WESPAC (essentially the World Scrabble Championship) was held in Ghana. Many players from around the world played over four days and then the top two (Adam Logan and Nigel Richards) fought it out as the best of seven. Adam Logan from Canada won, making him one of only three who have won the title more than once (the other two being Nigel Richards and David Eldar). Australia was represented by Russell Honeybun, Karen Richards, Paul Richards and Kashi Thiris.
See Results (WESPA)
ACT Championship
The ACT Championship has been won by John Spaan. Top three :
The Tasmanian Championship has been won by Stephen Mooney-Pursell. Jon Ford-King and Martin Rose came second and third. See Results
The Youth surge
Nathan Tang gained 443 rating points over a year
Scrabble NSW has a yearly award, the Joan Rosenthal Trophy, for the NSW member who gains the most rating points in one year. This year it was won by Nathan Tang. And he also won it in 2024. Young eager players can gauge their progress by rating gains.
The three day event was also planned to include Scrabble coaching from two top experts and motivaters. Australian Youth Scrabble coach, Karen Richards, travelled from Queensland to coach the more-experienced youth, mostly those from interstate (Qld, ACT, Vic) - players who then competed honorably in the three-day open NSW Championship. Technically, this is the most difficult event in Australia for anyone rated under 1300.
Age category winners were Nathan Tang (under 18) and Ollie Klistorner (under 14)
Ollie and Nathan
On Saturday, in parallel with Day 1 of NSW Champs, John Hamilton (Australian Youth Scrabble Coordinator) worked with a bunch of young beginners, some of whom then competed against adults in the one-day Open event of Sunday. It was exciting to have some brand-new talent involved. Some of these came to Scrabble via MENSA. We will be working more closely with MENSA in future: Ollie (age 9) and Karen are leading a session for Primary School students at the Australian MENSA conference on 11/12 October.
Scrabble NSW/CASPA hope to make this Youth Coaching an annual event, being a school holiday period.
Contact Karen or John to reserve a place for your child.
The major event of the Australian Scrabble year is the Australian Championship and Plate at Easter. In 2026 this will be in Canberra. And so there are other related activities before and after.
2026 Australian Women's Championship
This will be WESPA rated and the venue is Eastlake Football Club, 3 Oxley St,
Griffith ACT. Susan MacGillivray is the key contact.
A five round tournament starting at 1pm, and like other Mindsport events, having a special focus on youth, but with a side tournament for bigger kids up to 100 years old. This is organised by Karen Richards and will be held at the Ibis Styles.
CASPA AGM
Good Friday is when representatives of states come together to discuss business. See the minutes of the 2025 AGM.
Australian Championship and Plate
The Championship section is for players rated 1300 upwards, and the Plate is for players rated below 1300. the venue is Eastlake Football Club in Griffith. 24 rounds over three days.
There will be a presentation dinner on Monday night. More details including payment
Mindsport Afterthought
A seven round tournament starting at 9am for those under 18 only oganised by Karen Richards.
All these events are listed on the National Calendar
Causeway Challenge
Miracle Grand Hotel Bangkok
Many players, and especially Australians have enjoyed past Causeway Challenge events organised superbly by Michael Tang. Each event was bigger and better and in 2026 it will be not in Malaysia but in Bangkok (where players have also enjoyed exciting tournaments). Michael aims to have 500 players in five divisions playing 36 rounds over 4 days. There will be 70 000 USD in prizes given out (top 10 in each of the five divisions).
Many Australian players have already registered. Michael expects quite a few more to register. Find out more at the event website
2026 Australasian Open
An announcement from Scrabble New Zealand.
Join us in lovely Mt. Eden, Auckland for the debut of a brand new international open tournament!
We guarantee that the winner's purse will top 1000NZD.
Venue:
Mt Eden Village Centre 449 Mount Eden Road, Mount Eden, Auckland
Dates and Times:
20-21 June, 2026: Report at 8:40am for a 9am start both days.
We expect to wrap up, including the prize ceremony, by 5:30pm on Sunday at the latest.
Format:
15 games - 8 Saturday, 7 Sunday. One grade. Swiss pairing system with KOTH for the last 2 rounds.
Rules:
Scrabble New Zealand Constitution and Rules of Play Lexicon: CSW24
Rating:
This tournament will be rated by Scrabble New Zealand and WESPA
Early Registration:
Players that pay their entry fee before 20 April 2026 will be eligible to win back $60 in a
lottery draw. Capacity is limited, so register early to guarantee your spot!
Entry:
Payment of NZ $115 entry fee is payable by 13 June 2026
International Players pay your NZ $115 entry fee here via Wise: https://wise.com/pay/me/christophert3852
Download Wise to create an account if you don't have one: https://wise.com/invite/dic/christophert3852
Cash on the Day may be accepted as a last resort - please enquire if you are having difficulty with payment.
Registration:
Notify Tournament Convenor Chris Tallman, SNZ Secretary: chrishtallman@gmail.com with your entry details:
Full Name of Entrant and whether you are bringing a board and/or a clock. For international entrants, please also indicate your Home Scrabble Organisation and Current WESPA rating
2026 Trans Tasman
The Trans Tasman is a biennial event where an Australian team plays a New Zealand team. In 2026 12 Australians will play 12 New Zealand players over 24 games and this will be hosted in Australia,
in Queensland.
For the first time there will be a Youth Trans Tasman alongside the adult event. Nine young Australians will play three New Zealand players over three days. There will be 22 rounds in all which is a double round robin of all 12 players, where the games of Australia vs New Zealand will count for team tallies.
