Wellington Jighere and Tournament Director Wilma Vialle
Photo by Gerry Carter
Reporter Calla Wahlquist was there for the finals and you can read her excellent report in The Guardian
From Melbourne Nick Ivanovski used the Storify service to curate daily summaries.
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday (finals)
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
The World Scrabble Champion is Jighere Wellington from Nigeria. The elite competition had 130 players from many countries battling it out over 32 rounds to determine the top two. Wellington Jighere from Nigeria and Lewis McKay from England were the two survivors. On the fifth day they were isolated in the appropriately named Legends Room to compete in a best of seven series with moves being relayed to a perceptive audience of the best Scrabble players in the world. Wellington secured victory in four straight wins. There are many superb Scrabble players on the African continent, but this is the first time the World Scrabble Championship was awarded to an African. Wellington's achievement has been received with much acclamation by all Scrabblers, but especially so by the rest of the team from Nigeria, who almost did not get here with difficulties with visa approvals.Wellington made a striking impression when he first appeared at a World Scrabble Championship in Mumbai in 2007. A tall man with a confident style wearing a distinctive hat, he came in third, very close to being in second spot which would have had him play the finals series with the legendary top rated Nigel Richards. His hat, his style and his prowess were talked of long after. In 2015 the hat was different but the style was the same. The prowess was even greater because he had put a great deal of effort for this 2015 Championship.
Congratulations to Wellington Jighere, World Scrabble Champion.
A WESPA initiative
The World English Scrabble Association (WESPA) serves the
needs of Scrabble players worldwide. It promotes
international Scrabble tournaments throughout the world,
usually hosted by individual countries. WESPA also manages
ratings of players based on sanctioned events. Due to the
strong demand of WESPA member nations, WESPA has commissioned
ASPA, the Australian Scrabble Players Association, to hold a
traditional style WSC type invitational event in Perth,
Western Australia November 4 to 8, 2015.
Mattel and MSI have very kindly given us the green light for
this. The quota
system will be similar to what applied in Prague in 2013, but with
quotas boosted by about 50%.
The venue
Gloucester Park is a large sporting venue in East Perth, highlighted on this map. Enter via the gates on Nelson Crescent. Players are free to choose accommodation in any of the nearby places.
Protocols
- The lexicon will be Collins Official Scrabble Words 2015
- Tournament direction for these events will be in the experienced hands of the team of Wilma Vialle, Barry Harridge and Colin Lim.
- The rules are WESPA rules version 3. The penalty for an unsubstantiated challenge is 5 points per word challenged.
Equipment
Local Perth players do not have enough rotating boards and time clocks for the number of players attending these events. We would be very grateful to any players who can bring a board and/or a clock.Please advise Glenys Lawrie by email glal6229@optusnet.com.au if you are bringing a rotating board and/or a clock. Thank you!
Missing the start
The smooth running of each event relies on people being ready to play at the start of each day. Please make a note of the following numbers so that if you have problems and are running late or unable to attend, please contact one of the EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS during all events.Glenys Lawrie 0408 935 931
Judy Jones 0409 766 281
WESPA Biennial General Meeting
This will be held in the Golden Nugget Room after tournament play ceases on Friday. All are welcome, though priority will be given to named representatives of member nations.Watching the playoff
On Sunday, the grand final between the top two players from WESPA Championship will be played in the Legends Lounge and relayed to the Radiant Oro room where those not playing in the Sunday Open can watch the action live with expert commentary.Tournaments
Registration closed on Wed 28 October. Entry fees and prizes are given in Australian Dollars. One AUD is approximately 0.70 USD. The tournaments are intended to be revenue neutral, so prize money will depend on numbers. Reasonable projections have produced the following:Last Chance Qualifier
Format: 1 day - 8 rounds, Open to all players not already in WESPAC.Director: Wilma Vialle
Venue: Beau Don Room, (up the escalator and turn left
Date: Tuesday November 3, 2015
Times:
Check-in opens: 8 AM
Check-in closes: 8:30 AM
Draw for Game 1: 8:40 AM
Game 1 start: 8.45 AM
Entry Fee: AUD 50
Prizes: Top 4-8 places (based on entry numbers) and highest placed person under 18 (born Jan 1 1998 or later) will qualify for the WESPA Championship 2015
CURRENT ENTRIES
SUNDOWNER
Pre-Registration and ReceptionAll players are invited to a Sundowner (Reception) at approximately 5:30 PM to 7 PM on Tuesday 3rd November to pre-register for Wednesday. The Sundowner will be held in the Committee Room - up the ramp and straight ahead. Come along and register for the WESPAC and the Perth International, collect your gift bag and catch up with other players over a drink. Light snacks will be provided free. [Please advise Glenys Lawrie by email glal6229@optusnet.com.au if you will be attending the Sundowner.]
WESPA Championship 2015
Format: 4 days, 8 games per day for all entrants. Last day playoff of the top two, best of seven.Director: Wilma Vialle
Invitational by qualification
Venue: Golden Nugget Room, up the escalator and turn right, walk through the Radiant Oro room which is the breakout room, to the Golden Nugget room.
Dates: November 4-8, 2015 (Wed to Sun)
Times:
Check-in opens: 8 AM
Check-in closes: 8:30 AM
Draw for Game 1: 8:40 AM
Game 1 start: 8.45 AM
Entry Fee: AUD 300
Prizes: 1st - AUD 10,000 and scaled prizes for placings
CURRENT ENTRIES
Perth Scrabble International
Format: 3 days - 24 rounds, OpenVenue: Golden Nugget Room, up the escalator and turn right, walk through the Radiant Oro room which is the breakout room, to the Golden Nugget room.
Director: Colin Lim
Dates: November 4-6, 2015 (Wed to Fri)
Times:
Check-in opens: 8 AM
Check-in closes: 8:30 AM
Draw for Game 1: 8:40 AM
Game 1 start: 8.45 AM
Entry Fee: AUD 150 for 3 days (or AUD 200 for 5 days)
Prizes: 1st - AUD 5000 and scaled prizes for placings
CURRENT ENTRIES
Saturday Open
Format: 1 day - 8 rounds, OpenDirector: Colin Lim
Venue: Golden Nugget Room, up the escalator and turn right, walk through the Radiant Oro room which is the breakout room, to the Golden Nugget room.
Dates: November 7, 2015
Times:
Check-in opens: 8 AM
Check-in closes: 8:30 AM
Draw for Game 1: 8:40 AM
Game 1 start: 8.45 AM
Entry Fee: AUD 50
Prizes: 1st - AUD 1500 and scaled prizes for placings
CURRENT ENTRIES
Sunday Open
Format: 1 day - 8 rounds, OpenDirector: Colin Lim
Venue: Golden Nugget Room, up the escalator and turn right, walk through the Radiant Oro room which is the breakout room, to the Golden Nugget room.
Dates: November 8, 2015
Times:
Check-in opens: 8 AM
Check-in closes: 8:30 AM
Draw for Game 1: 8:40 AM
Game 1 start: 8.45 AM
Entry Fee: AUD 50, but players eliminated from WESPA Championship get free entry.
Prizes: 1st - AUD 1500 and scaled prizes for placings
CURRENT ENTRIES