Starting a Youth Go Club

The BGA has a number of services that help you set up and run a Go club for juniors. Some things you need to consider are listed below. Other things are found elsewhere in the youth section of this site, especially on the page of advice for school teachers. If you are in need of futher information then contact the Youth Development Officer or other appropriate officer.

Find A Sponsor

By this we mean an adult who will take responsibility for the club meetings. This may be a teacher, a parent, elder brother or sister, adult leader or someone from the local Go club. If you are a teacher or parent then you are this already. Depending on where and when you are meeting you may need a couple of such adults to watch over you. Whoever is in charge needs to be aware of the child protection issues and be confident they can watch over you.

Find a Venue

You need to find somewhere to play. If you are at a school then this is probably not a problem for you. Likewise if you are in a youth organisation then you will probably have access to a meeting room. If not then you may have to hire a room, which would be expensive, or find a sponsor with a large house you can use.

Leaflets

The BGA can provide you with various Go leaflets, such as Go, An Introduction, a comic featuring the SToNES characters that explains the rules simply.

Details of other leaflets are elsewhere on this section.

Starter Sets

If you are just at the stage of evaluating Go then you may like to get the UK Go Challenge evaluation pack, available from KisekiGo for five pounds, which includes a 9x9 starter set and leaflets. A limited supply of cardboard 9x9 starter sets is available separately at the discretion of the Youth Development Officer.

Buying Go Sets

We recommend you check our lists of suppliers and retailers who may be close to you or can supply via their online shop.

Teachers and Visitors

The BGA can put you in contact with someone who can visit your club to teach the rules for beginners or to provide more advanced lessons for improvers. These may be professional Go teachers or volunteers. Requests for volunteers should be directed through the Youth Development Officer or your local BGA youth Go contact.

Advice

The BGA can offer advice on many aspects of the game - again queries should be directed through the Youth Development Officer or your local BGA youth Go contact.

Contacts

The BGA can put you in contact with local Go clubs, or other young people in your area who may wish to join you in your club, if appropriate.

Membership

Once you have got your club underway then you should consider joining the BGA, either as Junior Members or as school members. Your sponsor can also join as an adult member and there is also family membership. See the membership pages for details.

UK Go Challenge

You can enter the UK Go Challenge, a national competition held during the summer term. You have a heat at your club and the best players can then enter the national final.

Schools Internet Go Server

As well as the more generally available Go Servers (IGS, KGS and so on), the BGA has a Go server especially for UK schools which can be accessed through school firewalls, the Schools Internet Go Server. We can arrange for your club to play another club over the Internet at a time convenient to both of you.