84 Compete in School Teams Tourney
Paul Barchilon | Published on 5/6/2014
The School Team Tournament drew 84 kids and teens, reports organizer Calvin Sun 1P. Held on KGS, March 22 and 29, the event is organized by the American Go Honor Society (AGHS) every year. “28 teams of three competed in four divisions to claim the title of best youth team in North America,” said Sun, “ranks ranged from 25k to 6d.” Top honors in the Varsity division went to Diamond Bar High School, CA. "I want to thank AGHS and our tournament organizers for running such an amazing event," said team leader Yunxuan Li 6d. "It was very fun and exciting to compete with other go clubs throughout North America. Our club started this school year (see E-J 11-5-13) and I was pretty surprised that we won the tournament after such a short time period. We got lucky in a lot of our games. This is a great event for our youth players and it is really wonderful to see new clubs playing in it and enjoying it every year.”The Junior Varsity division was topped by reigning champions, Cary Christian School, from North Carolina, who have fielded multiple teams for the past several year, often winning one or more divisions. “The kids really enjoyed it,” said Team Advisor Jeff Kuang, “especially, the kids in CCS Team one (who took first place). They learned not only go skills but also online playing experience and etiquette.” Another new team, David Douglas High School, from Portland, OR, took top honors in the Intermediate division. “It was a very pleasant surprise,” said club president Andrew Nguy 19k, “it was our first tournament, and none of us really expected to even place, much less win first.” Rounding out the winners list in the Novice division was a team from CNY Chinese School in Manlius New York, which was coached by the 2013 AGF Teacher of the Year Richard Moseson. “This was my first online tournament,” said 8-year-old Liya Luk, who played first board. “I liked it because it lasted two Saturdays, so our team could prepare in between the Saturdays. I had lots of fun doing the tournament.” -Paul Barchilon, E-J Youth Editor.
Photo by Siddhartha Avila: Youth from Mexico City competed from the public library. Avila's students from multiple locations, fielded five teams.