National Scrabble Championship update
The NSC 2022 in Bristol is now just three weeks away and numbers are
looking good - we hit 60 paid entries yesterday and still some I know
in the pipeline.
I didn't think I would be in a position to be talking about maximum
numbers but no room is unlimited in size so I would get entries in quick
smart - especially if you have already booked accommodation! I think
from memory the maximum in the room is around 80 but will confirm that
with the venue.
The absolute deadline is June 5th as I have to give final catering numbers
on Monday 6th. After that date you would be reliant on cancellations.
If you are sending by post in the next week or so give me a ring or
email, as I am not at home for some of the time leading up to the event
so might not pick up physical entries straight away. Also let me know
if you have sent a bank transfer but I am checking that regularly.
Top prize in the main division should be at least £700 with 5 place
prizes and two ratings prizes. The plate event is a little smaller
than expected as a lot of those below 145 have played up, but will be
prizes for top 3 and a rating prize.
We are also looking for a potential floater between the plate and the
main event - players must be under 146 for this but would pay the lower
plate price regardless of where they play.
Full tournament details details here.
Wayne Kelly
NSC Organiser
Last updated: 22 May 2022
Inaugural Manx Scrabble Championship less than two weeks away
The Manx Scrabble Championship is right around the corner, so sign up
by 28th April and take a trip over to the Isle of Man for a weekend or
stay for longer to explore the island.
Tournament organiser, Gilly Street, has been working hard to prepare
everything and is looking forward to welcoming everybody to the Isle
of Man.
The tournament runs over the weekend of Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th May,
and will be directed by James Burley. There will be 3 divisions, divided
according to ratings. The cash prize pool is already over £2500.
There will be a little "surprise" for the first 40 entrants
signed up and paid up, so there are still a few available
right now! To qualify for the "sur-prize", fill in the online registration form
(or post a printed form) AND send the entry payment.
There's not just Scrabble on the menu either. The Manx Legion Club
has generously offered to help celebrate the end of the event by laying
on some complementary finger-food for anyone who would like to play Bingo
on Sunday (8th May) evening. A bar, with very reasonably-priced drinks,
opens at 7pm and games start at 8pm. A book of 5 Bingo games is £7
and various other games are another £1 each. Friends and family are
welcome to join in. Not content with just running the Scrabble tournament,
Gilly will be the guest Bingo caller for the evening
as the regular caller is away.
If you fancy spending longer on the island and you need more Scrabble,
then the Douglas Scrabble Club is meeting on Monday 2nd May (details on
the website linked below) For people who like to get out and about and
go on walks, Catriona at Manx
Walks as well as walking.im
walking tours are worth investigating.
The tournament is being supported by Visit Isle of Man which is
the department that is underwriting the tournament. Their website is
full of ideas of things to see and do on the island.
All the details can be found on the official tournament blog
site
Last updated: 24 April 2022
Reminder: Today is CSW21 switch day
A quick reminder that ABSP-rated tournaments starting from today, Tuesday
19th April 2022, must be played using the updated Collins lexicon, CSW21.
Details of the initiation kit
and Collins official word list book are in an earlier article.
If you use an app for self-adjudication in a tournament, please ensure
you have the latest versions of Scrabble Checker (Android), ULU (iOS)
or Collins Zyzzyva that contain the updated word list. Please ensure
that you choose the required lexicon and confirm with your opponent that
you have done so.
Last updated: 19 April 2022
CSW21 Initiation Kit published
This year sees the publication of a new word list – CSW21 – which
contains no additions, but 419 deletions from CSW19.
WESPA have produced an
initiation kit which Mattel have endorsed, containing the removed words of
3-8 letters. This is available from the ABSP Database under the OnBoard
section, but you must have renewed membership for 2022 to access that
area. Players will also receive a printed copy if they currently receive
a printed copy of OnBoard.
Note:This kit must not
be uploaded to a public website and can only be shared with members.
WESPA have announced that from 4 April 2022, all their events must be
played with CSW21.
At the ABSP AGM, we made it clear we would give sufficient notice before
implementation of a new dictionary, as we wanted to have resources in
place for the smooth running of events. Given we now have an initiation
kit and many word checkers including Zyzzyva are already updated, we are
happy to announce a changeover date. It is expected that other software
such as Ulu will also be changed in the coming weeks.
The date for implementation of CSW21 for ABSP events will be Tuesday 19 April
2022, i.e. after Easter Monday. Before that date, all games must be played
to CSW19 and from then on, all games must be played to CSW21. As we said
at the AGM, there will be no parallel running of two dictionaries as
that would be confusing. We are also trying to avoid conflict with WESPA
as much as possible and, given there is a joint WESPA/ABSP event in May
2022, we want to give clear details for entrants and organisers alike.
There has been a delay in the publication of the Collins official word list book until 17th February,
but we do not see this as a major barrier to implementation given that
use of the physical copy is limited.
Last updated: 16 January 2022
Newsletter published
A short newsletter has been published with information regarding deadlines
for submission of motions for the 2021 AGM, minutes of the last AGM and
committee meeting, plus the ABSP 2020 accounts and obituary notices for
Laura Finley and Sue Bowman.
Motions for the AGM need to be received before midnight on 7th
October 2021.
The newsletter is
available from the
OnBoard section of the ABSP Ratings website. You must login to the
site to be able to see the newsletter and earlier editions of OnBoard.
If this is your first visit to the site, you will need to set up your
account by clicking on the "Set up account or request new password link"
on the home page. You will need
to fill in your email address and click "Please send me a password". A
temporary password will be emailed to you.
The next edition of OnBoard is expected in late October, so please send
any articles for inclusion to Kay
Möller as soon as possible. We know that face to face Scrabble
has not been possible for many over the last year, so if you have been
doing something interesting in this time and can tell us all about it,
get in touch!
Last updated: 10 September 2021
Update on tournament play
Since official COVID-19 restrictions ended in July, we have been
allowing small indoor rated events of up to 6 players, or potentially
more on a case by case basis. As life is slowly returning to normal,
this restriction will no longer apply, with the first larger indoor
invitational events likely to take place in the coming weeks.
We are now also sanctioning any other events, though we recommend that
organisers check venue policy regarding cancellation and any venue
specific COVID-19 rules before booking. It may also be beneficial to
gauge interest from prospective participants. Please contact Ratings
Officer, Mike Whiteoak with any future
plans for tournaments as usual.
Whilst the ABSP are not requiring any specific COVID-19 safety measures
at clubs or tournaments, any restrictions that are put in place, either
by the venue or the organisers, must be clearly stated on the entry form
and/or made clear to members or invitees. Responsibility for determining
eligibility criteria and enforcing restrictions will lie solely with the
organiser, although we will be happy to offer any advice where possible
and may also ask a few more basic questions during the approval process,
largely just for our information.
We have been able to secure a much lower price for insurance cover, and
so for those clubs that have opted in, this will resume on September 1st
at a cost of just £10 per club. This represents a huge saving which
is probably welcome given the uncertainties that remain.
We have taken a difficult but necessary decision to move the NSC as this
event requires a minimum number in order to be sustainable and demand
is currently unclear for this type of event in the current climate.
We hope that as more smaller scale tournaments resume over the coming
months, Spring 2022 will be a good time for the postponed NSC which will
be open entry. We will confirm more details in the coming weeks.
We will be holding the AGM via Zoom again this year, in late Autumn.
A basic newsletter will be going to all members and we also hope to be
able to resume OnBoard in time for a special Christmas edition if things
continue to progress positively.
As always, OnBoard needs players input so if you have any
ideas for articles - maybe something interesting you have
done in lockdown or some seeds of starting back up again -
then let either Wayne Kelly or Kay Möller know.
Last updated: 22 August 2021