============= AGM Agenda ============= (Item 1) Officer Reports (Item 2) Reports from Clubs (Item 3) Debate the purpose of the Ladder (Item 4) Debate the following motion(s) Motion 1, proposed by Ian Davis: The current selection process for the Top 8 is proving overly complex to administer (multiple emails & delays etc). For reference we currently have: (1)The Top 8 is composed of the four top finishers from the previous year who intend participating in the current championship and four additional qualifiers. (2)The four additional qualifiers are determined by the Irish Ladder tournament (3)Where a player qualifies for, but is unable to take part in the Top 8, then the next player in line from the same qualification route will be chosen to take his place. I propose to change this as follows (1) The four top finishers in the Top 8 from the previous year earn the right to a qualification spot in the current Top 8, which they may accept or decline. (2) The remaining places are filled from the Irish Ladder tournament (Item 5) Elections (Item 6) Any other business ================== Reports Received ================== Ian Davis At the moment I am living in France, which understandably limits the scope of the work I do, and which probably makes me an odd choice for a committee member. This year I have continued in my role of webmaster, working with the rest of the committee to try to keep the IGA website up to date. Specifically, in areas like Tournament Results, Club Details, Korea and Japan points. I would appeal to ALL CLUBS to proactively send me more up to date information to add to the website. The national squad has once again been under my captaincy this year in the European League, and we've had a fairly unremarkable start so far. I would actually like to step down from this role next year and let somebody else run the squad, as I'm getting a bit tired of it after 4 years. Apart from this, I've done various committee work, and helped run the ladder, both of which I am happy to continue doing next year. Rory Wales President's Report for 2013 Dear Go Players - Happy 2014! My 2013 report is as follows: We only had 18 paid IGA members for 2013, this is down from 23 in 2012. Both of these numbers remain quite low. The €10 membership (€5 for students) would not deter people from paying in my opinion so I see no reason to change this. Attendance at all tournaments was lower in 2013 than in 2012. Our relationship with the Confucius Institute is growing, we have got more sponsorship money from them for the third year in a row, €2,000 for the 2014 Confucius Cup is very welcome. Professor Wang would like to host the Confucius Cup in 2016 when the new Confucius Institute is expected to be built. Mark Webb, 4kyu, died in April from cancer. He was a regular player on KGS (usernames 'crawler' and 'markwebb') and will be missed. The Dublin Go club moved from Larry Murphys pub to the Baggot Inn. Eoghan Barry and Marek Gutkowski resigned from the committee. 2013 In Brief March - Noel Mitchell won the Irish Champion for a record 16th time. March - Irish Go Congress, 37 people attended, our lowest turnout in many years. April - Mark Webb passed away. May - Ireland came 4th in Division C in the European Team Championships. June - Justyna Kleczar wins second Galway title. September - James Hutchinson 34th World Amateur Go Championship in Japan, scoring 4 out of 8 points. October - Colin MacSweeny represented Ireland at the Korean Prime Minister' Cup coming in 46th place. November - Tibi Gociu won the Belfast tournament. December - Kim Ouweleen wins UCC tournament. Treasurer's Report for 2013 The IGA finances are healthy, we currently have a bank balance of €1,799. The IGA funding comes from the following areas: IGA Membership - €20 Top 8 Entry Fees - €10 Irish Go Congress Rapid Tournament Entry Fees - €10 The Confucius Cup Entry Fees - €20 Confucius Institute Sponsorship The following table gives a breakdown for key numbers for 2012, 2013, and so far in 2014: ========== Elections ========== President: No volunteers, Rory agreed to continue Secretary: James Hutchinson was elected Treasurer: No volunteers, Rory agreed to continue Committee Tiberiu Gociu and Thomas Shanahan elected; Justyna and Eoghan step down. =============== Other Business =============== a vote of 4-3 in favour of disqualifying Gavin Rooney and Paul Kelly from the Top 8, as no other option seemed equally fair to the remaining 6 players. Ian Davis' motion on the Top 8 Qualification was passed.