Pandanet-AGA City League Rules Year 12
Goals and Purposes:
The principal purposes of this tournament are (1) to provide training and competition for AGA players (2) to promote Internet Go using the Pandanet platform; and (3) to create a venue for seeking and encouraging regional sponsorship of Go in North America.
League Rules and Regulations
This section lays out all rules and regulations of the league functions and play. The tournament format is single round robin.
Leagues
A league – 8 teams
B league – 8 teams
C league – 8 teams
D League – 8 teams (handicap league)
Leagues are generally 8 teams. Leagues may be larger or smaller (+/-1 team) depending on previous years and how many teams have returned. Efforts are taken to make each league the same size.
League Season
1st: January 1st, 2013 – August 15th, 2013
2nd: September 1st, 2013 – August 15th, 2014
3rd: October 1st, 2014 – August 15th, 2015
4th: August 1st, 2015 – August 1st, 2016
5th: August 1st, 2016 – August 5th, 2017
6th: August 5th, 2017 – August 1st 2018
7th: September 10th, 2018 – August 1st, 2019
8th: September 9th 2019 – August 1st, 2020
9th: September 5th 2020 – August 1st, 2021
10th: November 1st, 2021 – August 1st, 2022
11th: October 29th, 2022 – December 1st, 2023
12th: October 6th, 2023 – August 1, 2024
Teams
Teams will consist of 5 players, 3 of which are the main team players, with two players acting as alternates in case one or two of the 3 main players are unable to play a round.
Team Consistency
Team roster is to remain unchanged for the entire season; no transfer, hiring, or firing of playing members is allowed during the season. If an issue in regard to this is raised, it will be handled on a case-by-case basis by the TD. If the TD grants a change in roster, the new player must be within 1 rank of the player that they are replacing. Beginning from the close of the first season, it is the city / regional team that retains its ranking in the League. Should a player from any team move away or not wish to continue playing in the league for the following season, the city / regional team may replace that player. The change in average rank resulting from player rating improvement, decline, or replacement does not affect the standing of the team. All Players must be listed on the roster to play games. Team order will be set by highest rating on the first board and lowest rating on the third board. Alternates do not need to abide by this as they should play less often.
Players
Professional and amateur players with full or youth AGA or CGA membership from the beginning of each League Season. AGA or CGA membership is to be maintained continuously throughout the season. Players must be residents in the city or region that the team represents before the beginning of the League Season, with no plans to move away during the season. Players traveling for more than a month during the tournament should notify the TD. If moving to another city becomes necessary during the League Season, that player may finish the season with his / her original team, but may not continue to play for that city /regional team in the following seasons. Players may not play in multiple Pandanet Leagues at the same time. Players must have full or youth AGA or CGA membership by December 1, 2023 in order to participate in Season 12.
College Students
Players who are of collegiate age must reside in the city of which they play. If the player lives in their university during the summers they are not allowed to play for their home city, they must play for the city in which they reside. If the player has moved for an internship longer than six months, they should play for the team where they are living. If the university has moved to online only learning you should play for the city in which you are actually living.
Team Placement
Placement of teams in the A and B league for the opening season (2012/2013) will be based upon combined AGA rank of the 3 main playing team members as of the end of registration. Placement for all subsequent seasons will be based on the final standings of the preceding season. The close of every season, the bottom ranked team from the A league will move to the B league, and the top ranked team from the B league will move to the A league. Similarly, the bottom ranked team from the B league will move to the C league, and the top ranked team from the C league will be promoted to the B league. Please do not ask about a qualifier tournament. This cannot be addressed until registration is completed. Teams will be contacted if they need to do something.
New Team Entry
New teams organized after the initial season may enter the C league without contention. If they wish to place into the higher leagues, there may be a qualifier tournament before the beginning of every season where they can potentially win a spot as the bottom seed in the B league. If this is not achieved, they will be entered into the C league. In order to advance to the A league, a team must progress from the B league.
Game Rules
AGA rules, 7.5 komi
60 minutes basic time
25 moves in 10 minutes Canadian byo-yomi
The Finals will be 60 minutes basic time, 5 periods of 30 seconds Japanese byo-yomi
All games will be played on Pandanet in the AGA City League Room. Players should use the GoPanda2 client. Playing on a mobile client is not recommended.
The lowest League (D or E depending on year) games will be played on Pandanet in the AGA City League Room (Manual). This room will set handicaps. The AGA City League room will not set handicaps.
In each round, 3 games will be played: 3 playing members of team x versus 3 playing members from team y. Any team with at least 2 out of 3 winning players wins that round.
Main players are seeded based on their rating at the start of each League season. When two teams play, the first players from the two teams play, the second players from the two teams play, and the third players from the two teams play.
In the event that the alternate player must replace one of the main players, that player will play on the board that the main player would have played on. Alternates should be used in the case the main player cannot reschedule the match in a timely manner.
The Lowest League will play games with handicap -2 in the AGA City League (Manual) room.
Schedule of Rounds
All games will be played at the default time of 3pm Eastern Time/12pm Pacific Time on the scheduled day of the round. Please note that default times are on Sundays, and are scheduled to avoid 3-day weekends, holidays, or other major Go events we know about at this time.
Registration: October 6 – December 10, 2023
Round 1: January 7, 2024
Round 2: January 28, 2024
Round 3: February 18, 2024
Round 4: March 10, 2024
Round 5: April 7, 2024
Round 6: April 28, 2024
Round 7: May 19, 2024
Round 8: June 9, 2024
Final A League Round: First Saturday of US Go Congress
Team Captain
The team captains for each team will coordinate availability and scheduling for his/her team and be the point of contact between his or her team and the TD. As such, the team captain is responsible for receiving and, if necessary, forwarding emails any pertinent information to his or her players. The TD shall not be responsible for contacting individual players, and any issues or questions that players wish to raise with the TD should be raised by their team captain.
In addition, it is desirable that the captains conduct team activities, both for social and for training purposes, throughout the season to build the team spirit. Marketing the team to the local community for publicity and sponsorship is also encouraged. If a team has professional members, the captain may consider proper compensation for these members from local sponsors.
Game Scheduling
The pairings for the entire season are immediately available. For any rounds, players (through their Team captains) that can agree to a mutual time to play their game may do so with the following conditions:
1) All games that are scheduled outside of the schedule above MUST be rescheduled at least 4 days prior to the round’s play date.
2) Such a scheduled game may not be played more than 1 month before the round AND no later than the next round, with the following exception. For all leagues, no game can be scheduled after June 23, 2024.
3) If for any reason the round has not been scheduled to a time other than the default, the opposing teams will report to play at the designated default time. Should any players not report for the game, they will forfeit the round following a 30 minute grace period. Captains should identify missing players to the TD ahead of the 30 minute timeout. Captains who notify the TD only at the 30 minute mark will be asked to wait past that time to contact the opposing team.
Following the guidelines in scheduling rules 1, 2, and 3 above, games may be scheduled at the team’s convenience.
4) If a round has been rescheduled by the team captains, the TD MUST be informed of the date and time of the games when they are agreed upon. For purposes of the leagues, a game that is played without the TD’s advance knowledge will not be admissible as a tournament game result.
Exceptions can be requested for rules 1 and 2, but a good reason must be provided.
Policies against AI Cheating:
All players must read and sign the AGA Fairplay Online Go Tournament Rules and Procedures and the AGA Code of Conduct. These documents will be linked to this rules document and the tournament Contacts page. The TD will work closely with the AGA Administration and Fair Play Committee (Listed on Contact Page) to investigate any issues. Issues that are posted on social media before a resolution from the TD and AGA is complete will be subject to sanctions for the course of the tournament.
Webcam rules will be posted to each team and player ahead of the tournament. The rules will be finalized and posted before the end of registration.
If anyone is caught cheating the following will occur: The player will be banned from any Pandanet AGA City League tournament in the future. The team will be disqualified immediately. If the team was eligible for a prize, they will not be for this season.
This plan for cheating may be added to or changed based on Pandanet’s or the AGA’s guidance throughout the year.
Tie Breaks
Tie breaks for prizes will look at Board Points → Wins/Losses → Head-to-Head wins. Board Points are calculated by number of wins in all the individual games played (minus penalty points).
Detailed Plan
This section details a plan for the logistics of the fourth season including budget, staffing, and procedures.
Budget
The total budget requested from Pandanet is $18,000. Of this, There will be a $500 AGA administrative cost for the 2023-2024 year. The remainder will fund prizes, final round travel costs, and any other league expenses.
Prizes
Sponsorship of $5,000 or higher per year for a team qualifies the sponsor for naming right for the team.
A League:
Winner = 5,000
Second = 2,500
Third = 1,000
Fourth = 750
Fifth = 500
B League:
Winner = 1,500
Second = 1000
Third = 750
Fourth = 400
C League:
Winner = 400
Second = 200
Total cash prizes: $14,000
Remaining Budget
The remaining budget of $4,000 will be used for any expenses relating to the final round at the US Go Congress 2023 including travel costs for 6 players (3 from each competing team) and one Tournament Director who will run the final round, as well as signs, other prizes, and venue costs if necessary.
Staff
Tournament Director – Steve Colburn
Pandanet ID – Vash3g
TD of the leagues will be responsible for main league functions including pairings, mediation of disputes, enforcement of rules and regulations, and selection of winners. It will be the responsibility of the TD to submit all expenses and final reports regarding the final round and end of season prizes to the AGA Treasurer or to appoint a volunteer for this responsibility. The TD will also oversee league managers and other league volunteers and delegate responsibility as necessary and appropriate.
League Managers
Each league should have a league manager. It is the responsibility of the league managers to be the contact point between the Tournament Director and their respective league. They are responsible for facilitating rescheduling of rounds if necessary between team captains according to the scheduling regulations and reporting these reschedule times to the Tournament Director. It is also the responsibility of the league manager to be online to monitor league games at the default time each month, as well as rescheduled times if possible, and to report game results to the Tournament Director. The league manager will enforce the league rules and regulations. Any disputes that cannot be resolved by the league manager will go to the Tournament Director for a final decision.
Consult and Oversight
As an AGA tournament, oversight for the leagues will be provided by the AGA National Tournament Coordinator, the AGA, and Pandanet.
Updated 10/5/2023