Player Associations
ABSP Sets Standards for Clubs
Founded in 1988, the Association of British Scrabble Players; represents about 900 members in around a hundred clubs. ABSP is currently seen as more of an infrastructure provider for the UK club scene.
The ABSP, however, directly organises the annual British Matchplay Championship and the British Masters Scrabble Championship. Other contests are hosted by the clubs themselves according to rules and a rating system laid down by the association. With over 160 players in 18 rounds, the three-day BMSC is the country's biggest Scrabble event as well as being ABSP's flagship contest. Through a 15-game round robin, the Masters permits only the UK's top 16 rated players.
Many holiday events are organised as well as improve-your-game workshops, cruises, promotional events and forums though not directly through the ABSP. Allan Simmons, a high-rated competitor and former British champion, is the association'
Allan feels that the establishment of the ABSP was in itself "the biggest milestone" in the country's Scrabble movement. Though not directly an association activity, key players in the group helped to define the first Official Scrabble Words in 1989 which was followed by Official Scrabble Lists three years later. In the first year, the ABSP claimed 200 members "so steady growth is another achievement," Allan underlines, emphasising that the entire committee is voluntary. The honorary president of the association is Gyles Brandreth, a noted radio-TV personality and writer, who, in 1974, initiated the first British National Scrabble Championships.
Scrabble activity in Australia
Scrabble clubs have existed in Australia since 1976, and in 1992 the Council of Australian Scrabble Players Associations was founded. The presidents of the seven states of Australia form CASPA.
This association is the umbrella group that coordinates national and international issues on behalf of the state Australian Scrabble Players Associations (ASPA), which collectively organize 150 clubs across the country with approximately 1,200 financial members.
All seven states organize annual state championships with most clubs hosting an annual competition with attendance varying between 50 to 100 entrants. In Victoria a social travel club meets at different rural locations on an ad hoc basis. Most states hold annual workshops. New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria all have youth programmes.
The Australian Scrabble Championship is held every Easter with an average of 100 competitors playing 24 games over a 3-day period. An Open Plate tournament takes place concurrently with the Australian Championship. About 5 per cent of attendees are players from other countries. Some state-organized events also attract overseas entrants.
A peak ratings system is used to select eligible players for the World Championship, the Causeway Challenge, the Australian Masters, the State Challenge Trophy and the Trans-Tasman Challenge. Juniors competing in the World Youth Scrabble Championship must satisfy certain criteria prior to selection.
The Australian Masters in September comprises the 20 top Australian players, playing a 19 game round robin event.
The State Challenge Trophy is held concurrently with the Australian Masters and involves three competitors from each of the seven states amounting to 21 entrants playing 18 games. Mattel Pty. Ltd. generously provides financial support for these two events.
The biennial Trans-Tasman Challenge has the 12 best Australians competing against the 12 top New Zealanders in a 24-game tournament.
In 1999 Australia hosted the World Scrabble Championship in Melbourne, Victoria, and hope to do so again in the future.
Youth Take Role in Singapore Group
The Scrabble Association, Singapore, became the first group to formally join the World English-language Scrabble Players Association. The Singapore organisation, celebrating 10 years in 2006, has upwards of 100 members. The major annual tournaments organised by the SA are the Millennium Cup, the open and the nationals though the association does lend a helping hand to other competitions. In some open contests, visitors essentially come from across the causeway from Malaysia.
"One of the more fun events," explains Cheah Siu Hean, SA president, "is the annual National Day "cerebration" on the eve of the day itself. It's an all-night Scrabble party." One of the key steps the association made was to have the nationals an annual, instead of a biennial, tourney. However, when its success attracted a record 370 participants, the SA felt constrained to scale the tournament down a bit "since that one took a lot out of us," he said. "Also, the rapid rise of the below-18 contingent is keeping us on our toes." Anyway, from a quarter to a third of the association's membership is estimated to be youngsters now. "But since the adults are sometimes not free, the regular kids are quite prominent in competitions," underlines Cheah.
"Our policy is that the SA doesn't discriminate in contests, based on age, race, religion, gender or, in fact, anything except playing ability. We tried student divisions once in the 2004 nationals and decided they were an artificial and unnecessary division." The SA works closely with government-related bodies or parliamentary constituency panels in organising certain tournaments. Notably, the Teck Ghee Zone B Residents' Committee has been very supportive of SA activities, Cheah points out, as well as Jurong Green Community Club. "We've also lately worked with the Armed Forces Reservists' Association."