EGC 2008 Newsletter 1
2007-11-12
52nd European Go Congress 2008.
Newsletter 1, November 2007.
There are now 277 registered for the European Go Congress in Sweden next year, 248 of which registered to play in the tournament. The players live in 24 different countries and the countries with the largest numbers registered so far are Germany, Netherlands and Japan: http://egc2008.eu/en/registration/registered.php . In October there were on average 1.1 new registrants per day and in November so far 1.4 new per day.
The preliminary schedule for the congress is announced at:
http://egc2008.eu/en/congress/schedule.php . Changes may occur for some side events and others may be added.
A meeting on go history and the representation of go in art and literature is planned to take place during the first week of the congress, mainly on the Wednesday. This event is organised in collaboration with the department of oriental languages at Stockholm University and possibly co-ordinated with the ICOB conference. The precise form of the meeting in Leksand will be decided later, but in any event the presentations will be open to the congress participants and anyone who is willing and able to contribute to the subject will be invited to do so.
Leksand town will organise public Japan days on August 2-3, the central weekend of the congress. Leksand is twinned with the Japanese town Tobetsu and has a regular cultural exchange with Japan, including a public Japan day in Leksand every second year. For 2008 the event is extended to 2 days and allocated during the congress. It will for sure include many interesting and pleasant activities related to Japan. The planning of the program for the Japan days will start in December.
Shogi: the Swedish Shogi Association has decided to organise the Swedish Team Shogi championship in Leksand August 2-3, in conjunction with the go congress. An open shogi tournament is also planned, probably for the Sunday evening.
The International Go Federation is planning to have a Directors meeting in Leksand during the go congress.
Sports and recreation. The congress venue in Leksand is situated beside a comparatively large and well equipped sports area. Outdoor there are three grass football fields and one baseball field nearby, which are free to use when they are not booked by other groups. An indoor sports hall, gym and indoor swimming pool are available just beside the congress venue, prices for congress participants still to be decided. There are two outdoor tennis courts nearby which are free of charge. There are also two indoor tennis courts which can be booked at the congress info desk at a reduced price (about 10 euro per hour).
Golf: Leksand has a nice 18-holes golf course: http://www.leksandsgk.se/Pages/Default3.aspx?PageID=2 .
The green fee is about 30 euro, maybe some special arrangement will be made later for the congress participants. There are at least 5 more attractive golf courses in the Siljan area.
Ice hockey. If you happen to have a child in the 10-15 years age who is already familiar with ice hockey, it is possible to join the summer ice hockey school which is organised just beside the congress venue, by the famous team Leksand IF. If not, you can at least have a look free of charge at the hockey kids practising in the huge arena http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ejendals_Arena beside the congress venue. Leksand IF will also arrange a special sports package with instructors for kids who come to Leksand for the congress, where they can get the opportunity to try different sports. More info about this later.
The EGC website will be updated continuously with more info, pictures etc. so you are welcome to have a look every now and then: http://egc2008.eu .
If you do not want to receive a couple of more newsletters like this before the congress, please let us know at info@egc2008.eu. If you have any questions about the congress or about your registration, or if you have any suggestions which may help us to make it a successful and pleasant congress, please write to us at info@egc2008.eu.
On behalf of all the organisers:
We look very much forward to seeing you in Leksand next year!
Henric Bergsåker
Sectretary, Swedish Go Association