The 2008 Swindon Go Tournament
Swindon Go Club will hold the twelfth Swindon Open Go Tournament on Sunday the 21st of September 2008.
It will be a traditional 3 round McMahon, and there will be
a self paired 13 x 13 tournament and a team tournament, with prizes for each.
The overall winner will hold the National Power trophy for a year. There will
also be a prize awarded by the organisers in an "undefined category"-
most likely for somebody who has made the tournament more interesting somehow
- but not necessarily; for example it could be youngest entrant, best helper,
farthest away living competitor, or most handsome player. Well, OK, not the
latter. But pretty much anything else.
Location: Even Swindon Community Centre, Jennings Street, Swindon, SN2 2BD
Registration: 09.45 to 10.15.
Phone on the day: 07989 492793.
The BGA bookshop will be present.
The venue is the same as last year - the Even Swindon Community Centre, Jennings Street, Swindon, SN2 2BD, next to the Designer Outlet Village - a big retail mall in the old railway works. There's a railway engine in the food hall, and the railway museum is next door. But basically, it's a lot of shops, many of which are discount designer clothing.
Food is available in the Outlet Village, or in a local pub - otherwise bring sandwiches.
Time limits for the main tournament are 1 hour each, with first overtime of 20 stones in 5 minutes then second (and any subsequent overtime periods) 20 stones in 2 minutes. Don't get into that!
Timetable:
Registration - 09.45 to 10.15 (allows rail travel from London, but as T Mark
points out, this only works if the normal rail timetable is in place.
Welcome speech - 10.20
Clocks start for round 1 - 10.30
Round 2 - 13.40
Round 3 - 16.00
Prizegiving - 18.15
This is an aggressive schedule and may slip a bit, but don't bank on it - we
kept close to the schedule last year.
Entry fees:
BGA members/overseas: £8.00
Non member surcharge: £2.00
Student/unwaged discount: £2.00
Late entry surcharge (after 19/09/07): £2.00
Entries preferably by email or mail to
, 16 Braemar Close, SWINDON, SN3 1HY, but 'phoned entries will also be accepted
on 01793 692408 evenings before 9.30pm. Please state name, grade, club and entry
category. Cheques should be payable to "Swindon Go Club". Please note,
you can enter in advance and pay on the day without incurring the surcharge,
the point is to get the entry into the computer in good time, and to get a feel
for how much coffee and biscuits to buy. But please don't enter in advance unless
you actually intend to come. Payment in advance is nice, too, though.
Directions:
Rail: The start time should enable rail access prior to the close of registration. However, the tournament is more than a mile away from the station; it is walkable, but a taxi is recommended. There are taxis outside the station. If passengers let me know that that is their mode of transport, I will try to arrange some way of them knowing of each other so that they can share a taxi. Click here for rail times.
Coach: We don't know much about coaches, but you can click here for times and such. Taxis from the coach station may be elusive, but the rail station (hence taxis) is only 200 yards away.
Car: Recommended. Use the maps below. There is plenty of parking space. If you get lost, ask for the Designer Outlet Village, then ask for the Dolphin Pub. Allow 10 mins from junction 15, or 5 minutes from junction 16. It is harder to get lost coming in from junction 16. The community centre is in Jennings Street, off Rodbourne Road.
This is the old Great Western Railway Workshops, now converted into a huge shopping centre, largely orientated around clothes, but with a whole load of other stuff. The idea is that you can buy designer clothes at cheap prices. It's an indoor thing. There are lots of eating places, coffee shops, and all the usual stuff. Most females seem to be able to spend many happy hours there (sexist, I know, but true). Railway buffs will be not be disappointed; apart from the history of the place itself, there is a railway engine in the food hall, and the railway museum is next door. Worth a look.
MAPS: Do not try to count roundabouts. Use Mapquest or Google maps if you come from Oxford or down the A419, or from anywhere other than the motorway junctions.
From M4 Junction 15...
From M4 Junction 16...
