American Go E-Journal » U.S. Go Congress

Following hard on the heels of the announcement earlier this week (2020 e-Go Congress announced) of the online 2020 e-Go Congress August 1-9, organizers have now released a preliminary schedule of events. “While a few events may still be added, you can plan on attending any of the events below,” says AGA Congress Coordinator Lisa Scott. Keep an eye on the Congress website for the schedule and updates as details are finalized. Events will be held on OGS, KGS, and Pandanet.

Saturday, August 1
1pm-4pm EDT/10am-1pm PDT Opening Ceremony
4pm-7pm EDT/1pm-4pm PDT e-Go Congress Open Round 1
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT 9×9 Tournament

Sunday, August 2
1pm-4pm EDT/10am-1pm PDT e-Go Congress Open Round 2
4pm-6pm EDT/1pm-3pm PDT Game Review
7pm-10pm EDT/4pm-7pm PDT e-Go Congress Open Round 3
10pm-11pm EDT/7pm-8pm PDT Hangouts

Monday, August 3
1pm-4pm EDT/10am-1pm PDT Blitz Tournament Round 1
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT City League Championships Game 1
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT Beginner Drop in Teaching

Tuesday, August 4
1pm-4pm EDT/10am-1pm PDT Blitz Tournament Round 2
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT Beginner Official Teaching Event
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT Double-Digit Kyu Tournament Day 1

Wednesday, August 5
1pm-4pm EDT/10am-1pm PDT Youth Event
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT City League Championships Game 2
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT Double-Digit Kyu Tournament Day 2

Thursday, August 6
1pm-4pm EDT/10am-1pm PDT Blitz Tournament Round 3
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT Pair Go Tournament

Friday, August 7
1pm-4pm EDT/10am-1pm PDT Blitz Tournament Round 4
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT City League Championships Game 3

Saturday, August 8
1pm-3pm EDT/10am-12pm PDT e-Go Congress Open Round 4
6pm-9pm EDT/3pm-6pm PDT Game Review
8pm-11pm EDT/5pm-8pm PDT TBD Broadcast Event

While we all continue to take precautions for the health and safety of ourselves and our communities, the AGA wants to encourage people to continue to play Go and to socialize virtually with other people in the Go community.

The AGA is planning to put on some limited online programming during the first week of August to bring the AGA Go community together during the time in-person Go Congress has traditionally been held. We are still figuring out the details, and that’s where you all come in! If you are interested in participating, please take a minute to fill out this survey and help us plan a better event for you!

The 2020 U.S. Go Congress has been canceled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The following statement was released on April 17 by the American Go Association Board of Directors:

At a Special Board Meeting held on April 15th, the AGA board, with the agreement of the Go Congress organizers in Colorado, voted to postpone the 2020 US Go Congress in Estes Park to a future year, meaning that there will be no US Go Congress in 2020. 

Over the next few weeks, the AGA and the US Go Congress will continue with the cancellation process, including refunding registration fees that were already paid. We expect these refunds to happen over the next month or so; you do not need to reach out to the Congress team to get your refund.

Given the seriousness of the Coronavirus epidemic, the AGA cannot in good conscience bring together our customary crowd from around the country and the world.  The AGA does not take this decision lightly, and plans to resume our annual US Go Congress in 2021, with as much play (both fun and serious) as always.

At this time, the AGA is recommending cancelling all in-person go events (both club meetings and tournaments) through the end of May, but feels that it is too soon to make recommendations about summer events, given that local conditions may vary.

Please stay safe and healthy

Registration is now open for the 36th annual U.S. Go Congress, which will be held August 1-9 at the YMCA camp near Estes Park, CO.  Click here for details on registering.

The main playing site is Assembly Hall in the center of camp, which is surrounded by many indoor and outdoor amenities, plus the natural beauty of the Rocky Mountains.  “It’s the perfect setting for both players and non-players alike, an ideal vacation destination for the whole family!” say Congress organizers.

The camp is just outside Estes Park, just under two hours from Denver International Airport (DIA).  You can sign up for the airport shuttle during registration, or rent a car at the airport.  The Congress has plenty of rooms reserved on-site, or you can choose from many off-site locations (but act soon as summer fills up quickly).  Click here for detailed information about the Congress.

The Start Here tab on the Congress website allows you to register and sign up for lodging and meal plans, the banquet, and the day-off activities. 

“There are official tours to please almost everyone, from open-air trollies servicing Rocky Mountain National Park, ghost tours at the historic Stanley Hotel, cable-car rides to the top of Prospect mountain, and horseback riding,” says Congress Co-Director Eric Wainwright. “If any of these don’t fit the bill, there’s an abundance of informal tours and other activities as well.”  Click here to see the full list.

“We hope to make this the best congress yet!”

U.S. Go Congress organizers would love to thank everyone who has filled out the Congress Survey – nearly 200 responses already.  The feedback they’ve received has been extremely valuable, especially since over half of the responses came from people who couldn’t attend the 2019 Congress, and nearly a quarter of respondents have never been able to attend a Congress. 

Among the responses so far were two from people who haven’t attended since the late 1990s, as well as four from people who have attended 26 or more Congresses. Over half of respondents rate playing in tournaments as their favorite thing about Congress, while 28% of attendees say their favorite part is learning from pros, and 27% say their favorite part is spending time with friends (people seem to have multiple favorites).

Interestingly, 36% of respondents would like to attend the European Go Congress and 34.5 say they’d maybe like to, but only 8.5% actually have attended.

Feedback from everyone – longtime attendees, new players, and everyone in between – will help the AGA make the next U.S. Go Congress in Estes Park (August 1-9, 2020) a better event for everyone!  Click here now to complete the survey if you haven’t already.

Towards the end of the 2019 US Go Congress, Greg Steltenpohl had the idea to ask volunteers, E-Journal staff, local club members, professionals, long-time attendees, and online go content creators to sign a t-shirt to give to 2019 Congress Director Dave Weimer, as a surprise at the closing ceremonies.  Since then, Greg tells the EJ, “I had the shirt professionally framed, and presented it to Dave at our local club meetup which is at the same location as the 2019 Congress. We did this in recognition of his long-standing support and service to the go community, and so that he could have a physical representation of our appreciation for all of his service.”

The broadcasts from the 2019 US Go Congress in Madison, WI have now been published on the Official AGA YouTube channel – check out the playlist to access pro commentaries on the Pandanet-AGA City League Finals and all seven rounds of the US Masters, featuring Yoonyoung Kim 8p, Yilun Yang 7p, Mingjiu Jiang 7p, Jennie Shen 2p, Ryan Li 1p and Stephanie Yin 1p, as well as various special interviews. If you want to jump to a particular segment, just head to the comments section and choose the corresponding timestamp. These videos were originally broadcast live on Twitch; if you want to support more future broadcasts, please subscribe and become an AGA member. Thanks again to the E-Journal’s 2019 broadcast team and special thanks to Stephen Hu for producing the videos for our YouTube channel.