The website of the Australian Scrabble Players Association (Victoria) Inc.
Watch this space for the latest news and happenings in the Victorian Scrabble scene, and to find lots of information and to check on news from the past click on the links at left.
Your social reporter is Marj Miller, and to pass on any news click here
mjwm@connexus.net.au
Upcoming Events:
Ballarat Summer Tournament ~ 6 games ~ Saturday January 28Camberwell ~ 6 games ~ Sunday February 12
Melbourne Team Challenge ~ 9 games ~ Sunday March 4
Langwarrin ~ 6 games ~ Sunday March 18
For full details of all tournaments click HERE
To download a list of the closing and reopening dates of our clubs click here
The Bil Rose Aestival ~ January 15 2012
Notwithstanding the frenetic juggling of names through the sections once all players have registered (with no-shows), once underway, this tournament always has proven to be a popular alternative format, where groupings of 8 players (in order of rating) play 7 round robin games. Also, because of the predetermined draws, the day progresses very efficiently. The Section Winners: Khwanjai Thammaping, Patricia Mitchell, Peter Kougi, Ruth Fewings, Mal Eden, Gianna Devcic, Katie Rowe |  Fun for the High Game and High Word winners: At the back Elizabeth McKean, with Rod Casey, Norma Fisher and Rob York |  Janet Roberts, returning after a break of many years, with Patricia Mitchell and Carole Eden who won the prize for the best "Tennis Word" |
 Frank Csarics versus Kate Gullan in the Baghdatis section |  Khwanjai's aristic arrangement of the section names - thanks for the pics, Khwanjai |  A hard fought game in the Federer section - Eileen Mills versus Marlene Ellis |
 Visiting from South Australia, Adam Kretschmer and Rachel Telfer |  Essendon Club's Theresa Scicluna, Cynthia Cook, Lina Camilleri & Gianna Devcic |  Clowning around - Rob York mimics well-known Aussie player Lleyton Hewitt |
Collins Words 2012 ~ introduced January 1st 2012
Decathon 2011 ~ December 27
 Theresa Scicluna with new player Nicole Lowe, both from the Essendon Club |  Taking a coffee break, Alistair Kane with Helen Maurus in her pretty Zyzzyva T-shirt |  Carol Johnsen introducing one of our young international heroes, Jayden Kuhne |
It was a challenge to run the Decathon this year as the two top sections were well populated but the lower sections were short of players, and round robins were played with the final rounds reverting to an Australian Draw. As the tournament had been advertised as a four-section event it seemed quite unfair to arbitrarily reduce the number of sections on the day, but next year's Decathon is advertised as 2, 3 or 4 divisions which will hopefully cover all contingencies.
 The Masterful Masters - happy Trevor Halsall, with Ray Alford and Jayden Kuhne |  The Victors in Advanced - Peter Bauer, Elaine Capewell and Ann Hagley |  The Intermediate Intelligentsia - Theresa Scicluna, Carol Mascitti and Dieter Jedamski |
In Advanced four players recorded seven wins, separated only by margin. The best of these was Ann Hagley who finished first ahead of Elaine Capewell and Peter Bauer, with Mary McMahon in fourth place. Elaine scored 524 to win the High Game award, and Cheryle Jerram played "SQUANDER" for 104 points to achieve the High Word award for this division.
Intermediate saw three players finish on 7 wins, and the best of these was Dieter Jedamski, clear on margin from Theresa Scicluna and Mohammed Hegazi in second and third places respectively. Carol Mascitti played a great game to score 517, and in the same game played the nine-timer "STEEPING" for 131 points to collect both the High Game and High Word awards.
 Triumphant in Recreation - Marisa Nuccitelli, Carole Eden and Ann Goodwin |  Photographer Khwanjai Thammaping with Hilary and Fintan Conway |  At the computer table - Carol Johnsen, Norma Fisher, Barry Harridge and Marj Miller |
Some excellent ratings gains were achieved on the day, with the following clearly worthy of mention: Jayden Kuhne +75, Mohammed Hegazi +62, Marisa Nuccitelli +57, Ann Hagley +55 and Carole Eden +50. Congratulations to all on your achievements, and thank you to all who helped in any way on the day including photographer Khwanjai, your assistance was greatly appreciated.
To see the final standings of all players click HERE
Evo Arvo ~ December 11 2011
It was good to see 42 players turn up at short notice for this pleasant 6-game tournament, scheduled to give our Scrabble-loving afficionados an extra event prior to Christmas. Maxine Auld, a member of the Bentleigh Club, took part in her first tournament and I'm sure will return to the fray at a later date. The later starting time of 2pm was popular with many, and the yummy pizza dinner delivered virtually on time by local pizzeria Nero's was appreciated by all. Division A: Geoff Wright, Norma Fisher, Peter Kougi and Doug Ristic |  Division B: Rob York, Khwanjai Thammaping and Shaun Donnelly |  Mythili Rudra from New South Wales, with new player Maxine Auld |
In Division B Khwanjai Thammaping won all 6 games to finish ahead of Rob York on five wins and Shaun Donnelly on four. Well done Khwanjai, winning all games in any event is always a huge challenge. Shaun took home the High Game award with a score of 534, and Rob played "FANCIEST" for 95 points to collect the High Word award.
Commendable ratings gains were achieved by Khwanjai Thammaping +56, Norma Fisher +44, Rob York +36, Harry Malcolm +33 and Geoff Wright +32. Thank you to everyone for your assistance in the running of this event, and a special thank you to Jack Miller who did an admirable job on KP duty for the day.
To see the full results of this event click HERE
The Bentleigh Tournament ~ November 20 2011
Harry Malcolm, 2000 games
The A.S.P.A.(Vic) 2000 game badge
Many thanks to the 64 players who turned out to participate in the annual Bentleigh Tournament………20/11/2011 was an auspicious day for some, not so for others - but that's the nature of this game we love. No one actually won all 7 games but there were some tight battles and jockeying for positions! We welcomed Novice player Elysha Neylan from the Nunawading Club and also presented Harry Malcolm with his 2000 game badge, congratulations to you both.
In Recreation Marjorie Clark came 1st by winning 6 games with a margin of 506, losing only to Anna Palmer who placed 2nd with 5 wins and a margin of 465. Latha Weerakkody came 3rd also on 5 wins with a margin of 343. Anna also had both the High Game of 533 and the High Word - "skewing" for 106..a good haul for Anna!
 The winner of Recreation, Marjorie Clark |  Recreation: Latha Weerakkody Anna Palmer |  New player on the day, Elysha Neylan from Nunawading Club |
In Advanced a resurgent Lorraine Thomas came 1st by winning 6 games with a margin of 518, losing only to Ian Newton who came 2nd with 6 wins and a margin of 380, and Kashi Ross came 3rd with 5 wins and a margin of 532. Lorraine also had the High Game of 550 and Kris Howat won the High Word with an awesome score of 212 for "overfall".
 Masters: Heather Long, Anand Bharadwaj, Geoff Wright, Natasha Podesser |  Advanced: Lorraine Thomas, Kashi Ross, Kris Howat Ian Newton |  Intermediate: Dorothy Barraclough, Paula Messer, Glen Chandler |
Excellent ratings gains on the day included Lorraine Thomas +59, Glen Chandler +54 and Heather Long +43.
Congratulations to all…….some very fine performances, particularly by our young players. The Bentleigh Club members wish Anand and Jayden the very best of tiles in their pursuit of the WYSC title next month in Johor Bahru.
To see the final standings of all players click HERE
The Geelong Tournament, at the home of the AFL Premiers - November 6 2011
Once again we gathered in the Fred Flanagan Room at Kardinia Park, a lovely venue for a tournament. Fifty-six players took part, arriving by car, train and ferry. We congratulated Ruth Fewings on her 84th birthday, and fittingly Ruth had her best day of scrabble since the middle of last year - she was delighted to win four games and gain 20 ratings points. We also welcomed Edward Okulicz from NSW, and it was good to see some faces we don't see very often. Many of us partook of the pleasant lunch available in the Cats Bistro, which made the lunch hour a little longer than intended but the six games were still completed in sufficient time to allow everyone to travel home in daylight. Players relaxing in the Fred Flanagan Room at the Geelong Football Club |  President Carol Johnsen and Mary McMahon putting in some serious time at the laptop |  Masters - Geoff Wright, Edward Okulicz, Lois Binnie, Norma Fisher and Heather Long |
The winnner in Advanced was a very happy Jenny Brysha, followed by Kris Howat and Audree Clifton. Jenny and Kris both had five wins, with the evergreen Audree on four wins. Audree also played the High Game for this section, 530 points, and Mark Cole scored 94 for HEARINGS to gain the prize for High Word.
Intermediate saw a win to Marjorie Barnes from the Mount Martha Club, with Anne Menheere (Geelong Club) and Theresa Scicluna (Essendon Club) placing second and third respectively. Marjorie and Anne had five wins apiece, with Theresa winning four. High Game went to Paula Messer for a score of 486, and the High Word award for the section went to Ann Goodwin (Greensborough and Watsonia Clubs) for the nine-timer KNITTING valued at 122 points, the best word score for the day.
 Advanced - Mark Cole, Jenny Brysha, Audree Clifton and Kris Howat |  Inter - Marjorie Barnes, Paula Messer, Ann Goodwin, Theresa Scicluna, Anne Menheere |  Recreation - Anna Palmer, Ruth Fewings and Glenys Dettmann |
Excellent ratings gains for the day were achieved by Marjorie Barnes +44, Anne Menheere +40, Jenny Brysha +38, Kris Howat +37 and Norma Fisher +36. Special thanks to Marlene Ellis, Alan Cole, Mary McMahon and all the members of the Geelong Club who organised things so well, undoubtedly everyone had a lovely day out.
To see the final standings of all players click HERE
SOUTH AUSTRALIA TRIUMPHS – 67games – 53games
Thank you to Arjun Haria and Barry Harridge for the photos, and to Carol Johnsen for the following report.It was a rather overwhelming defeat for Victoria in the annual Challenge between South Australia and Victoria, but nevertheless well-deserved for the South Australian team. However, the combined camaraderie of the teams and effort put into this weekend more than compensated for Victoria’s loss.
 The victorious SA team: Standing - Jane Taylor, Marlene Brown, Lyndee Hill, Rob Marotta, Carol Colwill, Simon Walton, Paula Brown, Rowena Vnuk, Adam Kretschmer, Carmel Dodd, Tony Miller. In front - Lachlan Vnuk, Trevor Tao. |  The Vics: Back - Doug Ristic, Peter Bauer, Arjun Haria, Norma Fisher, Mal Eden, Carole Eden, Dorothy Barraclough. Seated: Ruth Fewings, Glenys Dettmann, Heather Long, Sandra Masel, Carol Johnsen, Kris Howat. In front - Barry Harridge |
Trevor Tao, composer and guitar player, along with all the SA team, sang a very clever team song (to the tune of the Adelaide Crows football song) to us at the start of the tournament and hopefully you can see and hear the video on this site. Click below to watch and listen to Trevor and the South Australian team!
Barry Harridge had arranged for 10 of us to attend a cabaret performance on Friday evening at an intimate venue (converted church) just one block from the playing venue (and our accommodation). The trio (2 women and one man on piano) entertained us with arrangements of the McCartney and Lennon collaboration songbook which certainly brought back to mind the contribution that this duo made to the music world. The cost was $20 per head and was totally enjoyable.
Whilst the Horsham venue is closer to Melbourne than to Adelaide, most of the team from SA agrees that Horsham is a great venue, with cheap accommodation, many hotels and bistros, pokies, shops, caravan parks and the playing venue at the White Hart Hotel in the centre of town is cheap, quiet and the management are very accommodating. We have tentatively booked the weekend of October 6 and 7 (last weekend of school holidays) in Horsham for the 2012 challenge.
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Nigel Richards is the 2011 World Champion ~ Congratulations!
The finals playing room - Andrew plays Nigel,
with several annotators and Wilma standing by.
After five fascinating games of scrabble Nigel Richards from New Zealand emerged the victor over Andrew Fisher from Australia. Scores in the first four games were Nigel 484-427, Andrew 520-406, Nigel 459-359, Andrew 562-420, setting the scene for the all-important final game, which Nigel won convincingly 476-333. Some brilliant words were played, including zENAIDA(S), DAROGHAS, TOLARJ(E)V, (G)ONDELAY and PrEPR(I)NT. The distribution of tiles was interesting, with Andrew drawing just one blank from the ten available. Congratulations to Nigel, and better luck in two year's time, Andrew.
To see the final standings of all players click HERE
World Champs after Day 4
Round 29 - Pakorn Nemitrmansuk, Thailand,
v. Chris May
Round 34 - Andrew Fisher v. Dave Wiegand,
U.S.A.
World Championship update - end of Day 2
Tournament Director
Prof. Wilma Vialle
The Mount Martha Tournament ~ October 9 2011
Below is a report from the organiser of this very pleasant event held at the Mount Eliza Community Centre, Julie Belle. Thanks to Julie and all members of the Mount Martha Club for running the tournament, and in particular for their lovely yummy food!
Recreation: David Robinson 3rd,
Ann Goodwin 1st & High Word,
Heather Iapozzuto 2nd & High Game
The results are as follows: starting with Recreation, Heather Iapozzuto had a most successful day starting with a belated presentation of an award for her fantastic ratings increase accompanied by a beautiful portrait that Katie Rowe painted of Heather...followed by achieving the high game with 450 points and also 2nd place. Ann Goodwin came first with five wins and also took out high word with REQUINS for 87 points.Well done also to David Robinson who came 3rd winning 4 games.
Moving on to Intermediate, Sandra Masel achieved a very impressive 525 points to take out high game and also drew with Pat Weston to win high word. Both ladies scored 101 for their words - OVERDRAW and NEAPING respectively. Janet Matthews came 2nd winning 5 games and Stephanie Saunders came 3rd winning four games, well done to you both. The winner with 6 great wins was Marjorie Page, well done Marjorie!
In Advanced the high game went to Alan Cole with 513 points, well done Al! I was playing on the same table as John Parker when he got his memorable high word RESTRING for a fantastic 131 points...the excitement of getting a double triple bingo was all too much and his cup of tea went flying across the table! I would have been very happy with that too! Well done John! John also achieved 3rd place, John Rider all the way from sunny Queensland came second and Patricia Mitchell came 1st with five wins...good work!
Masters saw one of our locals Ray Alford achieve high game with 500 points and Harry Malcolm had the high word with BIASSED for 101 as well as 2nd place with 4 wins, congrats! Jane Mc Donnell came 3rd with 4 wins and the big winner was Gwen Lampre with a terrific 6 wins and that was after driving such a long way to get here!!
 Inter ~ Stephanie Saunders 3, Pat Weston equal High Word, Sandra Masel High Game & HW, Janet Matthews 2, (front) Marjorie Page 1. |  Advanced ~ Alan Cole High Game, Patricia Mitchell 1, John Parker 3 & High Word, John Rider 2. |  The Masters ~ Gwen Lampre 1, Harry Malcolm 2 & High Word, Ray Alford High Game, Jane McDonnell 3. |
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Most improved player 2010 ~ 2011
Heather Iapozzuto
Other high achievers during the 12 months were Rob York +221, Jan Bidwell +202, Michael Rubinstein +167, Wendy Barnes +158, Gillian Stevens +143, Ian Tay Zhi Xian +137, Jenny Plant +134 and Anand Bharadwaj + 130. Congratulations to all for a good year's scrabble!
The latest news on the W.S.C.
David Eldar
Alastair Richards
Coming soon - the World Scrabble Championship ~ October 12-16 in Warsaw
Australia has performed well in previous World Championships, and this has resulted in seven places being allocated to us this year, a great achievement indeed. Our representatives are shown below, and we wish them well. All have impressive credits which you can check by exploring the W.S.C. website - click HEREThis link will also keep you up to date with results and standings posted regularly by Tournament Director Canadian John Chew, and we thank John for his efforts in keeping us so well informed. Here are our Aussies -
 Chris May |  Naween Fernando |  Edward Okulicz |  Andrew Fisher |  Peter Kougi |  Trevor Halsall |