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

A beautiful day of sunshine and summer-like temperatures pierced the erratic spring weather in Washington DC for the 58th annual Sakura Matsuri street festival last Saturday. Over 20 volunteers from the National Go Center came out to staff a tent on Pennsylvania Avenue and teach all comers the game. From the time the gates opened after the National Cherry Blossom Festival parade until the early evening, a lively stream of festival goers enjoyed meeting the volunteers and learning about go.

Local go organizer John Goon, who passed away last year, had organized volunteers from the local go clubs to participate in this event for over a decade, and the NGC was excited to keep the tradition going. “It was wonderful to see such strong volunteer support,” said NGC Executive Director Gurujeet Khalsa. “The NGC is also the sponsoring chapter for the US Go Congress to be held in Williamsburg VA in July, and it is enthusiastic volunteers each year that make the Congress a huge success.”

photos by Chiemi Mori and Allan Abramson

After opening registration on March 31st, the attendee count for the 34th U.S. Go Congress, to be held this July in Williamsburg, Virginia, has steadily climbed. “We marched past 100 like a fife and drum brigade!” said Gary Smith, the Go Congress registrar. “128 and counting!”

“Gary [Smith], Diego [Pierrottet], and I are getting tons of emails, and making changes every day,” said Nate Eagle, who, with Pierrottet, is directing this year’s Congress. “I’ve been really grateful for some of the early registrants who’ve written to us about suggestions for the site, or information they need. Everyone who lets us know about something to improve helps hundreds of other users.”

“We’ve made a lot of updates,” Eagle continued. “We’ve added the ability to add on Friday-night accommodations for anyone who needs to travel to Williamsburg the day before. We’ve launched the official Go Congress mobile app with a download button on the main page. We’ve moved the Congress site to SSL to ensure the security of people’s login information. And I’m continuing to work with Rex Cristal, who’s provided invaluable support for the Congress site for years, and Joel Cahalan to make steady improvements to the Congress website to make it more mobile-friendly and easier to use.”

“We’ve also added a Frequently Asked Questions page,” Eagle says. “If you’ve got a question, or have information that you think would be useful to other people interested in or attending Go Congress, please let me know! The more information we can provide, the better.”

Pineapples were an important symbol of hospitality in Colonial Williamsburg. Congress Co-director Nate Eagle wanted to use a pineapple in the Congress logo, but everybody thought the reference was too obscure.

With registration for the 2018 US Go Congress in Williamsburg, VA now open, the Congress team has just released a companion app for either iOS or Android devices. The app complements the information found on the Congress website with pages for scheduling, travel information, staff contacts, social and much more. Click here now to download.

The app will be continually updated with new pages such as pro biographies and information between now and the Congress, and will be a source of live information at the Congress. You can see what the overall 2018 Congress schedule looks like in the app today with placeholders for events and lectures that will be filled in as they are confirmed. Once the schedule is finalized, a My Schedule feature will be turned on that allows each attendee to build their personal Congress schedule of events.

“This is a step we are taking towards a paperless, digitally enabled Congress,” says Congress Co-Director Diego Pierottet. “We are also planning large display screens to be prominently located to post the latest news and information. We are looking to enhance the Congress experience for everyone and would appreciate suggestions on the app and what other sorts of information we should add.”

Please download the app, especially if you are considering coming to the US Go Congress this year. Your feedback can be sent to Gurujeet Khalsa (gurujeet.khalsa@nationalgocenter.org) “and is greatly appreciated.”

Registration for the 2018 US Go Congress has officially been launched. “Everyone has a lot of questions in planning for the summer, and we’ve got answers for (some of those) questions,” says Congress Co-Director Nate Eagle. 

• Costs! How much coin of the realm this year will involve?
• Transportation. What are the best ways to get to Williamsburg?
• Who can I ask about…? Find out which volunteer is best suited to answer other questions you might have.

The Congress will be held in Williamsburg, Virginia, on the campus of William & Mary, July 21-28. At the site, click on “Start Here” to sign up. Once you’ve signed up or signed in, under the “My Account” page,  you can add attendees, as needed. The Go Congress site uses new accounts every year, so even if you’ve registered for previous Congresses, you’ll need to sign up for this year. “Stay tuned for more updates to the site,” adds Eagle, who’s co-directing with Diego Pierrottet. “We’ll have lots more information to come. We can’t wait to see you this July!”