Hi all,

I'm thinking about starting up a go club at my school. I think for go to spread, it really has to be a grassroots movement and start at the local club level. That being said, its a pretty daunting task. My school isn't known for being all too intellectual, and though it is a fairly large school - its sortof in the middle of nowhere in an atmosphere that doesn't seem all that conducive to raising go players. If you want to look it up, its SUNY Potsdam in New York.

Anyways, I don't have an immense amount of time/effort to spend - but let me brief you on my plans as of now, and you can help me with any suggestions if you would be so kind. I'm thinking that I will find or design some eye-catching flyers to put around campus that basically give a flashy but concise little overview of go - and it will have my contact information on it. I will tell them to contact me if they have any interest at all/know how to play already/want to improve/etc. and if there is enough interest, I will start an official club with the school. Do you think this is too little effort for the beginning stages? I'm not sure what else I could do.

If there is interest, I have 2 wooden table-boards with stones, a magnetic travel set, and about 5 plastic mats with only 1 set of stones.. so I think that it may be enough to just get started. I know that the AGF offers sets for up and coming clubs - but it seems to be only for clubs serving kids 18 and under (my club would be around age 17-23 for college). Anybody know if they have an option for campus clubs?

I don't have a demo board for teaching everybody at once, but I hope that I have enough experience to teach everyone.. I'm currently KGS 3 kyu. I'd be willing to devote an hour or two a week to teaching, but I don't have a TON of time being a computer science major with plenty to do.

Anybody have any comments/tips/whatever?

Thanks

Free cake.

Don't sell SUNY Potsdam short. You also have Clarkson students to draw from. It's possible some students have seen the Hikaru no Go anime. It is available on Hulu. You should offer free food (pizza?). You might get some limited financial support from the student government to get started. Mention Hikaru no Go on the posters you are going to put up in the campus center at SUNY and Clarkson. See if you can find one other person to play with and then play in public in the snack bar in the campus center. You'd be surprised how many people stop and ask what game that is. That gives you your opening to plug your club.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not really selling Potsdam short, but its no RIT - you know? Clarkson might be a little far to get any reasonable participation, but if Potsdam is wanting in interest I may give it a try. I also think the Hikaru no Go angle may play out.. and I have all the episodes on my computer that I could share with anybody who is interested I guess. I like the idea of playing in public to arouse interest - but I hope I can find somebody who is halfway decent to play against, because that would be awesome. I'm expecting to have to mostly teach beginners and build talent myself - but I am willing to do that because its important to helping out the go community and spreading the beautiful game. It would definitely be a plus if I could find somebody who already plays!

Gowan's last comment is very pertinent. I was going to post the same before I read it. Do not underestimate the effect of playing in public. Even if the club gets established doing so will be a good way to attract new people. Just make sure you are always will to pause your game and explain to anyone interested.

EDIT: You posted your reply while I was composing mine. I was assuming you already had at least on opponent. If you do not then how about sitting in some public area and play through some games on a board. It might take a few attempts but you could find someone who was curious that way. Better still, you might find someone who knows the game.

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Still officially AGA 5d but I play so irregularly these days that I am probably only 3d or 4d over the board (but hopefully still 5d in terms of knowledge, theory and the ability to contribute).

All I know is that SUNY and Clarkson are both in Potsdam, which must be a fairly small town. Clarkson is an engineering school with a pretty good reputation. Maybe there are some Asian students there who know the game. If you play in public, even if it is just playing through some game records, you might find a good opponent that way.

Since I've been very active in running the go club at Cornell for the two years I've been here, I can try to offer some advice. First to reiterate, playing in public is definitely a good idea. Fliers in math/science buildings would also help, as would a presence at Club Fair if you guys have something like that. Perhaps most importantly, make sure that you seem very friendly and opening to beginners, as these will be most of the people you may get to join. What we started doing at the begninng of these year was offering 5-10 minute lectures to beginners at the beginning of every meeting.

Oh and of course bring your club to the Cornell Open December 4

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"There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level." -- Bruce Lee

Read this thread from tigersmouth.org, the AGF's site for youth.

Funding for university Go Club

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Bay Area High School Go

Thanks, dtslife. That's definitely helpful, and it's quite useful to know that the AGF will do fund matching up to $50 for college clubs.