International Go Federation

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International Go Federation


Formation March 18, 1982
Type Sports federation
Headquarters Tokyo, Japan
Membership List of Go organizations
Official languages English
President Hiromu Okabe
Website http://www.intergofed.org

The International Go Federation is an international organization that connects the various national Go federations around the world. It is usually referred to as IGF.

Contents

[edit] Role of the IGF

The Role of the IGF is to promote the sport of Go throughout the World, promote amicable relations among members and improve World Go Organization. It does so by carrying out the following activities:

  • Organizing the World Amateur Go Championship and other International Go tournaments;
  • Publishing and distributing to members up-to-date information on World Go Activities, through bulletins or on the IGF website;
  • Other activities pertaining to the International development of Go.

[edit] Policies

The IGF is an apolitical and non-Religious organization, and strives to promote fair play amongst all players, including women, children and the elderly.

[edit] History

Although the European Go Federation dates back to 1959, Japan has always been a strong supporter of Go around the world. The Japan Go Association organized the first World Go Amateur Championship in Japan, in 1979. Many of the top Go players from around the world and representatives from the major National Go Associations attended the event. Its success led to the founding of the International Go Federation on March 18th 1982, with Shizuo Asada presiding over the original 29 founding members.

On April 7th 2006, the IGF became a member of the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF)

The IGF is a founding member of IMSA (International Mind Sports Association).

The IGF organizes the yearly World Go Championship, which attracts over 65 countries.

Today, The IGF counts 70 members on all five continents and expects to reach 75 by 2008, representing over 40 million Go players around the world.

[edit] Members

Further information: List of Go organizations

There are at present 70 Member Associations and federations under the banner of the IGF, 35 in Europe, 15 in Asia, 15 in the Americas, 3 in Africa and 2 Oceania countries.

[edit] IGF Presidents

  1. Shizuo Asada, Professional Go Player and founding President of the IGF, 1982 - 1997 ;
  2. Fumio Watanabe, 1997 - 2001;
  3. Matsuo Toshimitsu, 2001 - 2004;
  4. Masao Kato, Professional 9-dan Go player, 2004-2005 (unfortunately was taken ill and died at the End of 2004);
  5. Norio Kudo, Professional 9-dan go player, 2005-2007
  6. Hiromu Okabe, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Nihon Ki-in, President of the Denso Corporation, 2007 - Present

[edit] External links

Languages