First NASPA Nationals a Big Success

by Ted Gest

The Nationals team of officials--a great group!

Dave Wiegand of Portland, Oregon, barely took first place in Division 1 and the $10,000 first prize in Dayton in early August in the first National SCRABBLE Championship run by NASPA.

Wiegand, who had taken top prize in the 2005 National Championship in Reno, beat Nigel Richards of Malaysia in the final game by only 135 spread points. Each had a 25-6 record. Wiegand said he was only able to prevail by beating Richards four times in the same tournament, a virtually impossible feat given Richards' superior SCRABBLE tournament record (coming into Dayton Richards had won 14 of his previous 20 tournaments).

Other divisional winners were Thomas Reinke of Middleton, Wisconsin, with a 24-7 mark in Division 2; Dave Leonard of Buffalo, New York, with an identical record in Division 3; Max Karten of Barrington, Rhode Island, 27-4 in Division 4; and Doug Szymkowiak of North Ridgeville, Ohio, with 22.5-8.5 in Division 5.

Jerry Lerman (San Francisco, CA) vs. Joe Edley (Port Jefferson, NY)

The tournament attracted 486 players, surpassing the 451 total of the 2007 Dayton Players Championship. That tournament was organized by players in an off-year for the then-biannual National Championship sponsored by SCRABBLE manufacturer Hasbro. This year, Hasbro donated the $10,000 first prize, but otherwise the event was organized and financed by NASPA.

The 4-1/2-day tournament ran smoothly under the direction of Texas club and tournament director Mary Rhoades. Los Angeles club director Alan Stern was the emcee for the awards ceremony.

Among the honors was the Rose Award, named for the late veteran tournament player Rose Kreiswirth. This was given to Deborah Gaudier, whom former National Scrabble Association national champion Joe Edley said "persevered with a smiling face" despite a poor record "playing up" in Division 1. A sportsmanship award was given to fifteen-year-old Evan Winston, the bottom seed in Division 5, whose sole win was against the division’s top seed.

Pat Hardwick of Division 3 won a high-word award for the 234-point EQUALIZE, and Rod MacNeil of Division 1 won a prize for a 505-point high loss (to Kenji Matsumoto's 515).

Gigi Miller (Sparks, NV) vs. Stephanie Steele (St. Paul, MN)

Pete Zeigler of Division 2 had to be hospitalized during the tournament but returned to improve his rating to become the top-rated player in Ohio.

Tournament organizers commended players Lois Greene, retired director of the convention center where the tournament was held, and Willie Pitzer, for their work in organizing the event and finding outside activities for participants.

Other top finishers were Joel Wapnick, Adam Logan, and NASPA co-chair Chris Cree in Division 1; Matt Robin, Eric Tran, Sam Hollington, and Steve Oliger in Division 2; Ben Lam, Linda Finn, Stephanie Steele, and Bradley Robbins in Division 3; Chris Kennett, Aaron Daly, Daniel Citron, and Tapani Lindgren in Division 4; and Andy Murphy, Tristan Vasech, Peter Filandro, and Dave Cook in Div. 5.

A full list of awards, plus photos, commentary, annotated games and all participants' records, can be found at http://scrabble-assoc.com/tourneys/2009/nsc/build/.

Ted Gest is president of a national group of journalists covering criminal justice and director of Washington D.C. SCRABBLE Club #171.

Photos in the 2009 NSC section by Sherrie Saint John. Sherrie Saint John is a former NSA Director of the Year and the administrator of crossword-games-pro. She directs a handful of tournaments a year and is the organizer of the Boston Area Tournament (BAT) and the Cape Cod Tournament.