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

Executive Summary of AGA Board Meeting 1/21/2018: The board approved a Code of Conduct for AGA events that will now be reviewed at the executive and then chapter levels. Andy Okun, president of the AGA, reported that he intends to hire a part-time staffer to assist with administrative tasks in order to allow AGA leadership to work more quickly and efficiently. Other business included status updates on the ranking system, state championships, and 2018 Go Congress.

Executive Summary of AGA Board Meeting 2/11/2018: The board discussed how to protect the AGA membership and stay in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation that will soon go into effect. Drafts of the Code of Conduct and bylaws revision are also under review by the board and will be sent to the membership in the next weeks. Other business included updates on Go Congress 2018/2019 organization and a proposal to create a mechanism for volunteers to attend board meetings and report. Members should keep their eyes open for announcements about the 50 States Tournament and 2018 Go Congress, coming soon through the E-Journal.
-Samantha Fede, AGA Secretary

The Penn Go Society has announced the first Pennsylvania State Go Championship, part of the American Go Association’s new system of state championships around the country (click here for details). The Pennsylvania championship will be held April 28-29 in Philadelphia, PA, with five rounds over two days, handicap and open divisions, and over $1000 in prizes.

Pre-registration is required; deadline is April 24th. The tournament will be held on the 8th floor of the Wharton Student Life Center (2401 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19103). Email tournaments@penngosociety.org for more info.

The tournament director will be Jason McGibbon; games will be AGA rated and Japanese byo-yomi time setting (45 min main + 5 x 30 byo-yomi). Check-in on Saturday and Sunday will be from 9:30AM-10AM. The first round on both days will begin at 10:15AM. Coffee and light refreshments will be provided, and many restaurants are within easy walking distance of the venue. The official State Championship title is reserved for Pennsylvania residents, but non-PA residents are eligible to play and win prize money.

The American Go Association is preparing to launch a brand-new system of state championships around the country and is seeking interest from AGA chapters in the various states.

“Our goals are to promote high-level competition in local areas, develop state level organization, and to provide more direct assistance to local chapters,” said AGA President Andy Okun. The championships will be run by the individual states according to AGA guidelines detailed here: Coordinator Selection, Application, and Summary. AGA chapters within each state will pick a State Championship Coordinator, who will be the point of contact between that state and the AGA State Championship Coordinator Paul Ohmart, who can be reached at 50state@usgo.org.

“The AGA recognizes that different states will have different issues in organizing a statewide event and will need to have different approaches; we will work to find the best approach,” said Ohmart. The AGA will also provide two types of trophies to each participating state, an individual trophy for the winner and a perpetual trophy to be held by the winner until the next championship. Chapter leaders will be contacted individually to help get the programs rolling.

The third South Central Go Tournament — held February 17-18 near Dallas — drew 40 players from ten states. In the Open Section with 10 entrants, Muzhen Ai,6d, took first place. In the Handicap Section with 30 entrants, Luke Belyeu 5k, took first place in the top band. There were three rounds each day, a full schedule, but still time for a good bit of friendly review of the games played.
– report/photos by Robert Gilman

If you appreciate all the great go content brought to you by the American Go Association and want to help grow the go community even more, we’re looking for a few good volunteers for some key positions:

Social Media Coordinator – Experience with Facebook groups, Google Groups, Twitter. Person will manage our social media pages and work with people who have questions; help grow our platforms, gain users, and turn those into AGA members, and will provide assistance for the Streaming team when necessary.

Webmaster – Assist with updating webpages, answer emails sent to webmaster@usgo.org and respond or forward to the appropriate person, and assist with publishing events to the website calendar.

Server Admin – Assist with Server admin duties. Experience with Linux necessary. Helpful to know Apache, Drupal, WordPress, bash scripting.

To find out more and/or volunteer, email steve.colburn@usgo.org.