How many go clubs have you visited?

[sybob]

So, how many go clubs have you people actually visited and played?

Just your local club? Or more (if so, how many?)?
Or do you only play online?
Maybe you participate in a go competition and visit other clubs more or less regularly?
Do you visit other go clubs during trips and vacation?
What is your go club visiting behaviour? Frequency (per year or over the years-how many years?), places (bar, cultural centre, public park, beach or whatever), cities, countries perhaps?
Have stronger players visited more clubs? Any relationship between number of visits and number of clubs visited with strength?

Couldn't find much information about club visits in other topics and was just wondering.

[EdLee]

99.5+% local. ( 2002 - 2018: ~1,400 local, ~5 to next nearest club ).

2011 Japan: ~5 Go salon visits over 2 weeks, including the Nihon Kiin HQ.
( Ran into Michael Redmond in the hallway. )

[Vesa]

I wonder... During my go tournament trips I've visited maybe a hundred or so clubs/playing premises.

I remember time when I used to take an advantage of my business or after-go-tournament trips and in the evenings drop by into a local club. Off the top of my head these include:

Finland: Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Turku, Tampere, Oulu
Sweden: Stockholm
Germany: Hannover
Russia: Petrozavodsk
Spain: Barcelona
Cyprus: Nicosia
UK: Bournemouth, Edinburgh
Australia: Melbourne
Brazil: Sao Paulo Nihon Ki-in
China: Beijing Japan-China Friendship Association
Japan: several, from Morioka to Kumamoto, the most frequent one was Takadanobaba Go Club in Tokyo.

Cheers,
Vesa

[Knotwilg]

In Belgium I have visited every club, at least those which existed at the time I was the president of our small federation.
Tournaments, not too many - I never liked those all that much.

When living in Lisbon I visited the only club there.
When travelling for business: Lodz, Moscow, Turin, Geneva, Amsterdam, ... and then some I guess.

Turin was a particularly good experience. A beautiful town, great hospitality by the couple running the club.

[Javaness2]

Not that many. In order of preference they are
Aligre, Belfast, Bucharest (I forget the proper name), Cambridge(CB1/Gradpad/College), Central Paris, CLGC, Collegians, Durham, Helsinki #1, Helsinki #2, Pantin, Paris-'Weidong', Tampere, Tokyo (a club somewhere in Tokyo).

[HKA]

Interesting question.

Actual club visits, current and defunct - Baltimore, Towson, Johns Hopkins, UMBC, NOVA, HOCOGO, Mid Atlantic Baduk Association, Greater Washington Go Club, Wheaton Baduk, Howard County, National Go Center, Miami Go Club, Nihon Kiin, Hong Kong Go Association. Lancaster Go Club, New York Wei Chi Society, New York Go Club, Frederick Go Club, Amity Go (Delaware).

Visits for tournaments - not necessarily the club site - Empty SKy, Harrisburg, Raliegh, Durham, Penn Go Society, Philadelphia, Cleveland.

I also have been to a few Congresses

[sybob]

This topic is now 9 days old and has generated only a few posts.
I kindly thank people for responses, but, given low number, may I tentatively conclude that go club visiting behaviour is not of very much interest to most people? I would consider that a pity, as go clubs contribute so much.

[jlt]

I have been to the same club since I started go (about 2 years ago), once a week except during vacation or when I participate in a tournament. I plan to visit another club from time to time, to meet different people.

[EdLee]

Hi sybob,

Perhaps it's different than say bar-hopping or tasting different restaurants...

[Kirby]

I've been to the following US Go Clubs:
Ann Arbor
Seattle
Microsoft (I kind of organized it)
Evanstan
Schaumburg
Michigan Tech
Berkeley
Palo Alto
San Francisco
Sunnyvale

In Japan, I visited various go clubs in:
Sendai (Tohoku University + others)
Tokyo
Nagoya

In Korea, I visited go clubs in:
Seoul
Daegu
Gyeongsan

I've also been to some go congresses and other tournaments, but I won't count those.

[Elom]

Hi sybob,

Perhaps it's different than say bar-hopping or tasting different restaurants...

Someone's going to take that idea and make the Go Club Go Prix.

[Calvin Clark]

US:
Palo Alto (which doesn't meet in Palo Alto, but rather Menlo Park)
(b) Mayfield (which does/did meet in Palo Alto)
San Francisco
Austin
(b?) Evanston
Seattle

Ireland:
(b*) Dublin

Australia:
(*) Sydney

Key:

* = showed up, but no players were there
b = possible to get beer, because it meets/did meet either in a pub or other food establishment. I may be wrong about Evanston.

There was a time when I traveled a lot for business and that explains the countries and a couple of the US cities. But my schedule did not often permit me to visit clubs. What I have learned is you can't just show up because you have a free hour or two, even if the club has a posted schedule, because attendance varies a lot and many listed clubs are defunct. A club may be an hour drive or train ride outside of a major city. It requires some planning. I think this is why people who played go before the internet knew each other pretty well. You're visiting people, not locations.

It's a bit weird that I have never visited the Berkeley club, but I rarely have reasons to be in that area.

Now that I travel much less, it's even less likely that this list will increase. Maybe when I retire I'll get a chance. I would like to see the new National Go Center in DC, or anything in Asia.

[Calvin Clark]

I also have been to a few Congresses

A master of understatement, I see.

[schultz]

Just one for me:
Gallatin Valley Go Club (Bozeman, MT) - Now long defunct

I've driven by the Seattle Go club a few times when I was visiting Seattle with the wife, but never had any time to stop in. Will need to make that happen the next time I'm there - at least so I can double my Go club count!

With only four clubs in total in my state, and I think all of them are currently defunct (the last one that had official AGA chapter status recently lost it, so maybe the membership just lapsed?), not much club prospects for me in my area. Being in the fourth largest state (by area) makes it a non-insignificant journey to get to a different club (even if they existed). Nearest one (if it was active) is at least a 1.5 hour drive away. Next closest... at least three hours.

Side note: This also reminds me, who do I need to get in touch with to get the information on my old club updated on the chapter list at usgo.org? I've tried emailing the database (at) usgo.org email address multiple times and have had no success. It's a little sad to see even the website for the old club is no longer accurate and instead is now a site for a Chinese company selling sewage treatment products.

[Kirby]

I've driven by the Seattle Go club a few times when I was visiting Seattle with the wife, but never had any time to stop in. Will need to make that happen the next time I'm there - at least so I can double my Go club count!

Tuesdays are a good choice, if you have any flexibility on the day of the week that you stop by.

Side note: This also reminds me, who do I need to get in touch with to get the information on my old club updated on the chapter list at usgo.org? I've tried emailing the database (at) usgo.org email address multiple times and have had no success.

The database address you're referencing worked for updating contact information for the Microsoft Go Club, but that was back in 2015 - maybe things have changed since then.