American Go E-Journal

Nearly a quarter of the players at the recent Orlando Go Tournament were aged 16 or under, providing “much-appreciated energy and enthusiasm to the event, and more often than not some pretty tough competition as well,” reports Paul Wiegand. Kurt Lin 5d topped the five-round, two-day tournament – the 5th annual — held April 2-3 on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando. Miki Hirama 1k took first in the Lower Kyu division, Shannon Jones 5k topped the Middle Kyu Division and 10 year-old Heather Crawford 16k won first place in the Upper Kyu Division. A total of 13 prizes were awarded, donated by Yellow Mountain Imports and Slate & Shell.
Winner’s Report: Dan division (1d and up): 1st: Kurt Lin 5d; 2nd: Karsten Henckell 5d; 3rd: Joshua Lee 5d. Lower Kyu Division (1k – 4k): 1st: Miki Hirama 1k; 2nd: Stephen Barberi 1k; 3rd: Efrain Davila 2k. Middle Kyu Division (5k – 10k): 1st: Shannon Jones 5k; 2nd: Jonathan Sarry 5k; 3rd: Jason Ruiz 5k; Upper Kyu Division (11k – 30k) 1st: 10 year-old Heather Crawford 16k followed quite closely by Austin Diehl 11k (2nd) and Guan Lim 29k (3rd).  In addition to the placement awards, Ghianyra Forestal 30k took an award for perseverance and fighting spirit. photo at right by Kristle Luna