American Go E-Journal » U.S./North America

The San Francisco Go Club’s Lunar New Year Go tournament was a vibrant celebration of the Chinese New Year. On a sunny but brisk Saturday, January 21, 37 players gathered to compete in three divisions. The tournament was a lively event that included a roast pig lunch. After three rounds of intense competition, the winners of each division were announced: Jonathan Ketner (1st place), Eric Lee (2nd place), and Christopher Kim (3rd place) in Division 1; Dash Zhang (1st place), Andrew Li (2^nd place), and Joey Chou (3rd place) in Division 2; and Reid Byron (1^st place), Patrick Vincent O’Melveny (2nd place), and Syd Shafer (3^rd place) in Division 3. “Congratulations to all the winners!” said club President Matthew  Barcus.

The American Go Association is converting to new software in February. There will be a new website and added functionality for members and chapters that you will be hearing more about soon. The implementation team is preparing to convert the existing records to the new system and need your help in making sure the records are clean and up to date. Here is what you can do:

AGA MEMBERS

Go to the usgo.org website and log in (select ‘Member/Chapter Login’ under ‘Membership’ in the menu on the left-hand side).

If you have trouble logging in, just send a note to database@usgo.org. Include your full name, AGA ID (if you know it), and your date of birth. After verification, the AGA will send you a temporary password. (The existing ‘Forgot My Password’ option does not always work properly; just email to database@usgo.org instead.)

Once logged in, check and update your data to make sure it is current. If your membership has expired or will be expiring soon, this would be a great time to renew!

If you have any questions at all, just send them to database@usgo.org.

AGA CHAPTERS

If you are listed as the Chapter Representative for an AGA Chapter, you will be given a choice to also manage that Chapter when you individually log in. Please update your Chapter information, with special attention to the ‘Public Contact Info’, ‘Meeting Place and Time’ and ‘Website’ (if you have one) fields. These are how people seeking to meet up and play will find you.

For Chapters it is especially important to bring your chapter membership up to date if it has expired. Only chapters that are current in their membership will be able to participate in chapter benefits. This includes having your listing being findable for people looking to play or by members seeking to affiliate and be members of your chapter. If you have earned Chapter Rewards points (and most recently expired Chapter have) you can use those points to renew your chapter membership. Just send an email requesting to be updated with points to rewards@usgo.org and it will be taken care of.

If you are no longer the Chapter Representative or have assumed the role from someone else, send us the information and it will get verified and updated.

Again, if you have any questions at all, just send them to database@usgo.org.

Could your chapter use some free books? Perhaps to stock or replenish your club’s library and/or to offer as tournament prizes? When Yutopian went out of business, it gave its stock of 32,000 books to the American Go Foundation, which teamed up with the AGA to offer free books to AGA chapters. More than two dozen AGA chapters responded to a direct mailing last Fall and now other chapters, libraries, and school programs can participate, but you must act now. 

The books are expected to ship in mid-February; if you have an existing request that you’d like to revise or want to make a request, you can do so now by completing this Google Form. You may submit as many forms as necessary to complete your request. You’ll find a listing of the available books here. If you have any questions about how to order, please address them to rewards@usgo.org. The deadline for all requests is February 6.

There is also a “Library Set” box – with one copy of every title – as a starter collection for a club or for placement in a local library.  (Please make sure the local library will accept the donation.)

The books are free. Shipping and handling to AGA Chapters will be paid with Chapter Rewards points. (Chapters without enough points will receive points that have been generously donated.) All chapters can receive books and no cash payments are required. There will be a flat charge of $60 (60,000 rewards points) for each box of books. We may reduce some requested amounts to distribute some titles more widely.

The AGF will pay for books sent to AGF programs or libraries. Any club that can get a vehicle to the storage container (in Los Angeles) on Feb 12th or 13th can take boxes at zero cost. (San Diego took a carful and may get more.) 

This is a once-in-a-decade chance, don’t miss it!