Tournament News

 

For the most up-to-date tournament results and the official calendar of upcoming tournaments, players should visit scrabbleplayers.org and view the NASPA results and calendar. Detailed information about past and upcoming tournaments is also posted at www.cross-tables.com. Here we will feature a tournament or two each issue, plus list winners of recent tournaments. Directors who would like to submit results and photographs from their tournaments are welcome to send them to CorneliaSGuest@gmail.com.

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Albany Tournament July 1-5: A Firecracker Event!

by Linda Wancel

Albany was FABULOUS... the best Fourth of July Albany tournament and barbecue EVER!!!! There were 129 players in attendance, breaking organizer Annette Tedesco's previous Fourth of July tournament record of 126. The tournament included a 20-game main event Thursday through Sunday, plus two Early Bird tournaments on Wednesday and Thursday. On Saturday night, Annette invited players to her home on the Hudson for a delicious barbecue. The lovely setting and camaraderie of SCRABBLE friends made it a memorable night — complete with music, poker, and, of course, SCRABBLE and Anagrams.

John Robertson directed the two Early Bird tournaments on July 1-2, with the generous assistance of Albany native and fellow Scrabbler Kevin Gauthier. Annette was on hand to greet her players and make sure that there were enough snacks on hand (thanks also go to Thea McGivney, who graciously assisted with the snacks). Both tournaments were well attended, with 32 players at the 8-game Early Bird on Wednesday and 57 players at the 5-game Early Bird on Thursday. Division winners in the first Early Bird were Ron Hoekstra (1), Mona Larsen (2), and Jane Marsh (3); in the second, Chris Lipe (1), Heather Drumm (2), Jeremy Hall (3), Anita Rackham (4), Judy Cole (5), Elouise Pearl (6), and Muriel De Silva (7).

The 20-game main event, which began on Thursday evening, July 2, was directed by Canadian National Scrabble Champion David Boys and fellow Canadian John Robertson. These two stellar directors ran a tight ship and made sure that the main event ran smoothly and in a timely fashion. Moreover, any problems or issues that came up during the course of the three events were taken care of expeditiously and with little fanfare. Since Albany was the first SCRABBLE tournament (along with Reno) to be held under the auspices of NASPA, the organizers made every effort to ensure that people who did not have NASPA memberships signed up and paid their dues (I believe that well over twenty members were signed up on the spot as a result of these efforts).

On Saturday the Fourth of July, the gods thankfully smiled upon us: the weather was great. After the sixth game, Annette Tedesco invited players to her house for her eagerly anticipated barbecue. For those not in the know, Annette opens up her house, which is located right on the Hudson River in Stillwater, New York, and hosts a huge barbecue, which is free to all the Scrabblers participating in the tournament, along with their spouses, children, and significant others. Not only do she and her family cook and barbecue in the yard for everyone, she clears out her garage and sets it up with tables lined with hot food. She also arranges for the local ice cream truck to make an appearance midway through the barbecue, just when everyone thinks they can't eat another bite!

As guests arrived, Annette's sons were in the yard barbecuing up a storm. Sweet hot ears of corn, hot dogs, hamburgers, steak, chicken, and ribs were all for the asking, as was grilled salmon. The barbecue also featured some mouthwatering contributions by those Scrabblers with a culinary flair. Ember Nelson hit a trifecta with her wonderful potato salad, delicious homemade macaroni salad, and a secret-recipe spicy pasta salad. Yvonne Lobo wowed everyone with her curried cabbage, and Eileen Johnson whipped up some sausage and peppers to die for. Of course, this was all in addition to some fantastic pulled pork, baked beans, a hearty pork roast, creamy and deliciously rich mac and cheese, salad, and other wonderful foods too numerous to mention that Annette and her family made.

The food just kept coming as Scrabblers broke into smaller groups, eating and conversing. After having eaten their fill, some tossed horseshoes for fun, while others played poker or SCRABBLE or simply sat by the water and watched the fireworks. Lynda Kraar (guitargirl) jammed with fellow musicians Chris Lipe (sax) and Kevin Colosa (guitar) and sang songs that brought back great memories and made everyone feel young again. They were terrific! Bravo!

Later in the evening Denise Mahnken, Sue Gable, Betsey Wood, Stan Williams, and I presented Annette with the SCRABBLE Players Award for 2009 (a beautiful musical globe that was specially inscribed for Annette), along with flowers, a large wooden heart, and cards signed by everyone at the barbecue. Denise Mahnken gave a great speech from the heart as to why we were presenting Annette with the award. In essence, we presented Annette with this award for her generosity and thoughtfulness towards all her players, and for organizing three major tournaments every year that are so much fun and bring so many Scrabblers together to do what we all love to do: play SCRABBLE!

Annette promotes the true spirit of SCRABBLE and really makes the SCRABBLE community seem like family. The City of Albany has already presented Annette with an award for the business her tournaments bring to Albany [see NASPA Tournament SCRABBLE Newsletter #1]. Now the players have recognized her efforts in promoting the game and its enjoyment for the players attending her tournaments. If there is anyone who deserves to be Person of the Year going forward for next year, it should be Annette Tedesco. Take heed NASPA! The people have spoken!

After the great time at the barbecue, everyone headed back to the hotel, where the game room was open, and people began playing after-hours games of SCRABBLE, cards, and Anagrams. David Boys and John Robertson headed up a table where they told you “Everything you every wanted to know about NASPA but were afraid to ask.” It was very informative and helpful. I definitely have to give them props for the patience they exercised in handling the many questions players had.

A number of other players went clubbing at The Fuse Box, a hot club where those who went danced and romanced the night away. Apparently, people who went last year liked it so much they returned en masse this year and had a great time once again! So, Albany has something for everyone!

By the time Sunday rolled around, we sadly realized that all good things must come to an end. Players had a last chance to buy tickets for the fifty/fifty raffle, which brought in almost $400. This money was split fifty/fifty with the lucky winner whose number was randomly selected by the computer. The winner was the lovely Marie Puma from Long Island, on the mend from her dancing misstep at Hartford. The rest of the money went to defray tournament expenses.

The tournament prizes, as always, were generous, and there were many winners. Most noticeable were the winners of Division 1: Perhaps for the first time ever, the top three finishers were women! In fact, four out of the top five finishers were women. Jason Ubeika, coming in fourth, kept it from being a totally rout. Thank you Kate Fukawa-Connelly (1), Lisa Odom (2), Debbie Stegman (3), and Robin Pollock Daniel (5) for representing the women of SCRABBLE so well at the highest level.

The top finishers in Division 2 were Edward Halper, Michael Eldeiry, and Joel Horn. Division 3 also was dominated by women, with the top three Jane Clark, Katya Lezin, and Linda Oliva. For complete results visit cross-tables.com.

Thanks to all who made Albany an unforgettable Fourth of July weekend!

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TOURNAMENT RESULTS 6/15-8/5

(A reader noticed that last month’s Newsletter inadvertently omitted results from five May tournaments. We have included them here.)

JONESBORO AK 5/2-3

1. Wallace Schultz
2. Justine Zollinger

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PETOSKEY MI 5/2-3

1. Daniel Pratt
2. Kit Morehead

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BERKELEY CA 5/3

1. Robin Levin
2. Emely Weissman
3. Pat Diener
4. Bruce Baginski

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LAGUNA WOODS CA 5/3

1. Mitch Bayersdorfer

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OREGON LATE BIRD 5/4

1. Dielle Saldanha
2. Luise Shafritz

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INDIANAPOLIS IN EARLY BIRD 6/19

1. Alan Helfgott
2. Samuel Smith
3. Brandon Huang
4. Aditya Kini
5. Carlotta Lornier
6. Shirley Palmer

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HARTFORD CT 6/19-21

1. Doug Brockmeier

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DALLAS TX 6/20

1. Michael Early
2. Keil Schults
3. Pat Sanchez

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INDIANAPOLIS IN 6/20

1. Alan Helfgott
2. Frank Lee
3. Dan Terkell
4. Andrew Wade
5. Regina White
6. David Gilmore

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KNOXVILLE TN 6/20-21

1. David Gibson
2. Bruce Shuman
3. Katya Lezin
4. Lisa D. Travis

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PINELLAS PARK FL 6/20

1. Elspeth Abbate
2. Gary Russell

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TUCSON AZ 6/20

1. Laurie Cohen
2. Dustin George

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CROATIA TOUR 6/13-23

1. Rich Baker
2. Alice Goodwin

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BALTIC CRUISE 6/14-26

1. Jef Clark
2. Susan Hoehn

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EDMONTON AB, CANADA 6/27

1. Matthew Larocque
2. Brian Plantinga

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FT. LAUDERDALE FL 6/27

1. Trip Payne
2. Charlotte Simeone
3. Harriett Berkelhammer
4. Geraldine Hynes

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HAZEL PARK MI 6/27-28

1. Ron Hoekstra
2. Richard Lauder
3. Jack Lysowski

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TWIN CITIES MN (LCT) 6/27

1. Steve Pellinen

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MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 6/28

1. Lewis Martinez
2. Christiane Tran
3. Alan Whitman
4. Bharat Sampath
5. Aron Smith

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ALBANY NY EARLY BIRD 1 7/1

1. Ron Hoekstra
2. Mona Larsen
3. Jane Marsh

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RENO NV EARLY BIRD 1 7/1

1. Rob Robinsky

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ALBANY NY EARLY BIRD 2 7/2

1. Chris Lipe
2. Heather Drumm
3. Jeremy Hall
4. Anita Rackham
5. Judy Cole
6. Elouise Pearl
7. Muriel De Silva

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RENO NV EARLY BIRD 2 7/2

1. Joe Dackman
2. Carlene Wallis
3. P. K. Gott
4. Pat Diener
5. Betty Cornelison
6. Richard Strick

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ALBANY NY 7/3-5

1. Kate Fukawa-Connelly
2. Edward Halper
3. Jane Clark

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RENO NV 7/3-6

1. Nathan Benedict
2. Denver Steele
3. Matthew Nelson

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CHARLESTON IL (LCT) 7/4

1. Marty Gabriel

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LAGUNA WOODS CA 7/5

1. Rachel Knapp
2. Jamie Covell

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BAYSIDE NY 7/11

1. Eric Goldstein
2. Woody Chen
3. James Curley
4. Marc Carnegie

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MINNEAPOLIS MN (LCT) 7/11

1. Jim Kramer

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ROCKY RIVER OH 7/11

1. Brian Bowman
2. Jacque Lease
3. Cecilia Huber

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SEATTLE WA 7/11

1. Rafi Stern
2. Chris Grubb
3. J. Midori Howard
4. James Porter
5. Ellen Lin

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ALISO VIEJO CA (LCT) 7/12

1. Kevin Rickhoff

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BERKELEY CA 7/12

1. Nick Meyer
2. S. Spencer Sun
3. Vicky Julian
4. Raghuram Jonnalagedda

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GUELPH ON, CANADA 7/12

1. John Robertson
2. Janice Anderson

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PHILADELPHIA PA 7/12

1. Jason Keller
2. Verna Richards Berg
3. Margo Kuno
4. Michael Mahoney

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STRONGSVILLE OH (LCT) 7/12

1. Pete Zeigler

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INDEPENDENCE OH (LCT) 7/12

1. Pete Zeigler

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DALLAS TX 7/18

1. Carl Davis
2. Craig Sjostrom
3. Nancy Bratcher

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FULTON TX 7/18

1. Tony Rankin
2. Jane Tacker

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MICHIGAN VS. OHIO (RESTRICTED) 7/18-19

1. Alex Fiszbein

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ROSEVILLE MN (LCT) 7/18

1. Steve Pellinen

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TORONTO ON, CANADA 7/18-19

1. Ross Brown
2. Priya Fernando
3. Wayne Barclay

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WASHINGTON DC 7/18

1. Thomas M. Hall
2. George Rhyne
3. Adam Fine
4. Anne McCarthy

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WEST VIRGINIA VS. WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA (RESTRICTED) 7/18-19

1. Aaron McGuffin

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SAFETY HARBOR FL 7/19

1. Timothy Bottorff

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MOUNTAIN VIEW CA 7/19

1. Lester Schonbrun
2. K. C. Frodyma
3. Reena Singhal

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EDMONTON AB, CANADA 7/25

1. George Latis
2. Peter Yap

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FT. LAUDERDALE FL 7/25

1. Ron Tiekert
2. Natalie Liebman
3. Dawn Doyle
4. Marilena Souza

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LAKE OSWEGO OR (LCT) 7/26

1. Conrad Bassett-Bouchard
2. P. K. Gott
3. Joshua Standig

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TAMPA FL 8/1

1. Stefan Huber

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NATIONAL SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP 8/1-5

1. Dave Wiegand
2. Thomas Reinke
3. Dave Leonard
4. Max Karten
5. Doug Szymkowiak

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LAGUNA WOODS CA 8/2

1. Jesse Kellerman

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Linda Wancel loves reading, writing, watching films, traveling, and Scrabbling. She is the mother of 27-year-old twins and has been a criminal prosecutor for the last 23 years.