American Go E-Journal » Youth

Kids at Amberly Elementary School, in Portage MI,  learned about go this year. “Each year Amberly offers an opportunity for parents and members of the community to teach classes for an after school enrichment program,” writes Jason Preuss, whose daughter attends the school. “I decided it would be a great opportunity to introduce go.  The class met once a week for six weeks and had six students ranging from 1st to 5th grade.  It was enough time to cover the material in the first Level Up book.  The students enjoyed the class and the parents gave positive feedback. For my first time out I was pleased with how the class went. I would like to thank the AGF for their support, in particular the classroom start up kit.”
– EJ Youth Editor Paul Barchilon.  Photo by Jason Preuss
photo (l to r): Jason Preuss, Deidra Preuss, Alyson Koh, Jonathan Koh, Jonathan Ballard, Jacob Ballard. Not pictured: Zyad Wallace.

The United States Youth Go Championships will be held March 26, with finals on the first weekend in April. The tournament will be held online, and will select the US representatives to the World Youth Goe Championships, in Bucharest, Romania.  The Ing Foundation has just announced that the Senior Division will be limited to under 16, not under 18, as has been the case in the past.  The USYGC will still allow youth under 18 to compete for the US titles, and will determine National Dan, Single Digit Kyu (SDK), and Double Digit Kyu (DDK) Champions. The winners will receive trophies, and prizes will be awarded in the following brackets: 5-7 dan 1-4 dan, 1-4 kyu, 5-9 kyu, 10-15 kyu, 16-20 kyu, 21-25 kyu, 26 and up kyu.  Contestants will be entered into a pool to receive $400 scholarships to  this year’s AGA Summer Youth Go Camp, courtesy of the AGF, 16 Scholarships will be awarded. The Junior Division is for youth 11 and under, the Senior Division is for youth under 16 as of August 17, 2011. Only US Citizens may enter the finals, residents may compete in the qualifier; the winners must be able to travel to Romania for the finals, August 12-19 (expenses are covered for the youth players, but not for parents).  To register, e-mail youth@usgo.org with your name, AGA #, date of birth, AGA rating, KGS ID, and citizenship.
– Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor

Applications are now being accepted for the American Go Foundation(AGF) college scholarship. The program  recognizes high school students who have served as important youth organizers and promoters for the go community . To apply, download and complete the application form here. Applicants should describe their accomplishments and volunteer work in a short essay. Letters of recommendation may also be included. Applicants whose enthusiasm and ambition have helped spread go in under-served areas will be given special consideration. Strong players who spend much of their time voluntarily teaching will also be considered, although the award focuses on promoters and organizers who have made substantial contributions during their go career.  To read about former winners, check out Sensei #6.
– EJ Youth Editor Paul Barchilon.  Photo: 2010 scholarship recipient Cherry Shen.

Nominations for the AGF  Teacher of the Year are now open. The award is presented each year at the U.S. Go Congress and recognizes an outstanding American teacher. The winner  will receive an all expenses paid trip to the congress.  To be eligible, a teacher must be a member of the AGA, have been teaching go to children for at least two hours a week for two years, have started a go club or organization for youth, and have helped their students enter appropriate tournaments, if possible.  If you would like to nominate someone for this award, including yourself, e-mail agf@usgo.org.

Winston Jen, who previously donated thousands of dollars worth of anime (cartoons) and manga (comics) for AGA youth programs, is now donating 1,000 sets of the Hikaru no Go manga series. At 23 volumes of roughly 200 pages each, this represents 23,000 books.  The series follows the adventures of a 12-year-old boy in Japan, who becomes a professional go player.  Reading the series sparks tremendous interest in playing go among children (and adults too). The AGF is handling distribution of the sets, and is providing them for the cost of shipping to school and public libraries.  The AGF is also using the donation as a springboard for major outreach to libraries, and will be attending the American Library Association’s annual convention this June, in New Orleans.  15,000-20,000 librarians will be attending, and the AGF will staff a booth in the vendor area, where 2009 Teacher of the Year Josh Frye will join AGF board members in teaching librarians about go, and offering them free manga and equipment to launch programs.  Jen discovered go through Hikaru, and wants to share his love of the series with American kids.  Jen lives in Japan, and adds English subtitles to anime series, which are distributed on the internet.  Known as “fansubbing,” thousands of volunteers translate various series that otherwise might not receive an audience outside of Japan.  Hikaru was first translated by fansubbers, and might never have made it to the US if fansubbers hadn’t created a market for it first. “Fansubbing has increased my empathy for other cultures and inspired me to study harder than ever,” Jen told the Journal, “I’m currently in the midst of correcting TokyoPop’s Fruits Basket localization as part of my PhD in applied linguistics.” Jen’s fansub group C1anime, is looking for volunteers.  Current projects include Perrine, from the 19th century novel by Hector Malot, and a translation of the Anne Frank anime movie.  Interested parties should e-mail shannon-nii@hotmail.com.  Those who use Internet Relay Chat (IRC) can find C1 at #c1anime on Rizon.net.  Various C1anime series can be downloaded online.  – Paul Barchilon, E.J. Youth Editor

The AGHS School Teams Tourney has been pushed back one week, to avoid the New Jersey Open. The event will now be held on March 5 and 12. Full information, including registration, can be found on the AGHS website.

Registration for the AGHS School Teams Tournament is now open. There will be four rounds: Round 1 (12 pm ET) and Round 2 (5 pm ET) will be on February 26; Round 3 (12 pm ET) and Round 4 (5 pm ET) will be the next Saturday, March 5. Players must still be in High School, or younger, and no older than 20 as of February 26. Schools can register a maximum of three teams, each with three players and one alternate. Returning players, please note that the rules have changed for the 2011 tournament: only learning institutions, where a subject other than go is taught are eligible. Regular go clubs are NOT eligible unless they are based at a school. Players are encouraged to form teams from their public/private schools. Registration closes February 12.

Young American go players can now sign up for the 19th annual Redmond Cup Tournament. Preliminary games will be played on the Internet, courtesy of IGS-PandaNet, and the four finalists will be invited to the 2010 US Go Congress to play the final games. There are two divisions in the Cup; the Junior league for those aged less than 12 years and the Senior league for those 12 and older, but younger than 18, on August 1st 2011. Competitors in the Senior League must be playing at dan strength, in the Junior 5 kyu or stronger. The participants must be members of the American Go Association or the Canadian Go Association and either residents of the U.S., Canada or Mexico or citizens of the United States living anywhere in the world, provided that they are also members of the AGA. The tournament director for the Redmond Cup is Michael Bull; Ing rules of Goe for all games. To register e-mail youth@usgo.org with your name, address, phone #, date of birth, email address, AGA rating, and citizenship. The registration deadline is February 15, 2011 The Cup is sponsored by Michael Redmond 9P and his family, the American Go Association and the American Go Foundation. Photo: 2010 champions, Oliver Wolf 2d (l) Sponsor None Redmond (c), Henry Zhang 1K (r). Photo by Ling Shan. – Paul Barchilon, Youth Editor.