Club News

by Keith Hagel

CLUB 42: Twin Clubbing in the Twin Cities, Part I

When Steph Steele joined Club 42 in Minneapolis/St. Paul in 1991, she became part of a group that had been pushing tiles since 1976. The club, where she is still a member, continues to flourish and now is one of the oldest and most active in North America. It is directed by Steve Pellinen, who is well known among tournament players as the creator of the North American SCRABBLE Tour.

Club 42 generally draws about 25-30 players to its weekly Tuesday night meetings in the basement of the Bridge Center in Minneapolis. Not surprisingly for a club its age, the organization has had several earlier venues, including a Quaker meeting house and a long-established St. Paul restaurant, the St.Clair Broiler. (Steph points out, as an aside, that before becoming involved in the club, she had been a waitress at the St. Clair and occasionally served a "handsome guy in steel-toed boots, covered in brick dust, who always came in with a tattered Scrabble dictionary." The mason she served was Tim Adamson, then and now a highly rated St. Paul player.)

The Bridge Center, according to Steph, is not glitzy and shows its age in places, but it works. With "rickety" card tables, in addition to the hard tables provided, there is enough space, at least most of the time, to accommodate the large number of players. Chairs are comfortable, and lighting is good, she says. On the other hand, the basement is not wheelchair-accessible, which is a problem.

Cost is only $1 per game, with most members playing 3 or 4 on a Tuesday night. Sometimes, depending on pairing issues and the like, the competition runs to 10:30 p.m. or later, something that might not be possible at a smaller venue with earlier closing hours.

The success of Club 42 has spawned a "twin," Club 651 in Roseville, which meets on Thursday nights, directed by Carol Dustin. More information on that club, which draws about 20 players, many who also come to Club 42 on Tuesdays, will appear in a future issue. In the meantime, more information on both clubs, including locations and directions, is available at http://www.bachster.com/Scrabble/

Included on that web site is the following summary: We are a friendly group of players, and we've adopted a part of Lisa Odom's "Ode to Club 42" as our motto:

Novice and expert gather together
Unique in ourselves, yet birds of a feather
We all are so different yet we all are the same
In the fun and the joy that we find in this game

Pearly bingo strand, 643 game leave enviers in Escondido

Nick Seistrup has rewritten the record book for NASPA Club 357 in Escondido, Calif. At the May 9 club meeting, he saved his best game for last, demolishing club Director Jamie Covell, 643-251, with six bingos in the process, as can be seen in the game board to the right. Nick opened with IMPEARL, came right back with DECANALS* (Oops, doesn't take an S). A few plays later, he laid down REDSHIFT, followed by ENVIERS and TENAILS, for five bingos in his first 10 plays!. One last bingo, VENTURE, not only gave Nick six bingos, but the new club record for a single game. Despite the whipping, Jamie was quick to hail Nick's accomplishment in a note to club members!

Escondido #357

2nd & 4th Saturdays 11 a.m.—3 p.m., Escondido Public Library Annex, 239 South Kalmia St., Escondido, CA Jamie Covell: 760-522-9573 jamiecovell@cox.net

Judy Cole sets a zingy record at the Lexington Club

On July 30th Judy Cole broke the Lexington, MA Club's long-standing record for the highest-scoring non-bingo. Arnie Horowitz had made a 109-point play in early January, 2001. Judy's play was for 111 points. Her opponent had played SINUATE at 15F, and so she was then able to position ZINGY at 14J, with the Z on the TLS and the whole word doubled. The new OWL2 word ZA was helpful in achieving this new record. This and other club records can be seen at http://www.wolfberg.net/scrabble/lexington/stats/.

Lexington #108

The Lexington Club meets on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. at the First Parish Unitarian Church at 9 Harrington Rd. in Lexington, Massachusetts. For additional information go to http://www.wolfberg.net.

Ralph Crosby and Cooper Komatsu

Age gap record in Los Angeles?

A few months back two members of Los Angeles CA Club 44, Ralph Crosby (88) and Cooper Komatsu (6) were matched in a game. With their ages 82 years apart, this might be some sort of record for an official game. Club director Alan Stern notes that Cooper, who knows all his 2-letter words, is, by far, the youngest participant ever to attend Club 44. He won both of his games on his first night there! Alan forwarded this photo, snapped by Cooper’s mother, Deborah.

Los Angeles CA #44

Club web site
Wednesday 5:45—9:45 P.M.
Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd, Community Center - Room 4, West Hollywood
Alan Stern 818-951-1745 alan@thescrabbleclub.com

Interested in a possible write-up on your group? Information on other clubs, large or small, big city or boondocks, should be sent for consideration to Keith Hagel, wordguy1@gmail.com