There was a veritable feast of Scrabble on offer across the country over three weeks, culminating in the National Scrabble Championship on the first weekend of October.
The weekend of 21st & 22nd September saw 4 events take place. Colin Nicol, Samantha Beckwith and Lucy Beckmann won the three divisions at the Newcastle-upon-Tyne tournament; Ross MacKenzie took down Hexham; Gareth Williams and Sue Lilley were the division winners at Nailsea; and Ed Martin and Janet Adams triumphed at Ilford.
The weekend of 28th & 29th September saw 4 more events take place, starting with a couple of one day events on the Saturday at Warrington and Glasgow. 40 players played at Warrington, split into 5 divisions won by James Burley, Diane Bromilow, Steve Balment (unbeaten), Bernard Mayhew and Mike Handley (also unbeaten) Meanwhile, north of the border, another 22 players contested 7 games with Simon Gillam and Rory Kemp taking the division wins. Sunday saw 28 players take part in Caroline McLaughlin's inaugural Holmfirth tournament. Wayne Kelly (unbeaten), Marjorie Struggles and Michael Thomas triumphed in the three divisions there.
Sunday also saw the final day of the Irish Open at Waterford in the Republic of Ireland. Congratulations to Feargal Weatherhead, who clinched victory on spread from Kay McColgan and John Kennedy, after all three finished on 11 wins. Kay beat Feargal by six points in a close final game, but short of the 164 point margin of victory required to take the title.
The first weekend of October is National Scrabble Championship weekend, starting with the Last Chance Qualifier on Friday, then the main event and plate event over the Saturday and Sunday. See the later articles for more coverage of the NSC.
Full results: Newcastle-upon-Tyne | Hexham | Nailsea | Ilford | Glasgow | Warrington | Holmfirth | Waterford | NSC LCQ