Associations

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The following is a list of affiliated and associated bodies with WESPA:

 ABSP Sets Standards for Clubs

Founded in 1988, the Association of British Scrabble Players  represents about 700 members in around a hundred clubs. ABSP is
currently seen as more of an infrastructure provider for the UK club  scene.

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 the ABSP. Allan Simmons, a high-rated competitor and former British champion, is the association's chairman as well as
the chairman of the World English-language Scrabble Players 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.

Hundred Clubs across Oz

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 make up Capsa. The association is the umbrella group that co-ordinates
national and international issues on behalf the seven state Australian Scrabble Players Associations (ASPA) which have together
150 clubs across the country with about 1,200 members.In 1999, Australia hosted the World Scrabble
Championship in Melbourne, Victoria. The Australian Scrabble Championships are held every Easter with 21-24 games and about a
hundred entrants.

An Open Plate tournament takes place concurrently with the Australian Championships. About 5 per cent are players from
other countries. The Australian Masters in September comprises the 20 top players, playing 19 games.

A State Challenge trophy involves competitors from seven states with three players each, amounting to 21 entrants playing 18
games. The Trans-Tasmanian Challenge has the 12 best Australians competed against the 12 top New Zealanders in a 24-game tournament.All seven states organise annual state championships with most clubs hosting an annual competition with attendance varying between 50 to 100 entrants.

The Sydney International Masters has become an event in January that attracts lots of entrants from outside the country.
In Victoria, a travelling Scrabble club meets at a different rural locations on a monthly basis.
Most states hold annual workshops with New South Wales organising evening classes. Though about 1 per cent of the
membership is children, NSW, Queensland and Victoria all have programmes in place to promote Scrabble in schools. "The Victorian
programme is a professionally organised pilot project and, if successful, will be used in the other states," notes Glenys Lawrie,
Caspa national co-ordinator.

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."