Hello, Folks! Hello, Folks !!
Does anyone know of any Scrabble Tournament anywhere, any time, that went off without any hitches whatsoever ??
The members of the BUGS committee and other club members - all of whom I once again thank profusely for their dedicated and enthusiastic assistance and participation - walked on a dark and stormy morning into an even darker if not stormier auditorium upstairs at the Balmain Leagues Club last Sunday and started setting up. As the early bird players started arriving, several of them saw fit to draw to our attention the undoubted fact that the room was very dark, in case we hadn't noticed - possibly they thought our collective eyesight was failing ? In fact, several employees of the Club had already been notified, several times, by several people, and had indeed tried, severally and singularly unsuccessfully, to rectify the matter; the eventual "solution" involved the bodily removal, by several burly Club employees, of several tables to better-lit situations - the result was a trifle squishy and somewhat overcrowded ambience: however, visibility was much improved, and to the best of my knowledge there were no further complaints on that score ....
It would appear, according to a most unscientific poll, and based on rumour and hearsay, that many players, early hitches notwithstanding, much preferred our new venue, the Tigers, to the Town Hall: obviously, access to (clean and) elegant loos, and an admittedly much improved acoustic situation far outweighed the loss of the sumptuous between-games fare traditionally and proudly provided by club members, and replaced by boring bickies - de gustibus non est disputandum - but the most appreciated benefit of the move was indisputably that "setting up" no longer involved hard-labour table-setting-upping slog at unearthly hours either of the preceding evening and/or the morning itself - alas - we Lovers of Balmain Town Hall are, I suspect, heavily outnumbered ....
At very short notice, we learned that one player was absent due to unwellness; another player, who arrived without prior notification, was severely lectured and instructed never to do that again before being gratefully praised for replacing the former player: they were both in Recreation, so it was an easy matter to adjust the draws ....until a third player arrived whose registration had been mysteriously overlooked, ignored, lost - mea culpa, I'm afraid ...so our indomitable TD, the unsinkable Wilma Vialle, really had her hands full for a while rectifying that small matter :with her usual good humour, Wilma worked quickly and efficiently, assuring that the day was a great success, a fact commented on by many satisfied Scrabblers. Thank you, Wilma.
At the Allowable Words Machine for most of the day sat Chris May: due to other commitments,(being unable to arrive until after the first game, and despite and in the face of heavy persuasion/pressure from Rod Talbot and myself to forego the first game and play seven,)he preferred to donate his time as his contribution to the Tournament - any excuse to learn new words ???
His choice of "Best Word of the Day" was John Holgate's RHABDOM -( "a fourfold rod in the compound eye of an arthropod" sez Chambers, in case you were wondering ....), while, at the other end of the spectrum, common words challenged by Masters included ATONE, COURTIER, and ANOINTER. Chris's personal selection of Interesting Bingos Challenged includes TONIEST, ETHERIAL, SEPTARIA, SNAILIER....TOYLESS, TENEBRAE, BARBETTE and OVERTART. He noted and was pleased to see that nobody needed an adjudication because someone wasn't writing their words .....Thank you, Chris.
One event that went unnoticed at the time and that deserves an honourable mention: When the ever-faithful Diana Field played her 8th game, she was playing her 1000th game in a rated tournament in Australia: congratulations, Diana! And sorry I didn't see it till just now, after the event .....
We were delighted to welcome two newcomers: Charnwit Sukhumrattanaporn from Thailand participating in his first Aussie Tournament - but definitely not his last! (Get that assignment handed in, so you can come and play in Wyong, Charnwit ...) And Jacquelin Hochmuth in her first tournament ever: she very creditably won 3 games, and, "once she recovers from her exhaustion", may very well come back for more.... don't we all ??
To business:
In RECREATION, winning 7 games, Jan Tomlin came first; winning 6
games each, Frank Hunt came second, and Sue Tuckett, third.
In INTERMEDIATE, 3 people won 6 games, and there were very few points' difference in the margins to determine that Ann Fiddler came first, Donna MacDonald, second and Peggy Womersley, third.
In Advanced, greeted with loud cheers of approbation and approval, having won 7 games and achieved the Highest Rating Gain - an impressive 73 points - Liz Jackman came first. With 6 games each, Maureen Hilder came second and Val Ryan, third.
Derek and Folks ... take note ... Paul Cleary won eight out of eight games. With an average of 507. And an average margin of 162. To quote Bob: "They will probably both be records for 2002". His high game scored 595. His high word, EUGENIAS, scored 140. He played at least two other triple triples, one of which was PLATELET .... Scary, innit ?? So - Paul Cleary definitely - very definitely! came first. With 6 games each, John Holgate and Joan Rosenthal came second and third respectively - and, incidentally, Charnwit, with 5 games, came fourth - which achievement augurs well for his future in NSW Scrabble.
It was fun. Isn't that the main thing ? Greetings and salutations. Hanne Marks
Results after game 8
MARCH 10, 2002 -- MASTERS
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Paul Cleary 8 1297
2 John Holgate 6 390
3 Joan Rosenthal 6 196
4 Charnwit Sukhumratt 5 411
5 Audrey Newman 5 -45
6 Graeme Lock Lee 4 193
7 John Barker 4 191
8 Rod Talbot 4 188
9 Sue Gergelifi 4 -80
10 Peter Shaw 4 -162
11 Ivor Zetler 4 -174
12 Jan Serisier 4 -200
13 Betty Coleman 4 -318
14 Trish Windhurst 3 -62
15 Hanne Marks 3 -105
16 Betty Foreman 3 -312
17 Ian Close 3 -619
18 Jean McGiffen 2 -138
19 Norma Tracey 2 -248
20 Sam Greenberg 2 -403
HIGH GAME: Paul Cleary 595
HIGH WORD: Paul Cleary 140
"EUGENIAS"
Results after game 8
MARCH 10, 2002 -- ADVANCED
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Liz Jackman 7 456
2 Maureen Hilder 6 313
3 Val Ryan 6 270
4 Gordon Meggs 5 231
5 Cheryl Michler 5 156
6 Judy McGuinness 5 95
7 Ram Mohe 5 -16
8 Judy Hay 4 209
9 Margaret Andrews 4 155
10 Margaret Berliner 4 136
11 Moana Nepia 4 111
12 Colleen Howie 4 78
13 Jenny Templeton 4 -76
14 Richard Birch 4 -231
15 Raya Wilkinson 3 100
16 Hari Nanayakkara 3 -63
17 Nonie English 3 -149
18 Pat Schuberg 2 -294
19 Fay Van Oyen 2 -584
20 June Stephenson 0 -897
HIGH GAME: Hari Nanayakkara 511
HIGH WORD: Cheryl Michler 103
"REMIXED"
Results after game 8
MARCH 10, 2002 -- INTERMEDIATE
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Peggy Womersley 6 312
1 Ann Fiddler 6 312
3 Donna Macdonald 6 157
4 Jean Balmer 5 342
5 Janet Chambers 5 334
6 Denise Smith 5 278
7 Esther Rolfe 5 126
8 Maureen Wilkins 5 123
9 Daphne Bezuidenhout 4 100
10 Edith Lowbeer 4 -11
11 Rex Shakespeare 4 -17
12 George Khamis 4 -165
13 Basil Sands 4 -228
14 Alan Gauci 3 -37
15 Jann Pincott 3 -112
16 Bev Purkis 3 -134
17 Sunny Wright 3 -161
18 Merle young 3 -489
19 Greg Nicol 2 -330
20 Diana Hilly 0 -400
HIGH GAME: Denise Smith 485
HIGH WORD: Ann Fiddler 104
"QUOITERS"
Results after game 8
MARCH 10, 2002 -- RECREATION
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Jan Tomlin 7 454
2 Frank Hunt 6 365
3 Sue Tuckett 6 307
4 Krystyna Batten 6 194
5 Joy Morris 5 -56
6 Claire Dove 5 -179
7 Veena Mohe 4 143
8 Pearl Gillott 4 120
9 June Dillon 4 78
10 Yvonne Edwards 4 -17
11 Teresa Traynor 4 -146
12 Marlene Nicoletti 4 -195
13 Diana Field 4 -365
14 Silvana Newman 3 136
15 Jo Anne Deady 3 23
16 Maria Kaye 3 -173
16 Arie Holla 3 -173
18 Jacquelin Hochmuth 3 -192
19 Maree Heynen 2 -316
20 A Bye 0 -8
HIGH GAME: Jan Tomlin 439
HIGH WORD: Marlene Nicoletti 111
"REQUEST"
Stats for Tournament : MARCH 10, 2002
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| state Name | National | State | Wins | Rating =
Points |
| | Old New | Old New | Exp Act | Old =
Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
+Section: *MASTERS + + + =
+
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| NSW Paul Cleary | 3 2 | 1 1 | 6.4 8.0 | 1888 +26 =
1914 |
| NSW Joan Rosenthal | 30 28 | 9 9 | 4.6 6.0 | 1676 +30 =
1706 |
| NSW John Holgate | 5 5 | 3 3 | 5.7 6.0 | 1834 +5 =
1839 |
|*NSW Charnwit Sukhumratt | 0 18 | 0 7 | 5.0 5.0 | 1756 =
1756 |
| NSW Audrey Newman | 113 84 | 31 21 | 2.4 5.0 | 1470 +60 =
1530 |
| NSW John Barker | 55 52 | 13 12 | 3.7 4.0 | 1608 +8 =
1616 |
| NSW Rod Talbot | 9 17 | 4 6 | 5.9 4.0 | 1795 -38 =
1757 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee | 59 61 | 14 14 | 4.0 4.0 | 1589 -1 =
1588 |
| NSW Sue Gergelifi | 149 129 | 42 38 | 2.2 4.0 | 1418 +35 =
1453 |
| NSW Jan Serisier | 139 121 | 38 36 | 2.7 4.0 | 1434 +25 =
1459 |
| NSW Ivor Zetler | 101 99 | 26 26 | 3.6 4.0 | 1492 +8 =
1500 |
| NSW Betty Coleman | 82 78 | 19 19 | 3.5 4.0 | 1534 +10 =
1544 |
| NSW Peter Shaw | 77 83 | 18 20 | 4.5 4.0 | 1541 -11 =
1530 |
| NSW Trish Windhurst | 97 105 | 24 29 | 3.6 3.0 | 1500 -10 =
1490 |
| NSW Hanne Marks | 91 98 | 22 25 | 3.7 3.0 | 1514 -13 =
1501 |
| NSW Betty Foreman | 108 114 | 29 32 | 3.4 3.0 | 1476 -7 =
1469 |
| NSW Ian Close | 89 96 | 21 24 | 4.0 3.0 | 1521 -19 =
1502 |
| NSW Jean McGiffen | 36 62 | 10 15 | 5.4 2.0 | 1654 -67 =
1587 |
| NSW Sam Greenberg | 143 154 | 41 44 | 2.6 2.0 | 1425 -12 =
1413 |
| NSW Norma Tracey | 162 176 | 46 49 | 3.1 2.0 | 1402 -22 =
1380 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+------------=
----+
+Section: *ADVANCED + + + =
+
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| NSW Liz Jackman | 267 214 | 64 57 | 4.0 7.0 | 1259 +73 =
1332 |
| NSW Maureen Hilder | 241 221 | 59 58 | 4.7 6.0 | 1292 +29 =
1321 |
| NSW Val Ryan | 268 243 | 65 61 | 4.4 6.0 | 1258 +33 =
1291 |
| NSW Gordon Meggs | 286 271 | 72 67 | 3.7 5.0 | 1223 +26 =
1249 |
| NSW Judy McGuinness | 349 314 | 85 79 | 2.2 5.0 | 1118 +65 =
1183 |
| NSW Cheryl Michler | 173 180 | 49 50 | 5.8 5.0 | 1386 -13 =
1373 |
| NSW Ram Mohe | 341 301 | 84 76 | 2.3 5.0 | 1137 +63 =
1200 |
| NSW Moana Nepia | 231 250 | 58 63 | 5.0 4.0 | 1303 -19 =
1284 |
| NSW Margaret Andrews | 315 306 | 77 77 | 3.3 4.0 | 1179 +16 =
1195 |
| NSW Margaret Berliner | 264 270 | 63 66 | 4.7 4.0 | 1263 -13 =
1250 |
| NSW Judy Hay | 183 211 | 50 56 | 5.5 4.0 | 1364 -28 =
1336 |
| NSW Colleen Howie | 360 342 | 87 85 | 2.4 4.0 | 1105 +31 =
1136 |
| NSW Jenny Templeton | 243 257 | 60 64 | 4.8 4.0 | 1290 -15 =
1275 |
| NSW Richard Birch | 279 277 | 70 70 | 3.8 4.0 | 1229 +5 =
1234 |
| NSW Hari Nanayakkara | 259 276 | 62 69 | 4.8 3.0 | 1270 -34 =
1236 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson | 191 232 | 52 60 | 5.6 3.0 | 1357 -52 =
1305 |
| NSW Nonie English | 335 335 | 82 83 | 2.5 3.0 | 1143 +10 =
1153 |
| NSW Pat Schuberg | 270 292 | 67 74 | 3.9 2.0 | 1251 -38 =
1213 |
| NSW Fay Van Oyen | 332 344 | 80 86 | 3.1 2.0 | 1154 -22 =
1132 |
| NSW June Stephenson | 309 351 | 76 87 | 3.3 0.0 | 1185 -65 =
1120 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+------------=
----+
+Section: *INTERMEDIATE + + + =
+
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| NSW Ann Fiddler | 439 417 | 105 97 | 4.3 6.0 | 1004 +34 =
1038 |
| NSW Donna MacDonald | 418 399 | 97 94 | 4.7 6.0 | 1034 +26 =
1060 |
| NSW Peggy Womersley | 398 368 | 93 89 | 4.7 6.0 | 1062 +25 =
1087 |
| NSW Janet Chambers | 474 452 | 112 108 | 3.8 5.0 | 963 +25 =
988 |
| NSW Jean Balmer | 383 374 | 90 91 | 4.8 5.0 | 1077 +5 =
1082 |
| NSW Denise Smith | 361 370 | 88 90 | 5.5 5.0 | 1096 -10 =
1086 |
| NSW Esther Rolfe | 433 433 | 102 104 | 4.7 5.0 | 1011 +6 =
1017 |
| NSW Maureen Wilkins | 533 500 | 127 119 | 3.2 5.0 | 907 +35 =
942 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout | 505 497 | 119 118 | 3.4 4.0 | 934 +11 =
945 |
| NSW Edith Lowbeer | 366 402 | 89 95 | 5.5 4.0 | 1089 -31 =
1058 |
| NSW Rex Shakespeare | 451 453 | 108 109 | 4.1 4.0 | 990 -3 =
987 |
| NSW George Khamis | 497 486 | 116 116 | 3.5 4.0 | 943 +10 =
953 |
| NSW Basil Sands | 575 541 | 143 130 | 2.4 4.0 | 871 +32 =
903 |
| NSW Bev Purkis | 401 431 | 94 102 | 4.9 3.0 | 1056 -37 =
1019 |
| NSW Alan Gauci | 587 588 | 146 146 | 3.1 3.0 | 859 -1 =
858 |
| NSW Sunny Wright | 449 473 | 107 113 | 4.2 3.0 | 991 -24 =
967 |
| NSW Jann Pincott | 541 547 | 130 133 | 3.2 3.0 | 903 -4 =
899 |
| NSW Merle Young | 583 578 | 145 144 | 2.8 3.0 | 865 +4 =
869 |
| NSW Greg Nicol | 521 563 | 123 138 | 3.7 2.0 | 918 -33 =
885 |
| NSW Diana Hilly | 561 636 | 137 162 | 3.5 0.0 | 886 -70 =
816 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+------------=
----+
+Section: *RECREATION + + + =
+
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| NSW Jan Tomlin | 698 650 | 177 165 | 4.8 7.0 | 754 +48 =
802 |
| NSW Frank Hunt | 775 714 | 192 181 | 3.8 6.0 | 692 +46 =
738 |
| NSW Sue Tuckett | 643 613 | 163 152 | 4.7 6.0 | 808 +27 =
835 |
| NSW Krystyna Batten | 612 597 | 151 147 | 5.5 6.0 | 838 +13 =
851 |
| NSW Claire Dove | 613 621 | 152 155 | 5.6 5.0 | 836 -9 =
827 |
| NSW Joy Morris | 899 844 | 236 221 | 3.0 5.0 | 589 +41 =
630 |
| NSW June Dillon | 840 827 | 219 214 | 3.3 4.0 | 634 +13 =
647 |
| NSW Veena Mohe | 633 676 | 161 170 | 6.1 4.0 | 819 -41 =
778 |
| NSW Pearl Gillott | 621 657 | 155 167 | 5.4 4.0 | 825 -28 =
797 |
| NSW Teresa Traynor | 826 832 | 213 217 | 4.1 4.0 | 645 -2 =
643 |
| NSW Yvonne Edwards | 801 803 | 203 205 | 4.3 4.0 | 675 -6 =
669 |
| NSW Marlene Nicoletti | 1049 935 | 284 246 | 2.2 4.0 | 500 +64 =
564 |
| NSW Diana Field | 1011 984 | 272 264 | 3.2 4.0 | 507 +15 =
522 |
| NSW Silvana Newman | 787 809 | 198 208 | 4.2 3.0 | 686 -23 =
663 |
| NSW Jo Anne Deady | 755 789 | 185 198 | 4.2 3.0 | 707 -23 =
684 |
| NSW Arie Holla | 860 902 | 227 237 | 4.5 3.0 | 618 -30 =
588 |
|*NSW Jacquelin Hochmuth | 0 1084 | 0 296 | 3.6 3.0 | 500 =
500 |
| NSW Maria Kaye | 846 859 | 221 228 | 3.6 3.0 | 629 -11 =
618 |
| NSW Maree Heynen | 964 1014 | 253 275 | 3.6 2.0 | 538 -31 =
507 |
| --- A Bye | 1136 1138 | 2 2 | 0.2 0.0 | -6 -3 =
-9 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+------------=