Despite the Sydney Club monthly tournament going ahead on the same day, and despite the fair distance for most to travel, the Wyong - Central Coast Club still managed to attract 67 players to its annual tournament.
As usual Helen Young and her team did a splendid job keeping everyone happy, in what was really a magnificent venue. In fact it was so good that the Wyong Scrabble Club had to pay top dollar for a security guard to sit on watch, to ensure the Scrabble rabble did not break into and ransack Wyong Council property.
The only hitch of the day came during the lunch break. The club had been warned of a 1 pm invasion of starving Scrabble players, but when the first bunch of players rushed into the food area, only one food attendant could be found. Jean Noonan jumped behind the counter to speed up the process, but it was still slow going. So slow in fact that the Tournament Director, Mr. Fred Reynolds who was last to front the food counter due to normal duties, was also last back, almost 15 minutes late. By this time nearly everyone was sitting anxiously ready to start game 5. Even John Barker had found his seat.
And so it continued. In Recreation Peggy Morton of the Newcastle club showed she had been doing her homework by winning all her games, whilst newcomer and Wollongong academic Wilma Vialle impressed with a fast-finishing second.
Local lady and underwater photographer Karen McLennan snapped up the honours in Intermediate with Ann Milner, also a Wyong player running into second. In Advanced, yet another local Chlorise O'Sullivan stole 201 ratings points with a clean sweep of seven wins, with (uncle) Arthur Isaac (you guessed it - another local) filling second place.
In Masters I finally turned the tables on Paul Cleary after a long run of outs, with Paul and John Barker sharing the minors on spread. John snared a rather high word score of 158 in my game against him, but still managed to lose the game. It was pleasing to see the likes of Cristine Small from St George Club, and Gary Pollard from Ulladulla Club getting a start in the top division, both being rewarded with fair ratings gains.
About twenty players called in at the Blue Gum Hotel, Waitara, on the way back into Sydney for a meal and postmortems, to cap off what was indeed a pleasant days Scrabbling.
The results:
Results after game 7
WYONG98 -- MASTERS
Rank Player Wins Mar
--------------------------------
1 Bob Jackman 7 837
2 Paul Cleary 5 625
3 John Barker 5 440
4 Cheryl Michler 4 182
5 Joanne Craig 4 32
6 Trevor Halsall 4 -10
7 Graeme Lock Lee 4 -119
8 Siva Sivapalasundram 4 -238
9 Audrey Newman 3 212
10 Cristine Small 3 189
11 Jean Noonan 3 -191
12 Alison Rae 3 -221
13 Derek Mckenzie 3 -229
14 Kris Logan 3 -256
15 Gary Pollard 3 -377
16 Ros Gibbons 2 -194
17 Liz Jackman 2 -411
18 Hanne Marks 1 -271
HIGH GAME: Paul Cleary 544
HIGH WORD: John Barker 158
"CLANGING"
Results after game 7
WYONG98 -- ADVANCED
Rank Player Wins Mar
--------------------------------
1 Chlorise O'Sullivan 7 403
2 Arthur Isaac 5 424
3 Penny Lavender 4 253
4 Helen Young 4 245
5 Linda Dimond 4 100
6 Colleen Howie 4 83
7 Nanette Reynolds 4 24
8 Raya Wilkinson 4 19
9 Ram Mohe 4 10
10 Beverley Smith 3 7
11 Joan Buchanan 3 -72
12 Trish Windhurst 3 -120
13 Richard Birch 3 -267
14 Gordon Meggs 2 -183
15 Maureen Wilkins 2 -299
16 Jean Balmer 0 -627
HIGH GAME: Raya Wilkinson 477
HIGH WORD: Raya Wilkinson 113
"ENTITLES"
Results after game 7
WYONG98 -- INTERMEDIATE
Rank Player Wins Mar
--------------------------------
1 Karen Mclennan 6 222
2 Alan Gauci 5 384
3 Ann Milner 5 223
4 Ivana Duria 5 193
5 Marie Hirschfield 4 313
6 Silvana Newman 4 100
7 Donna Macdonald 4 13
8 Anne Henderson 4 3
9 Henni Maat 4 -135
10 Dolores Barbon 3 77
11 Maria Degen 3 -68
12 Daphne Bezuidenhout 3 -122
13 Joan Daniel 3 -133
14 Lan Knox 3 -158
15 Margaret Gauci 3 -252
16 Sue Tuckett 2 -101
17 Judy Kinley 1 -252
18 Jeff Richardson 1 -307
HIGH GAME: Alan Gauci 468
HIGH WORD: Alan Gauci 131
"LAUGHTER"
Results after game 7
WYONG98 -- RECREATIONAL
Rank Player Wins Mar
--------------------------------
1 Peggy Morton 7 508
2 David Etherington 5 264
3 Wilma Vialle 5 217
4 Nancy Sacchetti 5 104
5 Ann Fiddler 4 97
6 Inge Burke 4 62
7 Kathryn Tiffen 3 63
8 Veena Mohe 3 39
9 June Dillon 3 -6
10 Margaret Hynes 3 -80
11 Wendy Lee 3 -115
12 Ursula Schokman 3 -124
13 Rosalie Tobin 3 -128
14 Ian Kesby 3 -137
15 Gay Bailey 2 -414
16 A Bye 0 -350
HIGH GAME: Wilma Vialle 454
HIGH WORD: Peggy Morton 95
"CRUDEST"
Stats for Tournament : WYONG98
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| state Name | National | State | Wins | Rating Points |
| | Old New | Old New | Exp Act | Old Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
+Section: *MASTERS + + + +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Bob Jackman | 7 4 | 5 3 | 5.6 7.0 | 1888 +23 1911 |
| NSW Paul Cleary | 4 5 | 3 4 | 5.9 5.0 | 1925 -14 1911 |
| NSW John Barker | 37 31 | 11 10 | 4.2 5.0 | 1720 +16 1736 |
| NSW Cheryl Michler | 200 186 | 49 47 | 2.8 4.0 | 1366 +23 1389 |
| NSW Trevor Halsall | 38 40 | 12 12 | 4.3 4.0 | 1720 -5 1715 |
| NSW Joanne Craig | 85 76 | 22 19 | 3.0 4.0 | 1607 +19 1626 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee | 50 66 | 15 17 | 5.9 4.0 | 1681 -37 1644 |
| NSW Siva Sivapalasundram | 180 159 | 46 43 | 2.3 4.0 | 1403 +34 1437 |
| NSW Cristine Small | 254 237 | 61 55 | 1.7 3.0 | 1256 +26 1282 |
| NSW Audrey Newman | 164 155 | 43 41 | 2.1 3.0 | 1424 +19 1443 |
| NSW Derek McKenzie | 146 148 | 39 39 | 3.3 3.0 | 1467 -6 1461 |
| NSW Jean Noonan | 129 130 | 34 34 | 3.3 3.0 | 1500 -5 1495 |
| NSW Alison Rae :act | 167 169 | 44 45 | 3.1 3.0 | 1419 -2 1417 |
| NSW Gary Pollard | 248 239 | 60 56 | 2.1 3.0 | 1259 +18 1277 |
| NSW Kris Logan | 77 99 | 19 27 | 5.4 3.0 | 1624 -49 1575 |
| NSW Ros Gibbons | 207 217 | 51 51 | 3.2 2.0 | 1352 -24 1328 |
| NSW Liz Jackman | 241 245 | 57 61 | 2.2 2.0 | 1271 -5 1266 |
| NSW Hanne Marks | 223 242 | 52 58 | 2.7 1.0 | 1308 -34 1274 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *ADVANCED + + + +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Chlorise O'Sullivan | 469 327 | 115 81 | 2.5 7.0 | 945 +201
1146 |
| NSW Arthur Isaac | 296 289 | 72 70 | 5.2 5.0 | 1200 +3 1203 |
| NSW Penny Lavender | 449 425 | 109 104 | 2.4 4.0 | 960 +35 995 |
| NSW Helen Young | 473 434 | 117 107 | 1.9 4.0 | 942 +46 988 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson | 344 350 | 85 88 | 4.3 4.0 | 1117 -5 1112 |
| NSW Colleen Howie | 494 441 | 124 109 | 1.7 4.0 | 920 +53 973 |
| NSW Linda Dimond | 496 464 | 126 115 | 2.3 4.0 | 917 +33 950 |
| NSW Ram Mohe | 437 426 | 106 105 | 3.2 4.0 | 976 +19 995 |
| NSW Nanette Reynolds | 314 315 | 77 78 | 4.3 4.0 | 1158 -2 1156 |
| NSW Beverley Smith | 363 377 | 92 94 | 4.0 3.0 | 1087 -28 1059 |
| NSW Richard Birch | 284 300 | 70 72 | 5.1 3.0 | 1215 -35 1180 |
| NSW Joan Buchanan | 300 312 | 73 75 | 4.7 3.0 | 1193 -33 1160 |
| NSW Trish Windhurst | 415 416 | 101 102 | 3.3 3.0 | 1006 -2 1004 |
| NSW Gordon Meggs | 285 322 | 71 79 | 5.3 2.0 | 1214 -64 1150 |
| NSW Maureen Wilkins | 371 393 | 93 98 | 3.4 2.0 | 1064 -28 1036 |
| NSW Jean Balmer | 410 449 | 99 111 | 2.4 0.0 | 1009 -48 961 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *INTERMEDIATE + + + +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Karen McLennan | 621 509 | 155 130 | 3.4 6.0 | 787 +107
894 |
| NSW Ann Milner | 630 587 | 157 148 | 3.1 5.0 | 780 +40 820 |
| NSW Alan Gauci | 504 498 | 129 127 | 4.4 5.0 | 898 +13 911 |
| NSW Ivana Duria | 542 517 | 138 133 | 4.1 5.0 | 864 +21 885 |
| NSW Marie Hirschfeld | 564 563 | 141 141 | 4.1 4.0 | 845 +1 846 |
| NSW Silvana Newman | 677 661 | 166 164 | 3.5 4.0 | 732 +11 743 |
| NSW Anne Henderson | 750 679 | 184 167 | 2.3 4.0 | 669 +63 732 |
| NSW Henni Maat | 498 504 | 127 129 | 4.5 4.0 | 910 -7 903 |
| NSW Donna MacDonald | 672 649 | 165 159 | 3.0 4.0 | 735 +21 756 |
| NSW Dolores Barbon | 507 543 | 130 138 | 4.6 3.0 | 895 -31 864 |
| NSW Lan Knox | 533 579 | 136 147 | 4.9 3.0 | 870 -36 834 |
| NSW Maria Degen | 763 750 | 190 184 | 2.3 3.0 | 657 +15 672 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout | 703 698 | 173 171 | 2.8 3.0 | 707 +3 710 |
| NSW Joan Daniels | 686 695 | 168 170 | 3.3 3.0 | 722 -9 713 |
| NSW Margaret Gauci | 649 655 | 158 160 | 3.3 3.0 | 755 -5 750 |
| NSW Sue Tuckett | 694 720 | 170 177 | 3.0 2.0 | 715 -19 696 |
| NSW Judy Kinley | 688 764 | 169 191 | 3.1 1.0 | 721 -62 659 |
| NSW Jeff Richardson | 654 707 | 159 174 | 3.4 1.0 | 751 -47 704 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *RECREATIONAL + + + +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Peggy Morton | 764 646 | 191 158 | 4.3 7.0 | 655 +111
766 |
| NSW Wilma Vialle | 813 769 | 205 193 | 3.5 5.0 | 600 +51 651 |
| NSW David Etherington | 772 765 | 192 192 | 4.5 5.0 | 646 +12 658 |
| NSW Nancy Sacchetti | 847 811 | 218 205 | 3.5 5.0 | 572 +30 602 |
| NSW Ann Fiddler | 799 802 | 201 201 | 4.2 4.0 | 612 -3 609 |
| NSW Inge Burke | 863 843 | 222 216 | 3.1 4.0 | 558 +17 575 |
|*NSW Kathryn Tiffen | 0 879 | 0 228 | 3.0 3.0 | 545 545 |
| NSW Ursula Schokman | 832 868 | 211 223 | 4.3 3.0 | 580 -25 555 |
| NSW June Dillon | 793 845 | 199 217 | 4.4 3.0 | 617 -42 575 |
|*NSW Rosalie Tobin | 0 971 | 0 256 | 3.5 3.0 | 500 -35 465 |
|*NSW Veena Mohe | 0 911 | 0 235 | 3.0 3.0 | 514 514 |
| NSW Margaret Hynes | 845 864 | 217 222 | 3.6 3.0 | 575 -18 557 |
|*NSW Wendy Lee | 0 929 | 0 244 | 3.2 3.0 | 500 500 |
|*NSW Ian Kesby | 0 970 | 0 255 | 3.6 3.0 | 500 -35 465 |
| NSW Gay Bailey | 1031 1030 | 270 273 | 1.8 2.0 | 341 +7 348 |
| NSW A Bye | 1007 1037 | 263 275 | 2.4 0.0 | 402 -73 329 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+--------------