vash3g wrote:5 people in the car on the way there, 6 on the way back.
I am afraid to ask
First thing I thought of was a person so addicted to go that even a full-term pregnancy was not a deterrent.
Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).
If I didn't have to be one to attend the Congress I certainly wouldn't be a member at all.
The AGA has never done anything for me.
I suspect the US Congress fees are more expensive than the EGC's fees despite being only 1/2 as long.
I think the AGA just needs to do a better job all around. It needs to do more, better, more content, better content.
I don't know what its like to be an American exposed to Go with only the lens of an English speaker. I am quadrilingual ...ish. I certainly have enough kanji to read newspapers and such and can read Korean more or less fluently.
Thus, Shuukan Go/Baduk Monthly and various websites like Badukworld, cyberoro, etc. all give me much more than I would have otherwise.
One piece of advice is, if the AGA likes the captive strategy of 'you can't play at congress unless you are a member' then it should have a great content filled website complete with joseki/fuseki databases, go problems and news and do the same thing.
The AGA needs to learn that it should control the information flow and give out more and better info.