Scrabble Australia
Chronology
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1948 |
Scrabble® trademark registered in US |
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1953 |
Scrabble® made available to the Australian market |
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1981 |
Inaugural general meeting (5 May) of ASPA (Vic) |
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1985 |
First edition of ‘Across the Board’ published by ASPA (Vic). |
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1986 |
Victorian Championships – Masters Players given the option to use clocks |
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Agreement of cooperation signed between ASPA (Vic) and Murfett Regency |
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‘ASPAL’ made available for adjudication purposes |
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1988 |
Establishment of ASPA WA (28 June) |
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Jim Warmington awarded first prize by Murfett Regency in their bumper-sticker competition. Winning slogan ‘Let’s Play Scrabble – it’s your word against mine’ |
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1989 |
Discussions with J W Spear’s in relation to a World Championship competition – potentially to be held in 1991. Format, rules etc to be decided by Spears |
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1990 |
Inaugural meeting of ASPA Tasmania |
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1991 |
First World Championship tournament held in London |
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1993 |
Death of Alfred Butts, creator of Scrabble® |
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Murfett Regency Games taken over by J W Spear & Sons plc |
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JW Spears provide financial support for Australia’s World Championship entrants |
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NOTABLE EVENTS |
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1996 |
Creation of ‘SOWPODS Scrabble® Home Page’ including reports of Australian tournaments and national ratings |
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1997 |
Financial constraints require Mattel to reduce funding to promotional activities, establishment of new clubs and internet activity |
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‘Across the Board’ to be managed by CASPA. |
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1999 |
First day’s play at the Sydney International Masters filmed by Channel Ten and featured during Sydney’s televised evening news. |
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Baulkham Hills Club the first Australian Club to have its own website . |
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Mattel commissions a dress made from Scrabble® tiles which was worn by Penne Dennison of ‘Hey, Hey, It’s Saturday’ at the Australian Fashion Awards in Sydney (May 1999) |
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2001 |
Online play - SOWPODS playing room added to ‘scrabbleon’ |
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2003 |
‘Australian Scrabble Players in Action’ is made available – a video comprising seventy two minutes of Australian players in action over eleven years. |
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Mattel Games issue a statement declaring the end of their relationship with Chambers and the start of an association with Harper Collins |
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2005 |
Death of Bil Rose aged 98, holder of the Guinness Book of Records title as the oldest participant in a Scrabble tournament |
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Martin Rose and Marcus Barton play Scrabble ® in a dive capsule on the sea bed at 18 metres deep off the East Coast of Tasmania |
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Tony Hunt and Gary Roberts play Scrabble® whilst abseiling at Yellow Rock (Blue Mountain). |
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2007 |
Australia’s change to Collins dictionary implemented |
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2008 |
Celebration of 60 years of Scrabble® |
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