Hi All,

I am going to the US Go Congress for the first time this year and am very excited!

There is a major price difference for Registration Fee between Adult and Non-Participant ($425 to $110). Does anyone know the differences between them?

I don't plan on competing in the main tournament. I was hoping to play with others casually, meet a larger Go community, pick up some merch, watch games and attend lectures.

Do you need to be Registered Adult to play in the side? tourneys and go to lectures??

The website is not very clear on this.

Either way, I am looking forward to going and will do the full fee if it is definitely a better package. Just hoping for some guidance.

Any other advice about attending is welcomed and much appreciated.

Thank you all in advance for your time reading and responding.

Best,
ZP

AFAIK, you can use the cheaper option if you won’t participate in the US Open, but I’m not 100% sure.

I will be there, though. We should meet up

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be immersed

Thank you Kirby, I was just looking at one of your self review posts. Make sure you get some sleep before Congress We will have to meet up.

Welcome! I will be there too. My advice would be to write to someone official (here is the contact page) and ask.

If you look at the 2018 site it says that "non-participants" means "attendees who are not participating in tournaments, simuls, lectures, or workshops." So officially it limits you to doing things like just hanging out, playing casual games, and buying merch, and side tournaments and lectures are pretty explicitly excluded. I think it is mostly meant for people like parents and spouses.

I guarantee you that once you show up you will want to attend lectures, check out some game review sessions, maybe play in a side tournament. And I would also encourage you to play in the Open! It is really the main event bonding everyone together. There is something about being in a big room with hundreds of people concentrating very hard that I find very calming and energizing at once.

That said, there are (almost certainly) not going to be any security guards scrutinizing everyone's passes with a baleful eye, so it wouldn't be hard to sneak into lectures (though you didn't hear it from me). But if you have no problem paying the full fee and being a full participant, I would go for it.

@dfan - if I'm not mistaken, it may be the first time we meet, as well. I'm looking forward to it

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be immersed

Thank you for this information and see you there!

Maybe I will play in the Open! I play on the internet and I have not played a full game over a real board so my counting could be bad. Are there people to help count if both players can't settle on a score?

I promise not to sneak into lectures haha tho I appreciate the looking out. I think I would regret not taking the leap and being able to experience everything.

A suggestion: before rearranging stones, take a photo of the board, so that you can refer to the picture if you and your opponent disagree on the score.

Agreed on taking pictures of the board before counting. I still do it in tournament games. You will find that the players are very welcoming of newbies and will be eager to help out. If both you and your opponent need help with manual counting, it will be easy to get help.

If you don't you will be missing the essential experience. I say do it.

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Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement all!

Currently scheduled for Tuesday afternoon of congress

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Decisions are made by those who show up.
and possibly those willing to attend secret meetings in ancient basements