In summery weather, 85 players assembled at the Collegians Football Club in Wollongong for eight 44 minute games. Platters of sliced melons greeted the travellers along with the obligatory tea, coffee and biscuits. As usual, most of the venue setup had been completed the previous night by eager Club members. Due to Wilma Vialle's absence overseas and Rene Chelton's illness, the WORDS Club presented some new faces up front. WORDS president Natalie Tadday welcomed everyone with natural grace, and her mellifluous microphone voice kept the action flowing throughout. Behind the scenes, hard-working Secretary Janine Whittaker and Treasurer Jean Balmer had done a sterling job organizing all facets of the event and collating names into the computer. It was a pleasant surprise to see Rene arrive to help out at the front desk all day.
Prizes were to be awarded down to 5th placing; there were ‘Scratchies’ for the highest non-bingo scores starting with the letters of the word FEBRUARY; and nine separate raffle prizes, including five $20 vouchers donated by Collegians Club, bottles of wine, and potted plants. Before the last game, Janine’s daughter Kristy, who acted as a word challenge checker, doubled up as a clear-voiced announcer of the raffle winners. A funny incident occurred when green ticket 27 was announced as first prize winner. The winning ticket could not immediately be produced so mischievous Rod Talbot used a green pen to add the digit 7 to Joan Rosenthal’s green ticket number 2 and urged her to claim a prize with it. Before the second ticket was drawn she yearned that “green 2” would not be called out but amazingly that was exactly what happened, so a sheepish Joan was obliged to explain away her doctored ticket amidst catcalls from her helpful “friends”.
When play got underway, the first upset in A division occurred when Australia’s current number 1 and former Aussie Champ Ed Okulicz was toppled by Moana Nepia, also a former Aussie Champ. Worse was to come for Ed when I collected dream pickups (all power tiles except the X) to inflict what Ed revealed was the biggest defeat he has ever suffered in a tournament - 577 to 254. (This should have won High Game but in the excitement, I wrote 567 down as the winning score.) To Ed’s credit, he let me enjoy the euphoria and even suggested I take a photo of the completed board for posterity. My charmed run started on move 3 with SIGNORE for 99 immediately followed by TSARINAS through the floating S for 66 then on move 7, QUIMS for 42, JIN 44, OS under the QI for 45, DRUG for 10 to block Ed’s only possible bingo NETTABLE, TEAZED for 48 where Ed had just gambled with *TABLETTE, and finally NONeMPtY for 101 in the place where NETTABLE had been blocked (sorry to make you relive that Ed!). Ed’s losing streak was extended to 3 when beaten also by underrated Cristine Small. Incredibly, he was now dead last after 3 games with a margin of -427! At least he recovered to win his remaining games and finish a creditable 5th. Meanwhile, the other tournament favourites were progressing as expected, culminating in the denouement of jubilant Joan Rosenthal (High Word 140 for SEGREANT) and super-consistent Chris May (High Game 569) taking out the top 2 places with 7/8 wins each. Three of Chris’s victories were tight – by 2 against me, 4 against Joan and 14 against Sue McGillivray. Joanne Craig and Peter Shaw sneaked into 3rd and 4th places on margin. Some notable words played were FLOKATI and UNDULOSE (for Bob Jackman to pinch the game against me) and ARANEOUS (for Joan Rosenthal to pinch the game against me and knock me from 3rd to 9th place).
B division was blitzed by evergreen Richard Birch with a perfect 8/8 and 672 margin. His closest win was by 2 points against unlucky Gary Pollard who lost 3rd place by dropping his last game against Kerry Constable by 15 points. Richard was rewarded with a huge 100 point rating gain, surpassing a huge 74 point rating gain by 2nd-placed evergreen Rex Shakespeare that now propels him into the top division of the upcoming Australian Championships. It’s enough to make both their heads spin (if the revolving boards don’t). Richard and Rex between them also managed High Game 523 and High Word 140 for DEBITING (which tipped out Kerry Constable’s 128 for NARQUOIS – a word she has played previously) to put their chasers in the shade, namely Judy Hay, Kerry Constable and Alison Pollardr.
Affable winner Margaret Berliner was prevented from whitewashing C division when 3rd placegetter Jan Tomlin forced a draw with her in game 5. Fast-improving and fast-quipping local Bill Condon kept improving (and quipping) by grabbing 2nd place. Two of his beaten rivals were clubmates Val Ryan and Janine Whittaker who will have something to say about his “improvement” when they catch up with him at the next Club meeting. Margaret Andrews and David More finished 4th and 5th. Lovely Jacqui Hochmuth achieved a stunning 511 High Game, while lovely Sandra Elliot got 111 for LIQUIDS.
Another home-grown product, vivacious Vi Phillips battled well all day to emerge with 7/8 wins and 1st place in D division ahead of Beryl Pearson, Owen Randall, local Merle Young and Pearl Gillott. (Home-town advantage no doubt!) Vi won her last game against Ann Schick by only 2 points to clinch the title. Ulladulla dweller, Yvonne Pollard achieved both High Game 445 and High Word 95 for EXERTING. Two novices made a welcome debut in this tournament. Elisabeth Andrews made her journey from Ulladulla worthwhile with 4 wins and a starting rating of 717. Paul Heffernan from the ACT also did well on debut. His losses were all narrow – 51, 19, 17, 3 and 43. Welcome to the world of tournament Scrabble. As President Natalie declared during her opening address - “May you become addicted like the rest of us”.
Results after game 8
WORDSFEB2OO4 -- A
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Joan Rosenthal 7 462
2 Chris May 7 358
3 Joanne Craig 5 211
4 Peter Shaw 5 173
5 Edward Okulicz 5 161
6 Rod Talbot 5 155
7 John Spaan 5 89
8 Bob Jackman 5 47
9 Graeme Lock Lee 4 345
10 Pat Schuberg 4 -13
11 Christine Small 4 -166
12 John Barker 4 -187
13 Moana Nepia 4 -194
14 Sue Gergelifi 3 163
15 Jeff Chelton 3 15
16 Betty Foreman 3 -129
17 Susan MacGillivray 3 -190
18 Keith Bioletti 3 -405
19 Hanne Marks 3 -408
20 Jan Serisier 2 -22
21 Jean McGiffen 2 -182
22 Norma Tracey 2 -283
HIGH GAME: Chris May 569
HIGH WORD: Joan Rosenthal 140
"SEGREANT"
Results after game 8
WORDSFEB2OO4 -- B
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Richard Birch 8 672
2 Rex Shakespeare 7 193
3 Judy Hay 5 230
4 Kerry Constable 5 188
5 Alison Pollard 5 169
6 Jean Noonan 5 154
7 Ram Mohe 5 -126
8 Gary Pollard 4 290
9 Liz Jackman 4 200
10 Tim Reddan 4 82
11 Sharon Sorenson 4 58
12 Audrey Newman 4 -43
13 Gordon Meggs 4 -93
14 Bev Purkis 4 -284
15 Therese Newman 4 -330
16 Nonie English 3 -19
17 Judy McGuiness 3 -88
18 Raya Wilkinson 3 -96
19 Natalie Tadday 3 -105
20 Daphne Bezhuidenhout 2 -159
21 Jan Pincott 1 -429
22 Michael Adler 1 -464
HIGH GAME: Richard Birch 523
HIGH WORD: Rex Shakespeare 140
"DEBITING"
Results after game 8
WORDSFEB2OO4 -- C
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Margaret Berliner 7.5 410
2 Bill Condon 6 181
3 Jan Tomlin 5.5 95
4 Margaret Andrews 5 477
5 David More 5 251
6 Fay Van Oyen 5 86
7 Edith Lowbeer 5 -2
8 Janine Whittaker 4 137
9 Jean Balmer 4 124
10 Veena Mohe 4 -80
11 George Khamis 4 -128
12 Sandra Elliot 4 -133
13 Jacqui Hochmuth 3 -14
14 Val Ryan 3 -58
15 Ann Fiddler 3 -62
16 Pam Bennett 3 -237
17 Heather Sorensen 3 -369
18 Esther Rolfe 2 -131
19 Betty Irwin 2 -238
20 Mary Craven 2 -309
HIGH GAME: Jacqui Hochmuth 511
HIGH WORD: Sandra Elliot 111
"LIQUIDS"
Results after game 8
WORDSFEB2OO4 -- D
Rank Player Wins Mar
---------------------------------
1 Vi Phillips 7 266
2 Beryl Pearson 6 502
3 Owen Randall 6 322
4 Merle Young 6 151
5 Pearl Gillott 5 120
6 Joy Bresser 5 66
7 Maree Heynen 5 63
8 Yvonne Pollard 4 437
9 Elisabeth Andrews 4 105
10 Anne Schick 4 89
11 Chris Phillips 4 34
12 Esther Clarke 4 -26
13 Mavis Farrar 4 -218
14 Arie Holla 4 -221
15 Judith Emery 3 -134
16 Irene Brownlow 3 -198
17 Joy Morris 3 -208
18 Lila Tucker 3 -221
19 Jocelyn Ryan 3 -237
20 Diana Field 3 -431
21 Paul Hefferan 2 -101
22 A bye 0 -160
HIGH GAME: Yvonne Pollard 445
HIGH WORD: Yvonne Pollard 95
"EXERTING"
Stats for Tournament : WORDSFEB2OO4
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+----------
-----+
| state Name | National | State | Wins | Rating
Points |
| | Old New | Old New | Exp Act | Old
Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+----------
-----+
+Section: *A + + +
+
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------
-----+
| NSW Chris May | 4 4 | 1 1 | 6.1 7.0 | 1845 +16
1861 |
| NSW Joan Rosenthal | 13 8 | 7 5 | 4.8 7.0 | 1738 +46
1784 |
| NSW Joanne Craig | 33 33 | 10 10 | 4.7 5.0 | 1637 +7
1644 |
| QLD Edward Okulicz | 1 2 | 1 1 | 7.0 5.0 | 1923 -33
1890 |
| NSW Rod Talbot | 7 7 | 4 4 | 5.7 5.0 | 1798 -13
1785 |
| NSW Bob Jackman | 6 6 | 3 3 | 5.3 5.0 | 1809 -3
1806 |
| NSW Peter Shaw | 73 58 | 20 18 | 3.4 5.0 | 1518 +31
1549 |
| NSW John Spaan :act | 37 38 | 11 12 | 4.9 5.0 | 1620 +2
1622 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee | 39 37 | 13 11 | 3.5 4.0 | 1616 +9
1625 |
| NSW Moana Nepia | 72 73 | 19 20 | 4.0 4.0 | 1524
1524 |
| NSW John Barker | 69 70 | 18 19 | 3.9 4.0 | 1527 +1
1528 |
| NSW Pat Schuberg | 138 123 | 37 32 | 2.4 4.0 | 1423 +32
1455 |
| NSW Cristine Small | 57 56 | 17 16 | 4.1 4.0 | 1558 -2
1556 |
| NSW Sue Gergelifi | 133 133 | 36 36 | 2.7 3.0 | 1427 +5
1432 |
| NSW Betty Foreman | 94 96 | 25 24 | 3.2 3.0 | 1489 -4
1485 |
| NSW Jeff Chelton | 89 87 | 23 23 | 2.8 3.0 | 1494 +3
1497 |
| NSW Keith Bioletti | 98 104 | 26 26 | 3.4 3.0 | 1482 -8
1474 |
| NSW Susan MacGillivr:act | 93 83 | 24 21 | 2.4 3.0 | 1491 +11
1502 |
| NSW Hanne Marks | 126 117 | 33 30 | 2.3 3.0 | 1446 +13
1459 |
| NSW Norma Tracey | 100 113 | 27 27 | 2.9 2.0 | 1479 -18
1461 |
| NSW Jan Serisier | 81 97 | 21 25 | 2.9 2.0 | 1504 -19
1485 |
| NSW Jean McGiffen | 38 57 | 12 17 | 5.3 2.0 | 1618 -66
1552 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------
-----+
+Section: *B + + +
+
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------
-----+
| NSW Richard Birch | 215 134 | 54 37 | 4.2 8.0 | 1328 +100
1428 |
| NSW Rex Shakespeare | 243 191 | 60 52 | 4.0 7.0 | 1293 +74
1367 |
| NSW Alison Pollard | 161 165 | 45 45 | 5.1 5.0 | 1397 -3
1394 |
| NSW Jean Noonan | 151 159 | 40 44 | 5.3 5.0 | 1404 -5
1399 |
| NSW Kerry Constable :act | 140 140 | 38 39 | 5.0 5.0 | 1420 +2
1422 |
| NSW Judy Hay | 249 227 | 61 58 | 3.1 5.0 | 1280 +38
1318 |
| NSW Ram Mohe | 196 193 | 52 53 | 4.7 5.0 | 1357 +9
1366 |
| NSW Gary Pollard | 153 172 | 42 49 | 5.0 4.0 | 1403 -16
1387 |
| NSW Audrey Newman | 182 198 | 51 54 | 5.0 4.0 | 1378 -21
1357 |
| NSW Tim Reddan :act | 216 229 | 55 59 | 4.6 4.0 | 1327 -12
1315 |
| NSW Therese Newman | 272 269 | 67 65 | 3.8 4.0 | 1245 +4
1249 |
| NSW Bev Purkis | 312 294 | 77 73 | 2.9 4.0 | 1189 +22
1211 |
| NSW Gordon Meggs | 293 285 | 72 70 | 3.4 4.0 | 1212 +12
1224 |
| NSW Liz Jackman | 324 314 | 83 78 | 3.0 4.0 | 1162 +20
1182 |
| NSW Sharon Sorensen | 290 291 | 71 72 | 3.9 4.0 | 1215 +2
1217 |
| NSW Nonie English | 298 303 | 74 75 | 3.1 3.0 | 1200 -2
1198 |
| NSW Natalie Tadday | 294 295 | 73 74 | 2.9 3.0 | 1209 +2
1211 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson | 234 252 | 58 61 | 4.5 3.0 | 1303 -30
1273 |
| NSW Judy McGuinness | 319 319 | 80 81 | 2.9 3.0 | 1170 +3
1173 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout | 263 280 | 64 68 | 3.6 2.0 | 1265 -32
1233 |
| NSW Jan Pincott | 236 282 | 59 69 | 4.7 1.0 | 1303 -73
1230 |
| NSW Michael Adler :act | 306 330 | 75 84 | 3.3 1.0 | 1196 -46
1150 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------
-----+
+Section: *C + + +
+
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------
-----+
| NSW Margaret Berliner | 330 308 | 84 77 | 5.4 7.5 | 1151 +43
1194 |
| NSW Bill Condon | 515 452 | 122 108 | 3.2 6.0 | 950 +68
1018 |
| NSW Jan Tomlin | 462 422 | 111 98 | 4.0 5.5 | 1011 +31
1042 |
| NSW Margaret Andrews | 352 355 | 86 87 | 5.4 5.0 | 1125 -6
1119 |
| NSW David More | 458 445 | 108 104 | 4.4 5.0 | 1014 +13
1027 |
| NSW Edith Lowbeer | 489 463 | 116 112 | 3.5 5.0 | 982 +30
1012 |
| NSW Fay Van Oyen | 419 415 | 98 96 | 4.7 5.0 | 1045 +7
1052 |
| NSW Jean Balmer | 378 402 | 89 95 | 5.0 4.0 | 1091 -21
1070 |
| NSW Janine Whittaker | 546 522 | 132 125 | 2.8 4.0 | 917 +25
942 |
| NSW Sandra Elliott | 493 487 | 119 117 | 3.8 4.0 | 980 +6
986 |
| NSW Veena Mohe | 491 480 | 117 115 | 3.4 4.0 | 981 +13
994 |
| NSW George Khamis | 536 520 | 128 123 | 3.0 4.0 | 926 +20
946 |
| NSW Jacquelin Hochmuth | 502 507 | 121 121 | 3.3 3.0 | 965 -5
960 |
| NSW Ann Fiddler | 407 441 | 97 103 | 5.0 3.0 | 1069 -40
1029 |
| NSW Pam Bennett | 522 535 | 124 128 | 3.4 3.0 | 940 -9
931 |
| NSW Val Ryan | 403 446 | 96 105 | 5.3 3.0 | 1071 -45
1026 |
| NSW Heather Sorensen :ac | 566 564 | 139 138 | 2.8 3.0 | 904 +3
907 |
| NSW Mary Craven :act | 553 574 | 133 143 | 2.9 2.0 | 914 -17
897 |
| NSW Betty Irwin | 433 483 | 103 116 | 4.4 2.0 | 1038 -48
990 |
| NSW Esther Rolfe | 468 515 | 112 122 | 4.5 2.0 | 1001 -50
951 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------
-----+
+Section: *D + + +
+
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------
-----+
| NSW Vi Phillips | 581 540 | 146 130 | 5.2 7.0 | 888 +36
924 |
| NSW Beryl Pearson :act | 712 669 | 184 168 | 4.6 6.0 | 799 +29
828 |
| NSW Owen Randall :act | 696 656 | 176 162 | 4.6 6.0 | 807 +29
836 |
| NSW Merle Young | 804 752 | 204 192 | 3.9 6.0 | 721 +41
762 |
| NSW Pearl Gillott | 678 668 | 170 167 | 4.7 5.0 | 823 +5
828 |
| NSW Joy Bresser :act | 789 757 | 203 195 | 3.9 5.0 | 734 +22
756 |
| NSW Maree Heynen | 708 693 | 181 175 | 4.5 5.0 | 799 +10
809 |
| NSW Yvonne Pollard | 692 727 | 174 188 | 5.1 4.0 | 809 -23
786 |
|*NSW Elisabeth Andrews | 0 816 | 0 209 | 4.0 4.0 | 717
717 |
| NSW Anne Schick :act | 660 707 | 163 181 | 5.6 4.0 | 833 -32
801 |
| NSW Esther Clarke | 890 881 | 231 230 | 3.5 4.0 | 664 +10
674 |
| NSW Arie Holla | 813 847 | 207 217 | 5.1 4.0 | 718 -22
696 |
| NSW Chris Phillips | 821 825 | 211 211 | 4.3 4.0 | 714 -5
709 |
| NSW Mavis Farrar | 908 915 | 235 238 | 4.3 4.0 | 651 -5
646 |
| NSW Joy Morris | 914 922 | 237 241 | 3.2 3.0 | 647 -4
643 |
| NSW Lila Tucker | 1044 1047 | 281 281 | 3.2 3.0 | 550 -5
545 |
| NSW Jocelyn Ryan | 761 860 | 195 222 | 5.2 3.0 | 753 -67
686 |
| NSW Irene Brownlow | 955 952 | 249 250 | 2.8 3.0 | 618 +4
622 |
| NSW Judith Emery | 1039 1053 | 280 284 | 3.6 3.0 | 554 -13
541 |
| NSW Diana Field | 1058 1073 | 287 296 | 3.4 3.0 | 535 -9
526 |
|*NSW Paul Hefferan | 0 1155 | 0 325 | 3.0 2.0 | 500
500 |