Kempsey Challenge - February 4th 2001


Richard Birch was right, we dallied for a week in the Kempsey area so I have been unable to report on last weekends disaster. In fact we were at a little place called Grassy Head which is equidistant (nearly) from Nambucca Heads, Kempsey and South West Rocks. Each of these coastal centres have established Scrabble groups and we managed to get immersed in the hospitality of the South West Rocks crowd for a day.

So any Scrabble players who want a week or two away from the hustle and bustle of the big smoke, but not be completely cut off from Scrabble, perhaps you could consider this destination. And there is a beachside holiday house there ready to go - I can supply details to anyone interested.

Back to the Kempsey Challenge. Going into the weekend there were news reports about the highway being cut at Tweed Heads, and the bridge between Kalang Valley and Bellingen being damaged. The highway being cut did not deter the Richards who found a way around via Toowoomba and Tenterfield, and converted a six hour trip into an eleven hour car trip. But last years Cup champion Paul Waldstein from Kalang was not not so resourceful and had to be an unfortunate victim of the prevailing conditions.

Unfortunately Marie Knight could not defend her title this year due to illness, but she was able to send along her sister Audree Clifton from Melbourne to take part. Audree covered herself with honour by coming up with VOLANTES for 149 to take high word in A Division.

After last years poor roll up from New South Wales, an extra two carloads swelled our numbers whereas only six Queenslanders played. Ann Drew and Olga Visser were two of these, still returning from the International Masters. They managed to quinella the A grade Cup section, and with Paul Richards running in third, it was all Queensland. Even the presence of John Barker could not stop the rot, and it was left to Jeff Chelton to offer the meek resistance.

In the B grade Shield section, things were just as grim with young Alistair Richards scooping the pool with a clean sweep of seven wins. The locals were speechless, as one by one he accounted for their so-called local champions. Deirdre Buttsworth, the convenor of the group at Nambucca, put on a good performance to come second in her first tournament with local hero Bill Bates running in third and collecting the Kempsey Cup for the best performing local player.

There was TV coverage that evening on the coast and next evening in Tamworth, so I was told, plus a full page spread in the local Macleay Argus on Friday. This excellent publicity was largely due to one Jacky Booth who is the Kempsey Club's publicity person.

Plans are afoot to make next years Kempsey Challenge bigger and better. With so much local enthusiasm it is great when seasoned players turn up to support the Scrabble cause. So in order to try and drag a few more of you away from your big city comfort, next years Kempsey Challenge will in all likelihood be a two day affair lasting from after lunch Saturday to after lunch Sunday, 12 games.

Results after game  7
FEBRUARY 4, 2001 -- CUP

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Anne Drew            7     953
  2  Olga Visser          6     540
  3  Paul Richards        5     110
  4  Jeff Chelton         4     174
  5  Karen Richards       4      50
  6  Audree Clifton       4      -3
  7  Jean Noonan          4     -16
  8  Richard Birch        4    -187
  9  Fay Grose            3      69
 10  Daphne Bezuidenhout  3      49
 11  Liz Jackman          3      41
 12  Raya Wilkinson       3      32
 13  Rene Chelton         3     -21
 14  John Barker          3     -45
 15  Anne Fiddler         3    -223
 16  Betty Coleman        2     -34
 17  Gloria Everson       2    -382
 18  Molly Pearson        0   -1107
HIGH GAME: Karen Richards    547
HIGH WORD: Audree Clifton    149
            "VOLANTES"

 Results after game  7
FEBRUARY 4, 2001 -- SHIELD

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Alastair Richards    7     673
  2  Deirdre Buttsworth   5     239
  3  Bill Bates           5     208
  4  Kate McDonnell       4     220
  5  Steve Sieradzan      4      85
  6  Diana Hilly          4     -29
  7  Vicki Underhill      4     -52
  8  Jacky Booth          4     -53
  9  Carol Gonnesena      4     -85
 10  Helen Blanks         4    -102
 11  Jean Howlett         3     190
 12  Margaret Ackman      3     -10
 13  Joy Smith            3     -26
 14  Jan Welland          3    -250
 15  Maureen Channells    3    -375
 16  Joy Morris           2     -14
 17  Carol Dwyer          1    -479
 18  A Bye                0    -140
HIGH GAME: Alastair Richards 446
HIGH WORD: Kate McDonnell         93
            "DIOXIDE"

Stats for Tournament : FEBRUARY 4, 2001

+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| state     Name           | National  | State   |   Wins    | Rating Points |
|                          | Old  New  | Old New | Exp  Act  | Old Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
+Section: *CUP                         +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| QLD Anne Drew            |   26   22 |   2   2 |  5.7  7.0 | 1706 +26 1732 |
| QLD Olga Visser          |  194  128 |  16   8 |  2.8  6.0 | 1373 +81 1454 |
| QLD Paul Richards        |  187  154 |  14  12 |  3.6  5.0 | 1388 +29 1417 |
| NSW Jeff Chelton         |  130  132 |  41  40 |  4.2  4.0 | 1453  -5 1448 |
| QLD Karen Richards       |   63   74 |   4   5 |  4.9  4.0 | 1578 -18 1560 |
| VIC Audree Clifton       |   97   96 |  50  50 |  3.9  4.0 | 1515  +1 1516 |
| NSW Jean Noonan          |  112  135 |  33  41 |  5.7  4.0 | 1477 -35 1442 |
| NSW Richard Birch        |  266  253 |  71  68 |  2.9  4.0 | 1246 +21 1267 |
| NSW John Barker          |   55   72 |  16  20 |  4.8  3.0 | 1599 -35 1564 |
| QLD Fay Grose            |  240  235 |  21  21 |  2.8  3.0 | 1292  +5 1297 |
| NSW Liz Jackman          |  233  240 |  62  64 |  3.5  3.0 | 1301 -10 1291 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson       |  245  244 |  65  65 |  2.9  3.0 | 1282  +1 1283 |
| NSW Rene Chelton         |  111  127 |  32  38 |  4.3  3.0 | 1480 -26 1454 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout  |  313  319 |  84  84 |  3.5  3.0 | 1169 -10 1159 |
| NSW Ann Fiddler          |  405  383 |  99  96 |  1.4  3.0 | 1036 +32 1068 |
| NSW Betty Coleman        |  117  153 |  34  45 |  4.4  2.0 | 1463 -46 1417 |
| NSW Gloria Everson       |  501  471 | 121 115 |  0.8  2.0 |  927 +35  962 |
| NSW Mollie Pearson       |  517  545 | 129 135 |  0.6  0.0 |  915 -18  897 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *SHIELD                      +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| QLD Alastair Richards    |  590  504 |  80  64 |  3.9  7.0 |  846 +80  926 |
|*NSW Deirdre Buttsworth   |    0  496 |   0 122 |  5.0  5.0 |  931      931 |
|*NSW Bill Bates           |    0  456 |   0 108 |  5.0  5.0 |  974      974 |
| NSW Steve Sieradzan      |  609  623 | 152 157 |  4.3  4.0 |  830  -9  821 |
|*NSW Kate McDonnell       |    0  640 |   0 164 |  4.0  4.0 |  805      805 |
| NSW Diana Hilly          |  669  655 | 168 168 |  2.9  4.0 |  768 +22  790 |
|*NSW Vicki Underhill      |    0  687 |   0 177 |  4.0  4.0 |  760      760 |
|*NSW Helen Blanks         |    0  594 |   0 146 |  4.0  4.0 |  843      843 |
|*NSW Carol Gonnesena      |    0  755 |   0 196 |  4.0  4.0 |  700      700 |
| NSW Jacky Booth          |  923  863 | 240 227 |  2.2  4.0 |  530 +67  597 |
|*NSW Jean Howlett         |    0  935 |   0 248 |  3.0  3.0 |  525      525 |
| NSW Joy Smith            |  554  616 | 136 154 |  5.2  3.0 |  889 -64  825 |
| NSW Margaret Ackman      |  600  634 | 149 162 |  4.5  3.0 |  835 -28  807 |
|*NSW Jan Welland          |    0  909 |   0 240 |  3.0  3.0 |  552      552 |
| NSW Maureen Channells    | 1048 1037 | 277 278 |  1.6  3.0 |  371 +46  417 |
| NSW Joy Morris           |  974  982 | 253 261 |  2.0  2.0 |  495      495 |
| NSW Carole Dwyer         | 1049 1064 | 278 288 |  1.6  1.0 |  369 -18  351 |
|*NSW A Bye                |    0 1066 |   0 289 |  2.8  0.3 |  500 -155
345 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+