So, in two weeks I'm off to the beautiful city of Dayton, Ohio to compete in the 2009 National Scrabble Tournament (over five days, 31 games total). As of today, I will be competing with 483 registered entrants, having the opportunity to play with the best players from all over the world. If interested in this tournament and organization of players, visit Scrabble Players Organization.
While perusing a chat site for players who are addicted to this game, I came across the New York City Scrabble Club site. It gave me a laugh, and you might grin while reading it, too. Their website is: New York Scrabble.
Our mission, and what you should and should not expect from us:
1) To foster competitive Scrabble® play.
... our regulars include the highest percentage of the most skilled regular club attendees in NYC.
... all are welcome, we also have plenty of players at various lower levels of skill. Our players range from teenagers to octogenarians; from writers to chefs to dog-walkers. We also let in braggarts and blowhards, but we don't let them out without giving them their comeuppance.
... it's not a social club that also plays Scrabble, it's a Scrabble club that occasionally also fosters socialization outside of the club.
... you come to us because you're looking for a stimulating challenge, a genuine battle of wits, as you've run out of that among your relatives, friends and neighbors.
... we're not a substitute for something missing in your life, tho many do view competing at Scrabble as a form of therapy; we're the focal point of something you already had at least a minor obsession with.
... we're not going to take it easy on you just because you're a "beginner" -- lots of players are developing their skills online these days before they ever come in for face-to-face play, so we can no longer make assumptions that you're unskilled just because we've never seen you before. But if you are relatively unskilled, we hope you're mature enough to take a beating or several and view getting your revenge as an intellectual challenge, and we will gladly show you a few ideas to help you improve quickly.
2) To increase your awareness of the vastity of language, the variation in North American usage of English, and the amount of international culture it now absorbs.
... your degree in English doesn't mean you know the only way to use English, and more words than the average bear; our dictionary is THE dictionary, arguing with it is tiresome and pointless. Our dog-walker will defeat a surprisingly high percentage of English professors and scriptwriters, and he’s not even Hank Azaria.
3) To increase your understanding of how to mathematically optimize the application of your vocabulary and spelling skills in conjunction with values of the letter set and the geometry of the game board.
What a hoot. Those New Yorkers know how to say it.
This will be my third national tournament to attend. Over the past 13 years, I have competed in about 25 sanctioned tourneys; too bad my scores don't reflect that I am anything other than your average nerdy, obsessed, Scrabble player.
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