EGF Ideas Page

This page contains ideas that you and your association may like to try to encourage more people to play go or for those who do to get more out of the game. Please feel free to send in additional suggestions. The ideas are split into various helpful categories.

Clubs

  • When setting up a club consider its venue. It could be a bar, cafe, university room, public room, community centre or hall.
  • Consider the day of the week and the time of day. People are usually less busy earlier in the week, or a weekend day time club could be considered. You may wish to make the club family oriented or if just adults play then a smoky bar could do.
  • Have a welcomer to greet to players and make them welcome.
  • Run club tournaments such as lightning or rengo, run regular teaching sessions, run social events such as parties or meals.
  • Run a club ladder so that players know their level and what handicaps to play.
  • Get a list of local players from your membership secretary and encourage them to the club.
  • Get your association to lend sets to a new club so they have enough to play on.

Tournaments

  • Run regular tournaments around your country in various styles: McMahon, Swiss, Knockout. Have events with different time limits for instance lightning, rapid play, one hour, longer. Have events that last different numbers of days, for example one day, weekend, longer over a holiday period. Do not always have events on the same day of the week as some folk may work that day.
  • Run continuous small board competitions during a tournament for players who end quickly. Award a team prize for the group of players with the best percentage. Award a first entry prize to encourage early entries, or charge a late entry fee.
  • Produce an entry form to send out to members or to distribute at tournaments. Have a web page for entry details: possibly with a form that automatically sends to organiser. List all events on a tournament calendar for your association.
  • Keep a national supply of sets, boards and clocks for loan to each tournament (possibly Ing sets/timers). Keep a special supply of high quality sets for special events and championships.
  • Provide a lap top computer and printer for use for the draw program.
  • Provide a mobile phone and digital camera so that late comers can ring the event, and pictures of the event can be uploaded immediately on to the web.
  • Get sponsors to provide good prizes. Select appropriate prizes: money, wine, chocolates, go books and material, oriental things.
  • Run a Grand Prix for top players (for example a point for each win above the bar) or for children (attendance points and winning points).
  • Provide puzzles or quizzes to give variety and interest to the day. Problem sheets work well at kids' events.
  • Run specialist events: team tournaments, youth events, Pair Go, women's.
  • Run an Internet tournament, possible held in a dedicated room.
  • Run a national championship: possibly multi-stage including qualifying events.
  • Provide a book and equipment shop at your tournament.
  • Provide a creche or other child care for those with young families. Provide a play area for those who want to play football between games.
  • Share a tournament venue with an event for another mind sport.
  • Run a teaching activity as part of the tournament.

Teaching

  • Publish teaching material, possibly by translating into your language.
  • Run teaching days for different strengths, such as dan players, kyus, beginners.
  • Arrange for a dan player visit to a club meeting.
  • Provide monitors at tournaments who are willing to analyse games.
  • Run an analysis system, with a national analyst and team, for people to send games for comment. Run a teaching ladder where folk get help from those higher up.
  • Invite a professional or very strong player to run a teaching session, play simultaneous and so on.
  • Use Yasuda Method of capture go to teach beginners.

Publicity and Outreach

  • Send Press Releases to newspapers and media when a local event happens, a local player does well, a professional visits, or a top European event occurs. Contact various kinds of media: Television, radio, local and national newspaper, general interest and company magazines and so on.
  • Attend various kinds of festivaloriental festivals (matsuri), city fairs, university freshers' fairs, game festivals and so on.
  • Provide lectures and demonstrations for various oriental societies, general interest groups, bookshops and libraries.
  • Work with Able and Gifted Children organisations. Get go featured in summer schools and camps.
  • Have a teaching stand at Mind Sports Olympiads.
  • Provide cardboard starter sets (cost about 1 euro) and leaflets/fliers to each beginner. Print bookmarks with go details on and leave in bookshops and libraries.
  • Ensure your association is registered with the oriental embassies, sports and games organisations, local information lists and so on.
  • Play Go in Public Places, such as parks or shopping malls.

Publications

  • Produce a nation Go Journal. This can be every one, two or three months. It should contain a mix of material: reports, results, didactic material, games, puzzles, photographs.
  • Produce a Newsletter to allow more timely despatch of news and information. Send entry forms out with it.
  • Produce an E-Journal sending out regular news reports, or have a continually updated news web page.
  • Have mailing lists of go information or for discussion. Have a separate discussion list or bulletin board.
  • Provide a Youth newsletter to encourage youth players and school clubs.
  • Produce your own Teaching material.
  • Have a national Web Site contain lists of clubs, events, news, results, contacts and general information.
  • Provide space for club web pages offering a template for ease of writing. Club pages can be linked to by local community and club pages.

Admin

  • As well as Executive Committee Meetings have an email discussion list for executive.
  • Solicit donations from members for particular uses such as Youth work, Pair Go.
  • Charge an annual membership fee, fee level depending on class for instance adult, family, concessionary.
  • Allow for multiple year memberships for ease of paying, especially from overseas.
  • Get a reciprocal membership arrangement with another country whose players often join yours.
  • Issue Membership Cards. Have a questionnaire as to members needs for services and so on.