role.

No method of electronic storage or transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

16. Your Data-Protection Rights

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have rights including:

• the right to access personal data we hold about you;
• the right to have inaccurate information corrected;
• the right to request deletion of personal data;
• the right to restrict certain processing;
• the right to object to certain processing;
• the right to data portability where applicable; and
• the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.

These rights are not absolute. For example, we may need to retain information to comply with a legal obligation or where another lawful basis permits continued processing.

Requests can be made using the contact details in this policy.

17. Complaints

If you have concerns about how the festival handles your personal information, please contact us first so that we can try to address the issue.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Data Protection Commission, Ireland’s supervisory authority for data protection.

18. Third-Party Websites and Services

Our website may link to third-party websites and services, including tournament-management systems, chess organisations, payment providers and social-media platforms.

Those organisations may process personal information independently under their own privacy policies. The festival is not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third parties.

19. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our activities, services or legal obligations.

The current version will be published on the festival website with its effective date.

20. Contact Us

Questions, requests or concerns about how we process personal data can be directed to:

Sligo Chess Club
Sligo Chess & Culture Festival
Email: info@sligochessfestival.com
Telephone: +353 89 485 9892

Effective date: 11/09/26