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Scrabble® Tourneys in North America
The National Scrabble Association is now posting
tournament results
on its web site.
This web page describes tournaments in general.
The specific tourney information which used to be included on this
web page has been obsoleted by the even-better
NSA
tournament calendar.
Until Summer, 1999, this page used to list all the tourneys Mike W.
heard about both from the Scrabble Players News and various e-mail
messages. Keeping this list up-to-date was quite time-consuming.
Now that the NSA is providing this info, Mike no longer
maintains a separate list. Occasionally, the news announcements
on the weekly Lexington Club
sheet lists tournaments within driving distance of Boston.
Starting in 2004, the North American championship will be held
annually. The next one will be in Phoenix, AZ in August, 2006.
This will consist of 28 games over four days, and on the fifth
day, the top two Division 1 players will have a playoff, which
will get TV coverage on ESPN sometime after the event.
The NSA web site
is the best place to get some info about this.
Most Scrabble® tournaments are held on weekends, starting
Friday evening with 2-3 games, continuing Saturday with 6-7
games, and concluding on Sunday with 3-5 games. In recent years,
there has been a tendency to increase the number of games played
in a weekend. This has been done either by increasing the
number of games played per day and/or adding an extra day of
play, such as over Presidents' Weekend.
New England residents have relatively easy access to play in
several tournaments each year. Here are some typical tournaments
which are within driving distance - some further than others:
- Boston-area Tourney - this is an annual large tournament held
for many years
in March or April at the Doubletree Guest Quarters Suites
Hotel in Waltham, MA. In 2001, it was in Wakefield, MA, then Peabody,
MA, and for two years in Westford, MA.
The tourney begins Friday afternoon with an optional 5-round
early-bird event. The main event begins Friday night and
finishes on Sunday afternoon. There is a premier division
of the top 16 or so players. There are three other
divisions plus a special Saturday-only beginners 6-game
tourney.
Sherrie Saint John now
organizes and directs this event and covers it on her
web site.
- Montreal, Quebec, Canada - there is traditionally a
tourney held over Memorial Day weekend in Montreal; it is
held on Saturday and Sunday in a northern section of the
city.
- Albany, NY - for several years, there has been a
tournament held around Albany over a weekend involving
July 4th. Since this holiday is not always attached to a
weekend, the dates of this tourney vary.
This tourney has included a great house party along the
Hudson River either during or just following the tournament.
- Matchups Team Tourney - this used to be an annual tourney,
traditionally held around December 10 in Enfield, CT, but
in 1997, and in 1998 it was held in Hartford, CT. For 1999,
it was back in Enfield, CT at the Harley Hotel in November.
There was not one in 2000, but in 2001 it returned. It was
sceduled and then cancelled in 2002.
Judy Horn or
Sherrie Saint John
will have the best info on this.
This particular tourney is special in that folks attend
as teams of four players and teams compete against one
another. The organizers are available to help form teams
for those who are seeking teammates.
- Cape Cod Tourney - this is an annual tourney, usually
held in late October or early November. It was last held
29-Oct-04 - 31-Oct-04
at the Cape Codder Resort in Hyannis, MA.
Sherrie Saint John
is organizing and directing this event, and
her web site will cover the
tourney.
In many past years, this had been an
unusual weekend in that there were three events: a pairs
tourney, an individual tourney, and a variations tourney.
An attendee could enter 1, 2, or all 3 events.
In 1997 and thereafter, except for 1998, this has
become a standard 12-game individual tourney, along with
extra optional 3-round pairs tourney either on Friday or Saturday
nights. A pairs tourney is one in which each
side of a two-rack game is a collaboration between two players.
The organizers are available to organize pairs
for those who are seeking partners. The format of the
1998 tourney was something new - an elimination tournament, but
those who were eliminated could participate in other events.
- Starting in 2000,
Ben Loiterstein Greenwood,
director of the
Cambridge
Scrabble® Club
has been holding 1-day club tournaments in Somerville and Cambridge.
Anyone is welcome to play, but you must be (or become) an NSA member.
Other tourney sites:
- Pittsfield, MA
- New York City
- Long Island, NY
- Rye Brook, NY
- Atlantic City, NJ
- Ocean City, NJ
- Somerset, NJ
- Hackensack, NJ
- Stamford or Danbury, CT
- Philadelphia, PA
- Portsmouth, NH
Here are some links relating to tourneys: