American Go E-Journal » Youth

Thirty three young players competed in the Bay Area Youth Team Tournament, held on May 28th in Cupertino, CA. A wide array of K-12 players from various go clubs competed, including 21 players from the Santa Clara Youth Go Club. In Division A, Palo Alto placed first, followed by the Mandarin Language and Cultural Center, and Joaquin Miller Middle School. Santa Clara Youth Go Club swept Division B  (1k-15k) with their B1 team placing first and their B2 and B3 teams tying for second place. In Division C (15k-30k), Monta Vista High School took first place while the Santa Clara Youth Go Club’s C1 and C2 took second and third.  The event was organized by the Bay Area High School Go Association, and sponsored by the AGF. – Report and photo by David Su.

Youngsters in Portland, OR, defeated their rivals in Mexico City in a four-city school tourney held on KGS May 20th.  Ann Arbor and Detroit MI also competed, with Academy of the Americas, in Detroit, notching up a win in the first round, but losing in the second.  Students from Portland were eager for paybacks, as Mexico’s Pipiolo Academy had defeated all comers in their first inter-city match this past February (see Mexico Schools Portland).  All four schools have been competing with each other on KGS, and meeting each other on Skype as part of an international collaboration co-sponsored by the AGF.  -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.  Photo: Mexico Team, top, by Siddhartha Avila, Portland Teams, bottom, by Peter Freedman.

An Atlanta school is hoping that go will help its low-income students develop their critical thinking skills. At the Dekalb PATH Academy, in Atlanta GA, “our students are 76% Hispanic, 20% African-American and 87% are classified as low-income by federal government standards,” reports Assistant Principal Graham Balch, who launched the project. Balch says that at Dekalb “we have helped our children overcome the disadvantage of poverty,” noting that the school outperforms every other non-selective middle school in the local school system. “However, while we have done a good job of teaching them content, in my opinion, they still are behind on developing their analytical critical thinking.” Balch is hoping to change that by working with a group of teachers to teach the game of go. “Our students learned and played go for 70 minutes a day in class for three weeks,” he reports. “Our kids have loved playing go. They come in the morning and get out boards right away, we teach them how to play and technique in class, and they play, and play, in tutorial after school. It has been incredible hearing them tell us at first that ‘It’s easy’ and then a couple days later that ‘Man, this game is really getting hard.’” Balch, who says that “We look forward to seeing the impact go has on students’ critical thinking and global perspective,” adds that “I am so grateful for the American Go Foundation and None Redmond for making this possible,” and is hopeful that go may spread in Georgia schools next year. The project wrapped up the school year with a single-elimination tournament that drew 80 students. “Malcolm Ramey 30k, the boy in the middle of the picture, with a light blue shirt on, won the tournament,” said a proud Balch.
– Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo by Graham Balch.

Sixth-grader Anthony Chiang 2d topped the Fifth Sunflower Happy Cup Youth Go Tournament, with four wins, on May 20 in Cupertino, California. “A record number of over fifty elementary and middle school kids gathered together on a beautiful Sunday afternoon and played four to five rounds of 19×19 games,” reports Yanping Zhao, who co-organized the event with Wenguang Wang.  Players earned prize tickets after each round, and then used them to exchange various fancy prizes. “It was our way  to ensure a really fun experience for every kid,” reports Zhao.  Each participant was also rewarded with a trophy and at the event’s conclusion, all the kids and their parents enjoyed a refreshing ice cream party.  – Report by Wenguang Wang; photo by Andrew Tung: Anthony Chiang is in the blue shirt.

With the deadline for early registration coming up on May 28, kids across the country are signing up for the AGA summer go camp.  “To me this is not a vacation: this is more like a pilgrimage that I need to take, not just for fun or to improve my skills, but as a young go player who wishes to be a part of the go community as much as possible,” writes Marcus Gould. The AGF is committed to helping youth who want to go but can’t afford it, and is holding a fund raising drive to support the camp.  Youth must write an essay if they want a scholarship, and their passion is evident from their submissions. “I want to go to the AGA Go Camp in order to advance my own game, and to meet other people who love go as much as I do.  Lately, I haven’t had too many chances to play go in real life, as opposed to online.  I see this as an awesome opportunity to play other players my level in real life,” writes David Gillule.  “My plane ticket is all the way from Salt Lake City, and is more expensive than the camp itself; it’s my summer job that’ll be paying this off,” writes Benson Merrill. The camp will take place the week before the Go Congress from July 28 to August 4 and will be held at the same location, the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, North Carolina.  AGF needs based scholarships are  available for players who can’t afford the full cost, and youth who played in the USYGC are eligible for a $400 scholarship to camp.  More details on AGF scholarships can be found here.  Sign up before May 28 and save $50 off the price of camp.  Details are on the camp website. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor. Photo: Kids take a break from studying to bury one of their counselors in pillows, photo by Amanda Miller (who is at the bottom of the pillow pile) from the 2010 Go Camp.

Bay Area k-12 schools are invited to compete in a half-day team contest in Cupertino, CA. Spectators are welcome, say organizers Kevin Huang and David Su,  and competition should be strong among the local stars.  Complete info is on the web here.  The tourney will be held Monday May 28, (Memorial Day) from 12pm-6pm, at the ThinkTank Learning Center. Schools that register by Tuesday, May 1st get a reduced rate of $15, the fee is $18 after the 1st.  Teams should contain three people. If a school has a shortage of players, players from different schools may register together as a team. The top 3 teams in each division will receive a prize, and participants will receive a team consolation prize.  Click here to register. -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.  Photo: promo poster by Innod.net, double-click on the image for a full size blow-up.