Next Thursday the 18th, we'll be having our annual pre-Christmas Potluck Event. Please bring something to share. Miriam Gregory will provide plates, utensils, and soft drinks.

Please plan to be there by 6:30, so that we can get the evening's matches going at a reasonable time. 

Coming January 7th: The Revised Rating System

John Chew made the following announcement on cgp yesterday:

"On Wednesday, January 7th, 2009, the new rating system, currently in testing on the NSA web site, will officially take effect. On that day, player ratings data will be copied again from the traditional rating system, erasing the test data currently being posted, and from that point forward only the new ratings will be computed and displayed."

"Qualification systems in progress (such as for the WSC, CNSC and PC) will switch to using the new ratings on the same day."

The system is currently in the testing stages; a version of the October 2008 cross-tables, with rating changes under the old and new systems, can be found on the NSA website. 

A shorthanded Vancouver team fought valiantly, but in the end lost 92-84 to Seattle. The Vancouver B team fared particularly well, battling a far higher rated Seattle B team to a 28-28 draw. And congratulations to Yukari Balabanov, who won for the first time with a 7-1, +499 performance in division C.

Complete results from the Vancouver-Seattle Challenge

cross-table

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Denver:

(cross-tables: [1-10] [11-19] [final])

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members (and friends from BC) who competed in California:

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Calgary:

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in New York:

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Toronto:

(complete results) (cross-tables: [early bird] [main event {1-10}{11-20}] [late bird])

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Portland:

CBC News recently published an story on young players in tournament Scrabble that contains some quotes from Dielle Saldanha. Read the full article here.

(cross-table)

Matt Ross will be holding a "probation party" (please don't ask me what that means, because Matt won't tell me) before our regular games next Thursday (July 17). Matt's providing food and drinks, so be there by 6:45 if you want to join him in the "celebration" (again, please don't ask me why that's in quotation marks -- we'll find out on Thursday).

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Seattle:

(cross-table)

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Minneapolis:

Team U.S.A. wins the 2008 Can-Am Scrabble Challenge

Team U.S.A., led by John O'Laughlin and Rod MacNeil's 9-5 performances, defeated Team Canada 50.5-47.5. The match was close throughout, with the teams tied 47.5-47.5 with three games remaining, but Team U.S.A. won those three games and the match. Canadian Robin Pollock Daniel led all players with a 10-4, +553 record.

(final results) (cross-tables: [1-10][10-20])
 

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Seattle:

(tournament website) (cross-table)

* Dackman beat Johnson 3-1, +310 in a four game final.

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Portland:

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Seattle:

(Complete results and tournament coverage) (cross-tables: {1-9}{10-18})

* Logan defeated Boys 3-2 in a best-of-5 final.

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Toronto:

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Seattle:

(Complete results and tournament coverage) (cross-table: {1-11}{12-21})

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Dallas:

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Vancouver:

Top finishers at the Phoenix Scrabble Tournament in Scottsdale, AZ (20 rounds):

(cross-tables: [early bird] [main event: {1-10}{11-20}])

Div. 1				Div. 2
Nathan Benedict	14-6	+540		Ed Saunders	14-6	+781
Patrick Hodges	13-6-1	+770		Paul Avrin	14-6	+777
Lloyd Mills	13-7	+396		Thomas Conrad	13-7	+680
Nigel Peltier	13-7	+375		Ruth Hamilton	13-7	+671
Laurie Cohen	12-8	+394		Michael Thelen	13-7	+498
Div. 3				Div. 4
Michael Wier	14-6	+780		Robert Collins	16-4	+722
Leesa Berahovich	13-7	+1186		Frank Kashuk	12-7-1	+770
Michael Rhodes	13-7	-222		Harry Decker	12-8	+577
Marc Levesque	12-8	+982		Juraj Pivovarov	12-8	+444
Nancee Mancel	12-8	+229		James Wait	12-8	+185
Div. 5
Bob Jackson	15-5	+682
Judy Carlock	14-6	+777
Andy Ludwig	14-6	+777
Lois S Oda	14-6	+177
Allen Jacobson	13-6-1	+779

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Phoenix:

Top finishers at the NAST Satellite in Seattle, WA (6 rounds):

Daniel Goodwin *	6-0	+476
Lam Tang *	5-1	+118
Christopher Grubb	4-2	+229
Rachel Christensen	4-2	+216
* Qualified to play in the NAST finals

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Seattle:

Top finishers at the Martin Luther King Jr. Scrabble Tournament in Reno, NV (20 rounds):

(report by Jim Cowling) (cross-tables: [early bird] [main event: {1-10}{11-19}{final}] [night bird])

Div. 1				Div. 2
Dave Wiegand	15-4	+1653		Gigi Miller	15-4	+430
Nathan Benedict	15-4	+1452		Andrew Friedrich	14-5	+1321
Lester Schonbrun	15-4	+891		Andy Healy	14-5	+1111
Mark Milan	14-5	+831		Carlynn Mayer	13-6	+840
Joel Sherman	13-6	+1780		Amnon Igra	13-6	+745
Div. 3
Noah Shpak	16-3	+1533
Susan Love	14-5	+1150
Marina Villena	12-7	+722
Arthur Braden	12-7	+675

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed in Reno:

Top finishers at the Western Caribbean/Panama Canal Scrabble Cruise (20 rounds):

Div. 1				Div. 2
Maddy Golob	17-3	+1126		Hilda Ben-Nun	14-6	+718
Roy Kamen	13-7	+829		Marcia Wade	11-8-1	+458
Jeff Clark	11-9	+359		Elvira Toews	11-8-1	+334
Div. 3
Wayne Scruggs	19-1	+1612
Julia Scruggs	13-7	+102
Donna Dwaileebe	12-8	+490

Results of the Vancouver Scrabble Club members who competed on the cruise: