Hello Tournament Directors of the AGA,

I am writing because, according to the AGA events calendar, you have tournaments coming up in the next few weeks, and there are a few things you should know about.

The first thing is the AGA Tournament Directors' List. You probably are accustomed to downloading the TD List for use in your pairing software. Or maybe your software downloads it automatically. If you pair your tournament by hand, then probably you download it and open it in a spreadsheet, to more easily look up players' AGAID numbers when they arrive at your tournament. Either way, you've probably been getting the TD List from the Ratings Query page:
http://www.usgo.org/ratings/RatingsQuery.php

The list at that url is not necessarily the most current available. For example, at the time of this writing, it says "Last update: 10/16/2011". If you're holding your tournament today, you won't have AGAID and accurate membership status for those who used the online system to join or renew in the past few days. In some cases, they probably joined online specifically to play in your tournament.

To get the most current list, including changes as recent as a few seconds ago, use one of these:
TD List A (tab-delimited): https://usgo.org/mm/tdlista.txt
TD List N (fixed-width): https://usgo.org/mm/tdlistn.txt

Also, Sam Zimmerman is retiring after more than two decades stellar service to the AGA. You've probably been mailing paper membership forms and checks to him in Lancaster, PA; or else you've been mailing them to the P.O. Box at Old Chelsea Station. We'd prefer you do it a different way now.

If you're sending membership funds by check, that's fine. Include the membership forms, or a list explaining what is covered by the checks. (I am attaching revised membership forms for your convenience.) Throw it all into an envelope, and send it to Roy Schmidt (the AGA Treasurer):
American Go Association
6701 N Camelot Road
Peoria, IL 61615-2304

If instead you're transmitting the funds electronically, that's fine too. Go to http://www.paypal.com and make a payment for the total amount to treasurer@usgo.org. In the PayPal payment, please include a message that says this payment is for AGA dues collected by [chapter name] at [event name and date]. Then email the membership information that goes with these dues to treasurer@usgo.org and ratings@usgo.org. (Thanks to Roger Schrag for this tip!)

Either way you do it, for your tournament to be rated, I'll need some minimum information on new players to get them into the database -- name, address, and email address; preferably date of birth too. (The email address is so they can login to the AGA Members Area if they wish; date of birth is so I can try to make sure they're not the same person as someone else with a similar name.) It's best to put this at the end of the tournament report file that you email to ratings@usgo.org, or else in the email itself. If it's convenient, you can attach scans of the completed membership forms.

I need this information even for those who pay $10 for one-day ratings-only status. We need good info on those folks, too, to avoid duplicating them in the database.

Please let me know if you have any questions, of if you need help formatting the tournament results report.
Thanks for all you do for go in America, and good luck with your event! I hope everyone has an outstanding time.

--
Mike Malveaux
AGA Membership Database Coordinator

database@usgo.org
KGS, L19: hilltopgo

In the list of useful maxims-for-life -- right there alongside "always call your mother" and "always write those angry emails, but never send them" and "you'll never regret tomorrow not having that extra beer tonight" -- is "never pass up a chance to give a deserved compliment." Phony compliments are a whole different topic for another time. Ed: James is not a L19er, but rather a journalist

I was waiting for hilltopgo to say something so I could push the "like" button, but short of that-- Mike, thanks for doing a good job!