My experiences from the 2015 U.S. Go Congress

[xed_over]

I was inspired by the two sessions I attended in the Teacher's Workshop and maybe next year I'll complete the 8 hours required to get an AGA certificate, though I'm not sure how to find the time do anything with it.

The first year they did the Workshop in Tacoma, I was too busy and couldn't attend, but I really wanted to.
The next year in New York, they shortened the time for the games, so I had more free time... but I was in New York, so I went sightseeing instead
This year, I really enjoyed being able to participate and get my official certificate -- I'm now certified to teach up to 15k Who knew? (Probably because I haven't played a rated game since 2009, I'm sure my own rating is lagging a bit.)

I also attended the Tournament Director workshop. They're not offering certificates yet. Its a good thing. Its still a work in progress. I thought I didn't know very much, but I was really surprised how much less the speakers knew on some specific topics -- including lots of mis-information (some from our very own Seattlites)!

I intend to work closer with Chris on improving this workshop for future years.

[Inkwolf]

Have you ever sponsored a GO demo day at the library? And do you have the Hikaru series in paperback or video?

Yes to all.

How has the response been with the videos and demo?

Well, we started out with three demo/teaching days. Some of those people returned when the club started up. I'm not sure if any of our members ever started because of Hikaru No Go, but I do know that it helps keep them enthusiastic! We all have a fandom to share as well as a game to play.

We offered another beginner teaching session on International Go Teaching Day last year, but nobody turned up.

There was a surge of interest when three of our kids joined the Anerican Go Honor Society's school tournament on KGS. After they talked about competing at school, several of their classmates turned up to learn. Though none of those kids stuck around, at least they know what Go is now.

[wineandgolover]

So this seems to be the US Go Congress thread? Thanks for starting and it and posting detailed notes. Calvin!

We seriously need to find a way to identify fellow L19'ers at Congress. I know Brian, Kevin, Andy, and Andrew, and hung out some with each of them, but not the rest of you. I'd have given inkwolf a hug for her work on Aji's Quest, if I'd have known her. Hell, I didn't even know inkwolf was a she.

Congress is funny. When I first attended (say my first couple or three) it was all about the go, that is what I looked forward to, and what I did when I got there. I played lots, attended workshops, had game reviews, enriched the vendors, and absorbed all the go I could. But then I found that I began to look forward to reuniting people that I hadn't seen for a year, even more than the go. I mean, I still get game reviews, and attend a few lectures, but I enjoy the dinners out and bars, too. A few of us talked about it and agreed that the Congress was almost an excuse for friends to get together each year. Anyway, that transformation from it being about the go to being around friends is pretty cool, and I hope others feel the same.

Let's see, what will I remember about this year's Congress (that I can say publicly)?

Alas, somehow my suite got assigned as a party suite this year (again). So, early on I only averaged five hours of sleep per night, decreasing to three or four by the end. Can I use that as an excuse for going 2-4 in the Open? Maybe next year, I should give sleep a little higher priority.

Most years we play lots of crazy go in the off hours. But this year's downtime was dominated by a few boardgames, mostly Resistance and One Night Ultimate Werewolf. I've played Resistance before, but folks at Congress took it quite seriously (Andrew, I'm looking at you), and played at a reasonably high level, so I learned a lot. We even got Hajin Lee (Haylee) to play. Overall, it was good fun.

I also got a new pair-go partner who kicked ass, and played way above her rating. (Hi Laura!) We agreed to not be competitive at all, and just play for fun, snuck in some beers, and had a ball. We saw some pictures that indicated that in Europe cross-dressing males could play as women in pair-go. Is this true? What a great idea. IMHO, that could increase the fun-level, even if those couples weren't permitted to qualify to play in Japan.

I'm sure I'm missing stuff, but will hit "submit" anyway.

BTW, in case other posters here might know me, I'm Brady. Please say hi, so I knew who you are next year.

[often]

I only know brady. I have no idea who the heck any of the rest of you are, haha.

[Kirby]

Doesn't do much good to post about it now, but I'd like the record to show that I spent about an hour and a half writing a day-by-day diary of my perspective of the 2015 Go Congress (plus kudos to Brady, who is a great guy to meet at congress) - which somehow got lost when I tried to submit it. Maybe I'll try again, but in any case, I'd recommend attending next year's congress if you get the chance

[daal]

Doesn't do much good to post about it now, but I'd like the record to show that I spent about an hour and a half writing a day-by-day diary of my perspective of the 2015 Go Congress (plus kudos to Brady, who is a great guy to meet at congress) - which somehow got lost when I tried to submit it. Maybe I'll try again, but in any case, I'd recommend attending next year's congress if you get the chance

What a shame! I would have loved to hear about your experiences - you must have had quite an interesting time there!

BTW., don't let it happen again: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefo ... -recovery/ (also available for other browsers).