The American Go Association’s 50-State Championship program is off to a fresh start in 2025, reports newly-appointed coordinator Ted Terpstra.
“We realize that there has been some confusion about the program post-pandemic,” says Terpstra. “We will be clarifying participation rules and doing a better job of recognizing our winners in 2025. The most important thing we need right now is to hear from all those interested in running a State Championship in 2025." If you already have a coordinator confirmed for 2025, or are just getting started, or have questions or comments let us hear from you at contact@usgo.org.
The 50-State Championship program is designed so that AGA chapters in any of the 50 states plus the District of Columbia can run a State Championship. The AGA supports each State Championship with a $200 award. If they wish, states can combine to make a championship for an area; combining is useful for states with smaller populations or metropolitan areas that overlap multiple states.
In the program, each state selects its own coordinator, a required step in being approved to run a State Championship. This selection can be by unanimous agreement between the chapters in a state or by a vote if needed. If voting, each chapter gets a number of votes based on the same rules used in voting for regional Board Directors. The full rules for the program can be found here.