The US Youth Go Championship
The US Youth Go Championship series is the AGA's championship system for players under the age of eighteen. Sponsored by the Ing Wei-Chi Education Foundation, the USYGC consists of a series of eight regional qualfying events that culminate in a final tournament on Memorial Day weekend. With a series of tournaments spread over several months, the USYGC is one of the most extensive and rigorously contested go championships on the continent. The USYGC provides American youth with the opportunity to compete at the highest levels, improve their game and make new go-playing friends. The USYGC is also the selection tournament by which the AGA selects youth representatives to compete in the World Youth Goe Championship.
Prizes for the USYGC are significant. The champions of the final tournament in both the Senior and Junior Divisions will be selected to represent the US at the World Youth Goe Championships next summer. In addition, the American Go Foundation provides each finalist with a $400 scholarship to each year's AGA Summer Youth Go Camp.
Tournament System and Eligibility
The USYGC uses a series of eight regional qualifying tournaments, which are usually run as five-round Swiss tournaments over a single weekend. Registration is open to all North American youth players, although each player is limited to competing in two qualifiers in each tournament cycle. Youth players must meet an age requirement, which is calculated based on the date of each year's World Youth Goe Championship (usually held mid-August). Players under the age of twelve by that date qualify for the junior division; players under the age of eighteen play in the senior division.
To be selected for the finals, players must meet the following criteria:
- US citizenship by April 30 of each tournament cycle
- be a full, youth, sustaining, sponsor or life member of the AGA and remain a member until the final tournament
- have been resident in the USA (including territories and possessions) for at least six of the past twelve months. Time spent overseas as part of a military or diplomatic mission is counted as residence
- under the age of 12 (junior division) or 18 (senior division) on the date of the World Youth Goe Championship (mid-August).
For more information please contact the tournament coordinator at usygc@usgo.org.
Current event
The 2010 USYGC tournament is starting soon. Visit the tournament webpage for details.Past tournaments
| Year | Junior Champion | Senior Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Calvin Sun | William Zhou |
| 2008 | Calvin Sun | William Zhou |
| 2009 | Andrew Lu | Calvin Sun |
| 2010 |
Links
Visit our AGA Youth Events page for information on other youth tournaments and events.