HOPEFULLY!

There doesn't seem to be a lot of interest, but I'm sure there are people who might be interested. I'm actually charming and quite convincing, so I'll probably recruit quite a few players individually in strange settings.

So the club will be mine. It's my first time starting a club of any kind, and with enough thrust and parry I've managed to (sort of) hold it at the city library. I'm waiting to get my equipment (the fantastic AGA starter set) and get rolling.

I'm planning to advertise through Kijiji and hopefully the local paper in the community events section. I have essentially no money so I'm going to have to grab any freebies I can. Playing with people in public is a good idea.

I wanted to advertise in the multitude of small community papers you find in shops and whatnot, but they've mysteriously disappeared without a trace just recently.

Other than that, I can't wait to:

1) Get my first set of beginners and teach them, and;

2) Get my first strong player and get horribly mauled

I've played around with different teaching styles and I think I'm going to instruct people in a controlled manner as to not overwhelm them, and give them concrete examples of everything I teach. I've ironed out my tendency to teach ten things at once, and realized the power of a gentle nudge in the right direction, especially if it's asked for.

Overall I'm very excited. It's a small town and so far the climate doesn't appear too promising. People here are afraid to do anything mentally straining and have a phobia of board games. Hopefully I can pick up and retain enough rare gems to make it work.

For similar reasons I'm going to stick with "Vernon Go Club". 'Vernon' anything seems to work out in this area. Anything not 'Vernon' dies out.

I've read some threads in this section, but any extra tips, advice and insight is always very welcome.

Congratulations and good luck!

I think your teaching method is best, keep things simple. Don't overwhelm the student with advice about strategy and shapes, but let them discover the basics through play. Atari Go is very useful for this, especially on a 9x9 board.

Keep us posted on your progress.

First update: good and bad

First the good news: I've received the starter set! It's good stuff, and I definitely will need this equipment to start. I've actually taken to reviewing with them. I never realized just how small my briefcase-style set was until I compared the stones to the ones in the starter set.

So I'm ready to start.

Except my schedule has been jumbled up beyond repair, with shifts starting at 6:30 am, some at 3 pm and some overnight from 11pm. So I've been getting sleep when I can and it's very hard to plan any sort of activity. This will stop by the week after this one, but still, it's lost time. I feel I'm at odds against Christmas enough as it is.

I also haven't found another willing Go player. I used to work in a Chinese food restaurant and the owner assured me that no one in his family or circle of friends and contacts played the game (just my luck!). I've posted ineffectual ads online and the only acquaintance in the area who has played before is not keeping in touch.

So for the moment I'm just hoping to find a few people who would like to learn and maybe help out with prospecting. I would need at least one more person to either play in public (and catch the eye) or start an actual event.

So I'm looking. Wish me luck!

Second Update: Dead Club

I've been slowly getting people to come to the group. A new friend of mine has showed up every time for the past five or so weeks. He's getting good at it quickly. We even have some young blood now, most of which are siblings. It's great for competition. The 'kids' don't learn very quickly, but they have a lot of fun. That's half of what Go is about, right?

So why the glum title you ask? Well, a bit of background...

I moved to this town a little over two years ago. I've been struggling with finding and holding a job since I set foot in the place. I'm young, smart (138+ IQ), able, have the right attitude and my very own professional code. Problem is, employers seem to love doing all things illegal, ripping off their employees, messing with their hours (and livelihood) and firing them near the end of their probation period. Saves them money apparently.

This new place, the first real hope I've had in two years, has hired me on full-time at a respectable wage promising me a permanent spot if I was right for the job. Turns out they had been planning to close down the location and move to the US way before they hired me (and a bunch of others). Everyone was laid off yesterday.

There's no way for me to survive in this town. I've tried for over two years and have barely been able to feed myself. I can't put into words how much I was looking forward to starting and running a club and spreading Go in my community. Now that dream is dead.

My wife and I are looking to scout out a 2000-people town in Saskatchewan with cheap rent. We have to leave this place, otherwise we'll end up on the streets in a matter of months. I will most likely try to get some people into this game over there after a few months, but I had to work hard to get a few people (all through personal contacts) in a town of 50,000. And it's isolated enough that it wouldn't really spread outside the town.

I might ask my friend if he wants to take over the group. He hardly knows anything about Go, but it's better than nothing. Either way, this is the end of the line for me. There's nothing more I can do.

Perhaps it's "Club continues with new leadership." and "New Club Started in Sascatchawan!" ?

_________________
Founder, Central Mississippi Go Club
Free tips and resources for clubs and teaching
Go Kit Club Pack - pack of 13x13 go sets for clubs
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It'll be difficult, but I will try my damnedest to get a new club started in that town. Once I get settled in. Not sure if this sort of tiny, conservative prairies community will take to it, but I'll go through it.

My friend isn't much of a leader at all. Very reserved, keeps to himself. But he comes in every Sunday on time like clockwork. He's extremely reliable.

I don't know. I'll see how I can help and whether he would be willing to carry the torch. Bottom line, it really hurts to have to let this go...

this is actually the most important part.