The US Youth Go Championship
The US Youth Go Championship (USYGC) is an online tournament for players 18 and under. It provides American youth with the opportunity to compete at the highest levels, improve their game and make new go-playing friends.
Held each January, this tournament determines the U.S. National Dan, Single Digit Kyu (SDK) and Double Digit Kyu (DDK) Champions. The top qualifying players in the under 12 and 12-16 age brackets are selected to represent the US in the World Youth Goe Championship. All contestants are entered into a pool to receive a scholarship to the Summer Youth Go Camp. Prizes are also awarded for winners 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.
Tournament System and Eligibility
The USYGC consists of a qualifier tournament and a final tournament. All matches are held online. Eligibility rules are listed below. Please note that eligibility rules for the qualifier tournaments and the final tournament are different.
Qualifier Tournament
- US resident
- Under 18 by the date of the World Youth Goe Championship
- Member of the AGA
Final Tournament
- US citizen
- Under 16 by the date of the World Youth Goe Championship
- Member of the AGA
The top four eligible players from the qualifier tournaments will compete in the final tournament to determine the US representatives to the World Youth Goe Championship. The finals are usually double elimination. If all four contestants live in the same area, an in-person match may be set up instead of an online one. The representatives to the World Youth Championship will receive an all expenses paid trip to the site of the competition. Parents will be required to pay their own way. Any youth who wins four years in a row will be required to take one year off from competing, and may then re-enter the competition.
Visit the Youth Events page for more information about the next USYGC and other youth tournaments and events. For more information, please contact youth@usgo.org.
Past tournaments
| Year | Junior Champion | Senior Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Calvin Sun | William Zhou |
| 2008 | Calvin Sun | William Zhou |
| 2009 | Andrew Lu | Calvin Sun |
| 2010 | Kevin Fang | Calvin Sun |
| 2011 | Aaron Ye | Vincent Zhuang |