Here we are once again, this time for the 2009 Orlando Go Tournament @ UCF. I hope those of you that went to the 2007 and 2008 tournaments will come again, and that as many new players as possible join us. There will be competition for players of any strength from all around the state [and sometimes beyond]. For both the last tournaments we achieved 30 participants, but both Orlando and Florida as a whole have grown since last year [also gas doesn’t cost a billion dollars]. This time I want to blow that figure out of the water 🙂 Anyway, until that time I thought I should get all the information straight with everyone. Here is the tournament flyer, so please pass it along to anyone who might be interested.
Like last year, you will have to register with the AGA either at the door or beforehand[see details here]. However, this year we’re going to have a few differences, this one everyone should like. Primarily, there will be no tournament fee this time [you still have to pay AGA membership fees]. Why/How you might ask? Well, the Go Club, UCF Chapter has just become an official club here at UCF. That means that while we can reserve the rooms for no cost because of our club, charging an entrance fee is forbidden. They told me that they’ll still allow people to register for the AGA since I won’t keep the money, and any 100% optional donations, but that’s all.
Additionally, because this room is being reserved under our club, I am liable for any damages that may be incurred upon the room or yourselves. While this would certainly be a rare occurrence, please don’t break any bones while you’re there 🙂 Also, please leave the room we are in completely undamaged; UCF will fine me a few hundred dollars if we damage it!!
For the last two tournaments, the primary cost that the entrance fee repaid was the room reservation cost. Without that cost, my only costs will be food and a few more prizes [most were donated]. We’ll be having an optional “donation bucket”, which they told me was fine as long as I clearly signaled that it was 100% optional.
Anyway, I hope to see all of you there!! If for any reason you need to contact me, you can reach me at Masterman535@gmail.com. Also make sure to check out our tournament blog at http://ogt09.blogspot.com, where I’ll be listing any updates, as well as details, whose coming, and other pertinent information.
***PLEASE SEND ME YOUR COMPLETED REGISTRATION FORM EITHER ONLINE OR IN THE MAIL; I NEED TO KNOW WHO IS COMING***
See ya’ll there!!
Joshua Lee,
Tournament Organizer, 2009 Orlando Go Tournament
The tournament is about 4 weeks away, so I thought I’d send everyone an update. As always, for those of you that run a club, please forward this email to the members of your club. Anyway, preparations are going well. The room is reserved, and we’ve gotten some great prize donations so far this year. I thought I’d send out an email answering a few frequently asked questions, and also to request some information.
First off, I need to know how many people are coming. For those in the Orlando club, if you could just send me an email saying that you’re coming [if you are] I’d be thankful. For those of you that run a club, if you could please ask around in your club who is coming [or at least likely to come] I’d be very thankful. I don’t know whether to expect 30 or 50 people, and it’s a bit frustrating when trying to plan out how to set up the room. Additionally, everyone please make sure to bring your board, stones, and a clock [if you have one].
On clocks specifically, I need to know how many we have. If you or your club are bringing some, please inform me ASAP.
Also, a few questions have been repeatedly asked, so I thought I’d answer them here:
Are there handicap games/Will I be playing a lot of handicap games?
Yes there will be handicap games. We won’t have enough players to ensure that everyone can continually play even games. We’re going to be using a great piece of software called PyTD. Generally speaking, the vast majority of games will not be played with more than 6 handicap stones. For those in the Dan Division, they probably won’t be with more than 3 stones.
If I’m 5kyu and my opponent is 10kyu, do I play at a 5 stone handicap?
Sometimes. This is a popular question and also something that can cause conflict. Our handicap system is an adaptive one. It takes a look at where your AGA rating is specifically [for instance, a rating of 3.1 and 3.9 are often paired differently]. It also takes a look at how many wins and losses you’ve gotten, and how stable your rating is, among other factors. This leads to some variance in the handicapping. A 5 kyu vs a 10kyu might be paired at 5 stones, but due to a variety of other factors, it might be 4 or 6 stones.
Since quite a few tournament participants do not have a stable and well-established AGA rating, an adaptive system is necessary to account for rating mistakes when entering [it also discourages sandbagging]. While this adaptive system has sometimes caused problems, it’s meant to solve more problems than in creates and through the last two tournaments I believe it did.
Are we playing with Japanese rules?
No. Since this is an AGA-sanctioned tournament, we will be using AGA rules. These are different than Japanese rules in a few important aspects, and we’ll take a close look at them before the tournament starts.
What prizes are there?
I don’t want to spoil the fun about exactly what the prizes are, but be sure that there will be many books, as well as a few pieces of go equipment. Exact prize distribution will be announced at the tournament.
Hope to see everyone there!!,
Joshua Lee
Tournament Organizer, 2009 Orlando Go Tournament
Hey everyone,
As always, please forward this email to your members if you happen to run a club.
Thank you everyone for coming to the tournament! We had a record turnout of 40 people and I had a great time running it, and was even able to play 4 rounds. If it wasn’t for a certain Ft. Myers club that happens to have a gigantic pool of enthusiastic Middle School students, it would have been the “Biggest Tournament Ever in Florida”, but it’s not like I’m competing or anything 🙂
Karsten, I’ll have my revenge for the defeat you handed me, have no doubt about it!! Right now you’re beating me 2-1 overall I think. Spencer, please send me an email with your most current KGS account so I can forward it to breakfast for that free lesson that you “won”.
One more piece of business: If all of you would like to thank me, there is one simple thing all of you who came can do to help improve the Florida Go community for a long time to come:
Please email Pong Yen at pong@ymimports.com and William Cobb at wmscobb@comcast.net. Yellow Mountain Imports and Slate and Shell [Pong Yen runs Yellow Mountain Imports and William Cobb runs Slate and Shell] provided almost all the prizes you saw, totally free of charge, including shipping. Slate and Shell provided the vast majority of the books and YMImports gave us those lovely stones and a few more books (and I think that shirt too!).
Even if you didn’t win anything, please send them each a big thank you email! Despite this recession they both gave as generously as the last two years, and were one reason that nobody had to pay anything besides AGA fees. As a tournament organizer, I can tell you we rely on the kindness of businesses like these to help us make tournaments a cost-efficient success.
If you’re looking for a new go board or stones, please check out http://www.ymimports.com and if you’re in the market for some superb English Go books please check out http://www.slateandshell.com. Nothing makes businesses more likely to be generous in the future than knowing that their advertising works.
Thanks again everyone for coming. I’ll be away for most of the Summer, but reappearing at the Go Congress. It’s in Washington D.C. this year, and it’ll probably not be closer for who knows how long.
Sincerely,
Joshua Lee
Tournament Organizer, 2010 Orlando Go Tournament 🙂