Canadian Go Association

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International

CGA International Representative Selection

The rules on the page have been approved as CGA policy as of Fall 2010. From 2002-2009 the CGA used the rules in the Canadian Open document found here for International Representative Selection. As of fall 2010 the awarding of NAIM points at the Winter cup was replaced by awarding points through CGA league play.

This page holds policy for regular events. For non standard events the CGA executive will decide a policy as needed (often in conjunction with the AGA when a North American representative is required). When only a short time is available the President may make decisions as needed without formal review by the executive.

For dual citizens or Canadians residing outside Canada we expect the players to compete in either Canadian international qualifying, or their country of residence/alternate citizenship for qualifying. They may compete in either countries tournaments for enjoyment.

Sections:

World Amateur and Prime Ministers Cup:

To be eligible for selection a player must have been a CGA member for one year (this requirement will first take effect at the 2010 Canadian Open), and be a Canadian citizen. We then go down the list of International Qualification Point holders and ask them to select a trip. To select a trip they must not have attended that event more than twice in the past 5 years. Also to be selected for the World Amateur a player may not be selected for either the previous or subsequent Prime Ministers Cup. For the Prime Ministers Cup the representative may not attend either the previous or subsequent World Amateur. If by any chance there are no points holders who can attend a trip we will go down the Canadian Open finishing list to select a representative. Before the Canadian Open players who will be near the top of the point list and will not be at the open should be asked what if any trip they would take if offered. Note any point holders we are unable to contact before the open will not be considered as trip representatives, we will go to the next player on the point list.

Players attending an international event may be subject to drug testing. The AGA has prepared a good summary of what players need to be aware of here.

World Youth Tournament:

The CGA has only been allocated a spot in the senior(under 16) division, not the junior(under 12). The CGA will send it’s top placing youth from the Canadian Open to this event. Note the winner must be 1D+, if there is no such player at the Canadian Open we will look for alternates, and if we cannot find any no Canadian will be sent. To be eligible a player must be a Canadian citizen, and they cannot attend more than twice in five years. Also the World Youth representative cannot be attending either the World Amateur or Prime Minsters Cup. If they qualify for both they must choose which to attend.

The World Youth is held mid summer, around end July. We will check the citizenship requirement at the end of the previous calendar year, not at the Canadian Open. Also the age requirement is under 16 as of the tournament date.

World Student Oza:

North America gets to send one player to this. The AGA holds a qualifying tournament in the fall to select the North American representative, 5D+ Canadian’s or student attending Canadian Universities will be eligible to participate. Look for a link on the US or Canadian web sites shortly after the Canadian Open.

North American ING/Masters tournament:

This event is held each year at the US Go Congress. It has substantial cash prizes, and has a field of either 16 or 32 players. It is unrelated to the professional ING cup held every 4 years, which is invitational. Canadian’s may be seeded into the tournament, or awarded a “Canadian” spot based on the NAIM points. NAIM points can be earned through CGA League play, CGA regional tournaments, or achieving 01 or 1 losses at the NAIM tournament. Participants awarded a CGA spot must be CGA members, and to win an ING spot they must be North American permanent residents. If there are cancellations of selected representatives the CGA president may select alternates as they feel appropriate. The AGA may also award NAIM spots to professionals resident in Canada. From 2010 we have selected participants based on their ING point total.

International Pair Go Championships:

The goals of the Pair Go championship are different than the goals of other intentional events. It concentrates on promoting participation and friendship. There is a separate page up with all the Pair Go Information here. Note the players selected for the Pair trip must also pay the 125$ travel fee.

World Mind Sports Games:

We are not sure if the 2008 event will be the only WMSG. Until we know the CGA will not set a standard policy.

International Qualifying Points:

Points are allocated to Canadian Citizens and permanent residents from the top division of the Canadian Open. The players from the top division are sorted as per the the point allocation playoff rules following, and then allocated international qualifying points as per the point scale. In addition points may be allocated from a CGA regional event. If a player earns points at two events the event from which they earned the larger value is used. Points will be totalled immediately following each Canadian Open to allow trips to be awarded. Note you may acquire points even when you cannot attend a trip. For example, you may acquire points without being a CGA member for a year. Points expire after 5 years. For instance points acquired at the 2009 open will expire post trip selection at the 2013 open. After selection for the World Amateur or Prime Ministers Cup a players points are reset to zero. If a players membership lapses they must renew by the subsequent Canadian Open to retain their points. For those whose membership is expiring at the open they will be given a grace period to the end of the September to renew. Players who’s points are expiring will be notified and asked to renew before the points are removed.

The top division at the Canadian Open will now be set at 6D+. If for some reason the tournament director expects a smaller than usual field they may ask the CGA to allow inclusion of 5D’s. To avoid grade inflation all players in the Top division must be approved by the CGA executive. For new immigrants we will be inclined to give the benefit of the doubt, but established Canadians should expect to post a top finish in the 5D section at the open or a large local tournament before graduation to the open section (or of course get their CGA rating above 6D). Only points below 4th place may be awarded though SOS type tie breaks. The rest must be decided by playoff games. However only players 5-1 are guaranteed a playoff spot, the playoff participants that are 4-2 or 3-3 may be decided by SOS. Given the top division field is restricted to 6D+ players there should not be more than four players with a 5-1 or better record. Non citizens cannot earn the awards for tie break spots. If they qualify for a tie break spot they will be awarded the points for the top non tie break spot. Since our point allocation playoff will always be 4 players it can be completed in 2 rounds. On a standard schedule this takes place on the Monday. If players cannot attend these playoff games the organizers can try to make an alternate accommodation. I.E play games Sunday night (possible if only one game is required). However they are under no obligation to do so, and players who cannot make the Monday playoffs should expect to default their playoff games. Note if the organizers of a Canadian Open wish to structure their open differently for changes like a longer event, a non Swiss based format, or a time other than labour day weekend these plans should be presented when applying to host. For changes like different playoff rules these can be specified later, but the executive should be given at least 1 month to review requested alternate rules. If any of the top finishers in the open division are not eligible for points the playoff will not include them. They should be awarded any other prizes the tournament is awarding (trophies, cash, etc) based on their SOS placement. For these other prizes the tournament organizers can choose to use the playoff results or an SOS type selection for eligible players, but what they will do should be announced before the tournament starts. Here are several examples of Canadian open finishes, and how to set up the point allocation playoff.

  • 1 player finishes 6-0. Two players finish 5-1. 5 players finish 4-2. The 5-1 players play one game for second/third place. The top 4 players from the 4-2 group (selected by SOS etc) play off for 4th-7th. 8th is selected by SOS
  • 1 non citizen finishes 6-0. Two players finish 5-1. 5 players finish 4-2. The 5-1 players play one game for 1st/second place. The top 4 players from the 4-2 group (selected by SOS etc) play off for 3rd-6th. 7th and 8th are selected by SOS.
  • Three players finish 5-1. 4 players finish 4-2. The 5-1 players and the lucky top 4-2 finisher by SOS play off for spots 1- 4. Spots 5-8 are assigned to the 2nd-5th place 4-2 players by SOS.

The above system has one serious disadvantage, in that a lucky 4-2 player may get to the top group tie break if there are 3 5-1 players. I believe this is preferable to assigning a BYE to the top player of the 3 tied players by SOS. The first points will be allocated at the 2009 Canadian Open.

NAMT Qualifying Points:

The main distinction between these points and International qualifying points is they do not expire. Given the large number of ING spots and the fact that the trip is not paid we want to send the strongest players we can. The fact that many players cannot participate in a given year means all Canadian Top players get a chance eventually.

Points are earned in three ways.

  • Through CGA league play
  • At a CGA Regional tournament.
  • From losing only 0 or 1 games at the previous NAIM tournament players earn 80 points.

Note players must remain CGA members to retain their ING points, and we will check for membership expiry after the Canadian Open with the same procedure as the international qualifying points.

Point Scale:

The following scale is used for the Canadian Open to allocate international qualifying points.

  • 1st: 80 pts
  • 2nd: 60 pts
  • 3rd: 45 pts
  • 4th: 30 pts
  • 5th: 20 pts
  • 6th: 15 pts
  • 7th: 10 pts
  • 8th: 10 pts

CGA regional tournaments:

To qualify as a regional tournament the tournament must require CGA membership for all tournament participants. The CGA will accept a beginner exemption but the plans for the exemption should confirmed as acceptable by the CGA before the tournament is held. The CGA is trying to balance the following goals with the regional tournament concept

  • Encourage CGA membership
  • Help attract a large top division to regional CGA events
  • Reduce the penalty for a player who cannot attend the open in a given year.
  • Retain a strong incentive for top players to attend the open

Once a tournament is accepted as a CGA regional tournament the open division field strength is then broken into one of 5 classes

  • Class F: less than 5 5d+ players, no international points can be awarded.
  • Class E: 5-10 pts field strength.
  • Class D: 10-20 pts field strength
  • Class C: 20-30 pts field strength
  • Class B: 30-40 pts field strength
  • Class A: 40+ pts field strength

Field strength is calculated as follows:

  • Each 5D player: 1 pt
  • Each 6D player: 3 pts
  • A player in the top 5 in CGA ratings, ING pts, or International pts : 5 pts

For player ranks the CGA will normally accept the players entry rank to the event, but we reserve the right to make adjustments to ranks the CGA feels are not appropriate when calculating the field strength.

Once field strength is determined, points are awarded as follows. Players earn the same amount of both International qualifying points and ING qualifying points.

  • Class E: 1st place 5 pts
  • Class D: 1st place 8 pts, second place 5 pts
  • Class C: 12 pts first place, 8 pts second place
  • Class B: 15 pts first place, 8 pts second place, 3rd place 5 pts
  • Class A: 1st place 25 pts, 2nd place 12 pts, 3rd place 8 pts, 4th place 5 pts

Note for a one day three round knockout style tournament only the points for first place are awarded. For a Regional CGA tournament playoffs are not required, the tournament organizers choose how to do tiebreaks, or they can choose to divide points between players with the same number of wins.

Past International Representatives:

The List of past World Amateur representatives and Prime Ministers Cup representatives can be found on the Canadian Open page.

Past World Youth results:

# CGA representative Event Date Rank Result
1 ? 1984 ? ?
5 Vincent Wong 1988 ? ?
12 Selina Chang 1995 3D 12/12
13 Stella Chang 1996 ? 12/12
14 Michael Hong 1997 5D 12/12
15 Timothy Law 1998 5D 9/12
16 Michael Hong 1999 ? 10/12
17 Timothy Law 2000 ? 5/12
18 Richard Liang 2001 ? ?
21 Richard Liang 2004 6D 5/12
22 Hao Zhang 2005 5D 5/12
23 John Yu 2006 5D 5/12
25 Gansheng Shi 2008 ? ?
26 Andrew Huang 2009 5D 8/12
27 Andrew Huang 2010 6D 6-8/12
28 Amira Song 2011 4D 11/12
29 Tianyu(Bill) Lin 2012 7D ?

Current International Qualifying Point holders:

The points for individual years are maintained in a page for that year after 2010.

Yearly detail pages

This is the current totals for all players who hold points now, or have done so in the recent past.

# Player Name Points Points without reset 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
1 Juyong Koh 88 88 50 12.5 8 0 0 0 80 ? ? 0
2 Brady Zhang 110 110 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? 80 30
3 Jianing Gan 83 83 0 0 0 38 45 0 0 ? ? 0
3 Qiyou Wu 60 60 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? 0 60
4 Sarah Yu 62 62 0 0 0 2 0 0 60 ? ? 0
4 Yongfei Ge 140 195 *10 60 45 *80 60 0 0 ? ? 80
5 Ryan Li 60 140 0 *80 60 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
6 Daniel Gourdeau 15 58 0 0 18 10 30 0 37.5* ? ? 15
6 Manuel Velasco 45 45 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? ? 45
7 James Sedgwick 0 56 20 20 6 10 0 0* 0 ? ? 0
8 Gansheng Shi 45 90 *60 30 0 15 0 0 0 ? ? 0
9 Hao Cheng 37.5 37.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 37.5 ? ? 0
9 Jeffrey Fung 30 30 30 ? 0 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
10 Elvis Sun 20 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20
10 Wang Zi 20 20 0 0 0 10 10 0 0 ? ? 0
11 Wei(Tiger) Cheng 20 20 0 0 20 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
12 Xiangdong Zhang 20 20 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
13 Tony Zhao 0 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? ? 20*
13 David Lu 15 15 0 0 0 0 15 0 0 ? ? 0
14 Xianyu Li 13 83 45 0 *25 13 0 0 0 ? ? 0
15 John Yu 12.5 12.5 0 12.5 0 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
16 Andrew Huang 10 10 0 0 0 0 10 0 0 ? ? 0
16 Howard Wong 10 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ? ? 10
17 Simon Luo 10 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
18 Zongliang Wang 10 10 0 0 10 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
19 Remi Campagnie 16 16 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 ? ? 10
21 Hai Cheng 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
22 Peter Zhang 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
23 Tianyu(Bill) Lin 0 164 15 10 17 42 *80 0 0 ? ? 0
24 Yang Jing 0 125 0 45 *80 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
25 Fan Jun 0 80 80 *0 0 0 0 0 0 ? ? 0
3 Tiger Gong 0 68 10 0 0 38 20 0 0 0* 0 0

* Points set to zero since a trip was awarded

Current ING Qualifying Point holders:

# Player Name Points 2010 2011
1 Yongfei Ge 160 80 80
2 Juyong Koh 80 80 0
3 Jianing Gan 80 80 0
4 Jin(Sarah) Yu 60 60 0
5 Daniel Gourdeau 50 5 45
6 Xianyu Li 49 0 49
7 Irene Sha 45 45 0
8 Tianyu(Bill) Lin 40 0 40
9 Hai(Harry) Cheng 41 30 11
10 Peter Zhang 11 0 11
11 James Sedgwick 25 10 15
12 Andrew Huang 17.5 17.5 0
13 Patrick Lung 17.5 17.5 0
14 Wei(Water) Cheng 11 10 1
15 Remi Campagnie 8 0 8
16 Hanxi Zhang 5 0 5
17 Philip Waldron 5 5 0
18 Amira Song 5 5 0
19 Francois Gourdeau 5 5 0
20 Pascal Tremblay 1 0 1