Starting a Club
- First Steps
- Help Available
- Reference Materials
- Club Charges
- Club Playing Conditions
- Affiliation with ASPA
- Encourage Membership of ASPA
Recommended First Steps
- Locate a suitable venue
- Establish a playing time that does not conflict with other local clubs
- Establish a date for "launching" the club (opening session)
- Approach local paper for free insertion in Community Events section
- Prepare an article for the local paper about formation of your club
- Place notices in prominent positions in the neighbourhood
Reference Materials
The recognised word source for Scrabble in Australia is the Collins Scrabble Words list, a complete list of all words allowable in club play.
For further information about word sources and discount publications contact your State Scrabble Association
Club Charges
Most clubs charge a nominal amount, from $1 to $5 per session to cover venue hire, tea, coffee, biscuits, prizes etc. Clubs need to accumulate some revenue to cover costs for dictionaries, additional scrabble sets, and possibly staging a tournament or a Christmas party. It is advisable for clubs to appoint a treasurer to operate a bank account.
Club Playing Conditions
Two players per board is the recommended mode of play, with both players keeping scores for themselves and their opponent. This then enables scores to be cross-checked during games and the winner to be properly determined.
It is up to individual club organisers to determine their own procedures for club play.
Generally, most established clubs don’t permit the looking up of words prior to a word being played. If, after the word/s has been challenged by their opponent and the word is found to be incorrect the player of the incorrect word/s misses a turn. There is no penalty for challenging.
It is a good idea to limit club games to one hour, so that a good turn-around of games is achieved.
Affiliation with State Association
The definition of an affiliated club is one that has at least one member also belonging to the relevant State Association. State Associations support and promote their affiliated clubs as part of their aim of promoting Scrabble in Australia.
The main advantage in clubs becoming affiliated is that it provides an avenue for players to join into the wider Scrabble community, by participating in activities sanctioned by the State Association. Affiliated clubs are also covered by national Public Liability Insurance. Furthermore, your Club will be promoted through free listing in the national Directory of Clubs, and Across the Board(ATB)
A phone contact is required for a club for web site and ATB listing (Online Clubs excepted)
Encourage Membership of State Association
It is not compulsory for members of your club to become members of the State Association. However, we request that you make all visitors to your club aware of the membership benefits belonging to State Association brings.