The Scrabble Club held their annual tournament in the Boardroom over the weekend of 22nd and 23rd February.
We had a total of 12 competitors from Nelson, Golden Bay, Wellington and Christchurch in this 15 game competition. It was a really full-on event, with one game following another, with only brief breaks between the games. Competitors were divided into 2 grades: A and B depending on their ranking, based on previous performance in other tournaments.
Each competitor played each of the others in their grade a total of 3 times, with 8 games on the Saturday and 7 on the Sunday. Play finished by 5.00 on Saturday so that people could go to Opera in the Park and we usually try and hold our tournaments that weekend to give people the opportunity to attend this iconic Nelson event. On Sunday, we finished by 4.30 with a short prize giving, enabling people from out of the area to catch flights home.
As the competition progressed, the leaders changed a few times and we all eagerly awaited the announcement of the winners. John Baird from Christchurch led the A grade for most of the way, beating the higher ranked Murray Rogers by one game. For Murray from Golden Bay, this was his 17th Nelson Tournament. In the B grade, Tony Charlton had led most of the way but was narrowly beaten in the final game by long-term member of the Nelson Club, Maria Clinton. Both won 10 games, but Maria had a higher spread (total difference in points).
| Results: | A Grade | B Grade |
| FIRST | John Baird, Christchurch | Maria Clinton, Nelson |
| SECOND | Murray Rogers, Golden Bay | Tony Charlton, Nelson |
| THIRD | Jean O’Brien, Independent | Betty Don, Nelson |
The Scrabble Club has now been operating for 19 years, for the last 5 years as part of the Suburban Club, but, as is the case with many clubs, has a declining membership. We play in the Members’ Bar every week starting at 7.00 pm on Wednesdays. Most people in New Zealand have played Scrabble at some time, usually with their families, but competitive Scrabble is rather different, with lots of 2 and 3 letter words as well as the 50 point bonus scoring 7 letter words.
Why not come along and give competitive Scrabble a try, or just watch us playing? Phone: Tony or Gill 545 1159.