~ News Archive 2013 ~

Decathon - a good day out! December 29th, 2013

After quite a few days with little scrabble activity sixty-four keen contestants arrived at Box Hill to take part in this annual ten game event, always a popular tourney slotted somewhere between Christmas Day and New Year celebrations. We welcomed first time player Trudy Kennedy, and Trudy assured us she enjoyed the experience and will play again. All four sections were fiercely contested, with best performances recorded by Gillian Renwick in Recreation , and Rob York in Intermediate, each winning nine of their ten games played - well done to you both!

Masters: Michael Rubinstein, Lois Binnie and Trevor Halsall

Advanced: Cheryle Jerram, Peter Bauer and Shirley de Silva

Intermediate: Glen Chandler, Rob York and Fintan Conway

In Masters the top three finishers all had eight wins - Trevor Halsall, Peter Kougi and Lois Binnie. Trevor claimed the High Game Award with a score of 599, and Michael Rubinstein played REDOLENT for 140 points to take home the High Word Award. John Hamilton from the Australian Capital Territory tried hard to realise his ambition of raising his rating to 1600, but sadly the Victorian players weren't kind to him....

Advanced saw our visitor from Sri Lanka, Shirley de Silva, place first with eight wins, a great result. Shirley was followed by Cheryle Jerram and Peter Bauer who both won 7 games. The High Game Award went to Cheryle Jerram for a score of 596, which I believe is Cheryle's highest score in tournament play - well done, indeed. John Rider's play of DELISTED for 122 points won him the High Word Award for this section.

As mentioned Intermediate was won by Rob York, who struggled manfully to contain his delight at winning nine, and second and third places went to Glen Chandler and David More from New South Wales who both won seven games. Rob York and Anne Menheere shared the award for High Game, both scoring 487. Fintan Conway took home the High Word Award for his play of AVIATORS for 94 points. Good find, Fintan!

Recreation: almost a clean sweep! Gillian Renwick and Elize Plaganyi

Some of the Masters in action - Angie Pearse plays Mythili Rudra

Game 4: Shirley de Silva plays Peter Bauer, Carol Mascitti plays Mary McMahon

Also as mentioned Gillian Renwick won nine games to win Recreation, well done, Gill. Second place went to rapidly improving Elize Plaganyi who finished on eight wins, with Norma Engel a game behind in third place. The High Game Award went to Gillian for a score of 482, and Elize played FACTORY for 112 points to achieve the High Word Award for the section. Well done, girls.

There were some excellent ratings gains recorded - Lois Binnie +81, Elize Plaganyi +67, Rob York +67, Angie Pearse +64, Gillian Renwick +56 and Cheryle Jerram +49. Shirley de Silva's provisional rating also rose considerably, and we hope that Shirley will join us on his next visit to Victoria.
To see all the results click HERE

The Last Bentleigh Tournament - December 8, 2013

On December 8th, fifty people gathered for the final Bentleigh Tournament. It was a long way from the 118 people that played in a Bentleigh Tournament six or seven years ago, but we played seven games instead of six and still finished an hour ahead of the time we finished at the big tournament. We have come a long way with the efficiency of running a tournament, thanks to people like Norma, Marj and Barry. Bentleigh Club members kept up the tradition of providing yummy home-baked goods.

Masters: Geoff Wright, Heather Long, Michael Rubinstein, Natasha Podesser

Advanced: Lainie Mercieca, Peter Bauer and Kashi Ross

Inter: Rob York, Carol Mascitti, Carole Eden & Club Convenor Ellen Frajman

Masters Division was won by Heather Long with six wins. Also on six wins, was Geoff Wright in second place. Natasha Podesser came in third, with five wins. Heather Long also took home the prize for High Word with INTENSER for 130 points. Michael Rubinstein scored 508 for the High Game win. In the Advanced Division, only margin separated the top three players who all had five wins. Mary McMahon took first, Lainie Mercieca took second, and Peter Bauer took third. Kashi Ross who was also on five wins, won High Word with OBLIQUE for 112 points. Mary McMahon topped off her good day with a High Game score of 522. In Intermediate, only four points separated Carol Mascitti and Rob York who both had five wins, with Carol coming out on top. Ellen Frajman, in her only tournament for the year, took third place. Carole Eden won High Game with a score of 506. Rob York won High Word with WAIFISH for 98 points.

Recreation: Sol Dasika, Shirley de Silva & Ruth Fewings

A tough game in Masters - Barbara Berlin versus Carmel Doney

At right, Shirley de Silva from Sri Lanka, with his son and grandson who live locally

In Recreation our visitor from Sri Lanka, Shirley de Silva, had a great day. He won six games to take first place and won High Game with a score of 513 and High Word with JOTTINGS for 101 points. Second place was won by Sol Dasika with five wins. Ruth Fewings took home third place, also on five wins. A nice day was had by all. Thanks to Norma and Marj for all that they did to keep the day running smoothly. We wish the Frankston Club good luck with their tournament this time next year.
Ellen Frajman for the Bentleigh Scrabble Club.
Note - the Bentleigh Scrabble Club is still meeting monthly, at the South Oakleigh Club at 1 Victor Road, East Bentleigh. Play starts at 7.30pm on the first Wednesday of each month, usually in the Sports Bar, and meals are available if you arrive earlier.
To see all the results click HERE

The World Youth Scrabble Champs ~ for a further report click HERE

Marvi Delfin

Tim Mason

Anand Bharadwaj

Ronnie Bennett

Good luck to our young Aussies - Marvi Delfin, Tim Mason, Anand Bharadwaj and Ronnie Bennett. The first round will be a random draw, but no contestant will play a fellow countryman, or countrywoman! Click on the link to Youth Scrabble at left to find more info about the event. Karen Richards is assisting with running the event, and Barry Harridge is on data entry and web reports, and we look forward to keeping up with happenings in Dubai!

The 2013 Scrabble Champions Tournament ~ in Prague, December 3 - 8

As Victoria is on Australian Eastern Daylight Time we are 10 hours ahead of Prague ~ the Last Chance Tournament starts at 7pm Tuesday evening 3/12, and the Scrabble Champions Tournament will start at 7pm on Wednesday 4/12.
Click here to find some info about both events.

And to follow the RESULTS click HERE

Ten of our top Aussie players are competing in this event, to be held as part of the Mind Sports Festival at The Andel's Hotel in Prague, in the Czech Republic. The event takes the place of the World Scrabble Championship and remains an invitational event, although there is uncertainty about the format and qualifying requirements for future events. Perhaps some of this will be resolved during the coming week.
Our sympathy goes to Michael Cameron from South Australia who has been very ill and is unable to attend this year, and we wish Michael all the best for a full recovery - he is slowly improving.
Our Australians competing in the Championship are Alastair Richards and Cameron Farlow from the state of Queensland; Esther Perrins, Edward Okulicz, Chris May and Michael McKenna from New South Wales; and from Victoria Andrew Fisher, Naween Fernando, Trevor Halsall and David Eldar, who is currently domiciled in the United Kingdom, as is Chris May. Good luck to all our representatives, many of us will be following your fortunes, and cheering you all on!

Also at the same venue are several other Scrabble side events, including one Last Chance Tournament which will allow the top four to play in the main event. Australian Scrabblers playing in the Last Chance include Sue-Ellen Cooper, Matte Dunn, Karen Richards, John Barker, Russell Honeybun and Adam Kretschmer. Barry Harridge is attending as an observer and will pass on news when he can. Thanks, Barry, we'll look forward to that!

Wednesday 9.00 am AEDT - the top four finishers in the Last Chance Tournament are Tim Adamson (USA), Piotr Andronowski (Canada), Sammy Okosagah (USA) and Elie Dangoor (England), and these have now qualified to play in the Scrabble Champions Tournament. Well done, how exciting for them. Our Aussies seemed keen to stay together - here's how they finished - Matte Dunn 15, John Barker 20, Russell Honeybun 21, Adam Kretschmer 22, Karen Richards 23 and Sue-Ellen Cooper 39. Well played and well represented, everyone!

The Standings after Day 2 - Scrabble Champions Tournament, Prague

The three players below are currently leading the field, and its interesting to check their progress - at the end of Day One Komol was ranked fifth, Dave was ranked eighth, and Nigel was eleventh, so Day Two was an excellent day for the trio - it will be worth following to see if they can hold their positions over the next two days, when 16 games are scheduled prior to the finals on Sunday.

1. Komol Panyasophonlert Thailand

2. Dave Wiegand United States of America

3. Nigel Richards the Current World Champion

The format for the finals gives the top four finishers a chance to be the Champion - firstly Number 1 plays Number 4, and Number 2 plays Number 3 - both these matches are the best of five. Following this the winners of the two semi-finals will face off in a best of five final, so there are some tense challenges to come.
Here are the positions of our reps at the end of Day Two, and we wish them well for Day Three: Edward Okulicz 10, Andrew Fisher 17, Chris May 26, Trevor Halsall 28, Cameron Farlow 31, Naween Fernando 44, Michael McKenna 60, Esther Perrins 66, Alastair Richards 67, and David Eldar 88. More news will follow......

The Scrabble Champions Tournament, after Day 3

These are the top ten contenders at the end of Day Three - all set for an exciting finish!

1. Nigel Richards the Current World Champion

2. Komol Panyasophonlert Thailand

3. Paul Gallen Northern Ireland

4. Sammy Okasagah Last Chance Qualifier

5. Andrew Fisher Australia 2nd in 2011 WSC.

6. Brett Smitheram England

7. Naween Fernando Australia

8. Craig Beevers England

9. Chris May Australia

10. Piotr Andronowski Last Chance Qual.

Day 4 - sadly not a good day for our Aussies

At the end of the day our players were placed as follows - Esther Perrins 12, Alastair Richards 13, Chris May 14, Edward Okulicz 16, Andrew Fisher 17, David Eldar 29, Naween Fernando 34, Cameron Farlow 38, Trevor Halsall 58 and Michael McKenna 87. Well done to all for your efforts!
The four who went on to contest the semis and final on Day 5 were Sammy Okosagah, Nigel Richards, Dave Wiegand and Komol Panyasophonlert. In the best of five semifinals Komol was successful over Sammy, and Nigel won against Dave Wiegand. This led to the final between Nigel and Komol, a close affair with the score two-all after four games - the last game saw Nigel eventually close out the contest with some great plays - congrats to both Nigel and Komol, and Sammy and Dave, a great tournament for you all.

The final games - Nigel Richards plays Komol Panyasophonlert

The semifinal between Sammy Okosagah and Komol Panyasophonlert

Nigel Richards plays Dave Wiegand in the other semifinal

The final fundraising tourney before the International Events ~ November 24, 2013

This was the Committee and Members' last effort to raise some money to support our Victorian players who will soon compete overseas in the Scrabble Champions Tournament (formerly known as the World Scrabble Championship) or the World Youth Scrabble Championship, dependent on age. It was a pleasant seven game event, and moved along quite smoothly with our second Annual General Meeting for 2013 held after Game 5 - this was extremely unusual, but necessary to meet the requirements of Consumer Affairs Victoria with regard to the Special Resolution to adopt the Model Rules for an Incorporated Association, and to present the formal end of year financial report which was unavailable at the previous AGM on August 11 2013.
Numbers were small - 46 - but a four-section tournament was played, with prizes consisting of chocolates rather than cash to allow as much as possible to be contributed to the support fund. Norma Fisher organised a secondhand book sale which raised almost $200, and together with the tournament profit the total of $945 was available for later distribution to our five OS reps.

Nick Ivanovski visited to take some pics for the Scrabble Victoria page on Facebook - Nick does a great job running the Facebook pages, and his enthusiasm is endless. Nick had donated two pocket-size Collins books; "101 Ways to Win at Scrabble" and "Collins Little Book of Scrabble Secrets", thanks, Nick. These were given as prizes for the best words relating to "Scrabble Championship". The first went to Matte Dunn for his play of MARGINS, and the other was awarded to Liz McKean for her word MOANERS, which caused quite a bit of amusement amongst the players - most of us have done our share of this at times!

The Recreation section had the largest number of competitors - eighteen. Mohammed Hegazi proved too good for his fellow players, winning six games ahead of Geoff Shepheard and Lina Camilleri in second and third place respectively on five wins, with three more players also on five. The High Game Award went to Ann Goodwin for an excellent score of 508, and Ann also played QUIVERY for 103 points to collect the High Word prize as well.

Intermediate saw Paula Messer in excellent form, winning six games and finishing a game clear of Dorothy Barraclough, with Oliver Podesser third on four wins. The High Game award also went to Oliver for a score of 486, and Paula played STEADIES for 141 points, the best word score for the day across all sections. Nice find, Paula.

Recreation: Ann Goodwin and Geoff Shepheard

Intermediate: Paula Messer and Oliver Podesser

Advanced: Lorraine Thomas with Julie Belle

Masters: Natasha Podesser, Heather Long and Trevor Halsall

In Advanced Lorraine Thomas won 6 games to place first, ahead of Julie Belle on five wins and John Rider on four. Patricia Mitchell scored exactly 500 to take out the High Game Award, and two players tied for the High Word Award - Lorraine Thomas played CORVETTE for 98 points, which was matched by Mary McMahon's play of CHARGERS.

Masters was taken out by Matte Dunn who is travelling to Prague to compete in the Last Chance Tournament - the top four placegetters in this event will gain entry to the Scrabble Champions Tournament. Good luck with that, Matte. Second place went to Trevor Halsall who has already qualified to play in the SCT, with third place occupied by Heather Long. Trevor scored 610 to win the High Game Award, and the High Word Award went to Natasha Podesser for her play of EMPTIES for 99 points.

Excellent ratings gains were achieved by Mary Mackie +69, Paula Messer +38, Mohammed Hegazi +36, Lorraine Thomas +36, Julie Belle +34, Matte Dunn +32, Lina Camilleri +31, Carmel Doney +31, and Heather Long +30. Well done to everyone, and thank you all on behalf of our OS representatives - David Eldar, Andrew Fisher, Naween Fernando, Trevor Halsall and Anand Bharadwaj - for your generous assistance with their travel expenses, they do appreciate your help.

To see all the results click HERE

The Annual Geelong Tournament, at Kardinia Park ~ November 10, 2013

This six-game event took place at the home of the famous Geelong Cats AFL team, and its a very pleasant place to hold a tournament - the room is spacious and the outlook is lovely indeed. Continuous tea/coffee/water and biscuits were supplied all day, and orders were taken for sandwiches for lunch - or the Cats Bistro was a popular place to dine for those who preferred a tasty bistro-style lunch. Many players took advantage of this, fortifying themselves for the afternoon's play. Carol Johnsen was presented with her badge marking 2000 tournament games played, well done, Carol!

Forty-two keen players took part, divided into four sections, and as always competition was fierce at all levels - the highlight of the day was Mal Eden's clean sweep of all six games in Intermediate, racking up an enviable margin of 754, the highest across all sections for the day - well done, Mal! Second place went to Dorothy Barraclough, followed by Anna Palmer and Anne Menheere, all local players. Mal scored 558 (also the highest for all sections) to take home the High Game Award, and the High Word Award went to Jenny Kearney who played PLAITER for 86 points.

In Masters Norma Fisher had a lovely run with the tiles and won 5 games to just edge out Geoff Wright, also on five wins, with Nick Ivanovski third on four wins - however Nick's efforts weren't very well rewarded as his rating remained unchanged on 1701, while Norma and Geoff gained 28 and 27 points respectively......Barbara Berlin scored 542 to win the High Game prize, and Geoff's play of CONVERTS for 101 points gave him the High Word Award for the section.

Advanced saw Rob Hutchinson in fine form, winning five games ahead of five players on four wins each - Kris Howat, Mary McMahon, Dieter Jedamski, Peter Bauer and Rob York, all giant-killers in their own right! Rod Casey scored 536 to win the High Game Award, and the High Word Award went to Rob Hutchinson for playing SENHORA for 91 points.

Masters: Barbara Berlin, Geoff Wright, Nick Ivanovski, Norma Fisher

Advanced: Rod Casey, Mary McMahon & Rob Hutchinson with Marlene Ellis

Intermediate: Jenny Kearney, Dorothy Barraclough, Mal Eden, Anna Palmer

Recreation: Carole Eden and Marlene Ellis, with Carol Johnsen

In Recreation the Convenor of the Geelong Club Marlene Ellis was too strong for her opponents - Marlene won 5 games to place first, the High Game Award for a score of 473 and the High Word Award for playing SPRITES for 105 points. What a good day out indeed, Marlene. Second place went to Carole Eden also on 5 wins, with Marjorie Clark third on four wins. Well done to all - and congrats to the following who achieved worthy ratings gains on the day - Mal Eden +47, Dorothy Barraclough +35, Rob York +34 and Carole Eden +32.
Thanks from all participants to Marlene and all members of the Geelong Club for organising such a pleasant tournament, your efforts are appreciated.

To see all the results click HERE

The Mount Martha Tournament ~ October 13 2013

Thanks to the hardworking organiser Julie Belle for the following report - it is appreciated, Julie!
Hi to all,
the Mt Martha Club held their annual tournament in Mt Eliza yesterday and although the numbers were slightly down on previous years, a very enjoyable day was had by all! We still managed to have four sections which was great and enabled a few people to use their play-up certificates and of course for others to receive them!

Eileen Mills had an outstanding day in Recreation with a fabulous high game score of 482 and also taking out 1st place with 5 wins. Congratulations Eileen! Jeannie Jones, who recently celebrated her 90th birthday, showed us all that age is not a number, with a terrific high word score of 134 for 'EQUINES'. Congratulations also to Marion Kearsley, who also celebrated her 90th birthday earlier this year and is a regular at our tournaments!
3rd place was awarded to Mercia Cadan...good job and happy birthday for Thursday, Merc! 2nd place went to Mohammed Hegazi with 4.5 wins,well done!
In Intermediate, Dorothy Rice was by no means gazumped with her word 'CLUMPED.' She earned a tidy 91 points taking out the high word prize and added to her prize booty by also winning high game with 499! Good on you Dot!
The place gettings in Intermediate were all very close with all three players achieving 4 wins. 3rd place went to Carol Mascitti, Heather Iapozzuto in 2nd (also celebrating her birthday this week) and Julie Belle 1st...congratulations to all 3 ladies!
Advanced, saw Rob York...now with a full head of hair again after his great fundraising efforts for the greatest shave...take out high word for 'RAPPINGS' for 98. Well done Rob on both counts. Dianne Davis did very well, not only achieving high game with a score of 528 but also winning this section with 6 consecutive wins! Fabulous! Second place went to Glen Chandler and third past the post was Rob Hutchinson, good job everyone!

Recreation: Mohammed Hegazi, Jeannie Jones, Eileen Mills & Mercia Cadan

Intermediate: Heather Iapozzuto, Carol Mascitti, Dorothy Rice

Advanced: Rob York, Dianne Davis, Glen Chandler & Rob Hutchinson

The Masters: Ray Alford, Barbara Berlin, Frank Csarics & Angie Pearse

In Masters, Barbara Berlin truly played her best scrabble on Sunday! A high word score of 117 for 'WAXIEST' was capped off by 6 straight wins for a well-earned 1st place! Great work Barbara! Well done also to Ray Alford in 3rd place and Norma Fisher who came 2nd ... also celebrating a rather special birthday this week, happy birthday, Norma! A score of 532 saw Angie Pearse take home the prize for High Word, well done everyone!
Scrabble tournaments are not only a lovely way to play the game we all love (and love to hate when we are having a bad day! lol) but to catch up with other players and enjoy the friendships made over many years...so a huge thanks goes to Carol Johnsen, Marj Miller, Norma Fisher and all the other people behind the scenes who are the stalwarts of Victorian Scrabble and make it all possible.
A huge thanks of course goes to all the ladies at the Mount Martha Scrabble Club who rally together each year donating prizes and delicious goodies for us all to feast on. Special thanks to Helen for a great job in the kitchen and Heather's daughter for generously donating the lucky door prize. Last but by no means least...many thanks to Marjorie Barnes who does a great job of captaining the Mt Martha Club and sadly was unable to attend due to ill-health...we missed you Marj! We hope to see you all next year on Sunday the 5th October! Many thanks,Julie.:)

A Good Seniors Day Out! Thursday October 10 2013

The lovely gardens at the Centre

Concentrating during the first game

Waiting for the presentations

Some of the players, relaxing

Fifty-two players, a mix of Scrabble Victoria members and Senior Citizens from far and wide, took part in the 2013 Seniors Tournament at the Golden Age Senior Citizens' Centre in Mount Waverley. The event was very ably organised by Tam and Sita Dasika, the convenors of the Waverley Scrabble Club which meets on Wednesdays at the Centre from 10am until 3pm - new players are always welcome, so please drop in for a game.
Players were divided into ten groups, each named after a flower, and all played three games against their peers. The pic shows the winners of each section, with Tam and Sita on the right.

All present appeared to have a good day, and the light lunch provided was very popular. We hope that Tam and Sita will be available to run this event again next year during Seniors' Week, and thank you to those who helped to make the day a success, in particular the members of the Waverley Scrabble Club, and Carol Johnsen, Norma Fisher and Marj Miller. We also thank Mr Chris Reidy, Manager of the Seniors' Festival via the Department of Health's Ageing & Aged Care Section, for the generous donation which enabled the event to be conducted free of charge, which we all appreciated.

The Essendon Tournament ~ Sunday September 29

On 29th September 70 intrepid Scrabble players fronted up to the Essendon Scrabble tournament. Nearly all players arrived in good time and those who were running late let me know they were on the way. Thanks to last minute entries from Naween, Peter K and Mythili, I was able to run an additional section, the Super Masters with 10 competitors. This section was well received, particularly by those left behind in the Masters section. They felt that finally they could be competitive.

Super Masters, trialled for the first time ~ Anand Bharadwaj 2nd, Naween Fernando 3rd

Masters ~ Heather Long 1st, Lorraine Thomas 3rd, Val Hardiman 2nd, Marj Miller High Game

Advanced - very close results ~ Dilendra Nanayakkara 1st, Cheryle Jerram 2nd, John Rider 3rd

Intermediate ~ John Parker 2nd, Rob York 1st, (won all 7 games!), Betty Egan 3rd and High Word

Peter, Anand and Naween were the victors in the Super Masters, and in Masters we had an all woman lineup of trophy winners, with Heather Long in 1st place, Val Hardiman 2nd and Lorraine Thomas coming in 3rd place, playing on a play-up certificate.
In Advanced the top 3 players all won 5 games. Dilendra won on margins, only 3 points ahead of Cheryle who was only 32 points ahead of John Rider. A hard fought contest. I note that Dilendra won the Intermediate section at this tournament last year, in what was then only his second tournament.
Rob York trounced the Intermediate Section, winning all 7 games with a massive margin of 678. And didn't he look smug each time he delivered the results to the front table! Never a shrinking violet, Rob was visibly delighted with his day. My opinion, I think he just had a whole lot of good luck! In Rob's shadow, John Parker came in second, and Betty Egan third.
Gayle Cameron triumphed in Recreation, the largest section on the day, with Geoff Shepheard and Marlene Ellis taking the minor placings. Brian Rowe, who is a new member at the Essendon Club, enjoyed his first tournament and hopefully will be back for more!

Recreation winners - Ann Goodwin High Word and High Game, Geoff Shepheard 2nd, Gayle Cameron 1st

First time player Brian Rowe, a new member of the strong Essendon Club, who is enjoying his Scrabble.

Relaxing over lunch - Val Hardiman, Marisa Nuccitelli, Marjorie Clark and Betty Egan

Team players in the annual Cranbourne- Langwarrin Challenge - Gayle Cameron, Katie Rowe, Irlande Alfred, Geoff Gittus

The food was great thanks to the Essendon Club bakers Cynthia, Gianna, Lina, Glenys, Lois and Margaret Magro who got up early to bake scones for us, even though her sight is no longer good enough for her to play Scrabble. Geoff Shepheard's home cooked goodies were also welcome.
Barbara Berlin was presented with her 2000 game badge which had been in cool storage for some time, as Barbara is a recent returnee to the tournament scene. She suggested that, instead of a Super Masters section we should have a Super Geriatrics section for those who have word knowledge, have lots of wisdom and still love to play Scrabble, but who have lost the killer instinct and that urgent need to win. I suggested that a super geriatric should organize such an event, but she told me she is so old she can't remember how to organize a tournament. Sorry Barbara, I have taken some liberty with our actual conversation.
For me, the Tournament Director, it was a rather dull day as all competitors were very well behaved, kind to their opponents and, as a consequence, I had only 2 of the most minor adjudications to cope with.
Thanks to all the competitors for making it a great day. Thanks to the willing band of volunteers who turned up shortly after dawn to help set-up. It all just happened and made my job really easy.
The Essendon Tournament, traditionally played on the day after the footy grand final, just demonstrates that there is life after football.

Thanks to Lois Binnie for the above report, and well done to all who gained ratings points on the day, notably Rob York +65, Gayle Cameron +58, Cheryle Jerram +39, Dilendra Nanayakkara +38, John Rider +38, Heather Long +37 and Betty Egan +36.
To see all the results click HERE

Anand Bharadwaj supports Unicef's School-in-a-Box program - September 23, 2013

The group of players, with Anand in his favourite yellow cap

Lalitha Sundaresan, Anand, Kannan Sethuraman

To see the full report click HERE

International Fundraiser #1 ~ September 15 2013

Glen Chandler plays Dorothy Barraclough, with Wayne Stoyan next to Dorothy

Anand Bharadwaj discusses scores with dad Kannan Sethuraman, with mum Lalitha Sundaresan at the laptop

Diane Stoyan plays Stephanie Saunders, with Dominica Krstic and Ann Goodwin at the next board

Peter Kougi v Naween Fernando, Harry Malcolm v Natasha Podesser, Matte Dunn v June Valentine

The aim of this event was to support our local International Representatives when our four adults travel to Prague in December for the inaugural Scrabble Champions Tournament which is replacing the World Scrabble Championship, and to Dubai for the World Youth Scrabble Championship, also in December - we have just one Victorian junior player attending, and more news will follow about this. The efforts of all raised $1010 towards the cause, and we hope to do as well in late November with another fundraising tournament. Prizes were minimal in order to maxmise the amount raised, and hopefully this was okay with the award winners....
Fifty-four players settled down to play, after some surprise entries and a withdrawal or two - we wish better health to those who are not well. It was good to see John Taylor from the Essendon Club, and Barbara Berlin who enjoyed her return to tournament play.

Division A - Peter Kougi, Anand Bharadwaj & Naween Fernando

Division B - Cheryle Jerram and Paula Messer

Division C - Carol Mascitti, Ann Goodwin & Dominica Krstic

The battle for Division B - Paula Messer plays Cheryle Jerram

The players divided neatly into 3 sections, and as usual some were happy at the end of the day, with others a little disappointed.....in Division A Peter Kougi won six of the seven games played, with Naween Fernando second on 5 games, and our Junior World Rep Anand Bharadwaj third, also on five wins. Peter scored 585 to record High Game, and Angie Pearse scored 167 for WINDINGS to win the High Word Award.
Division B saw a tight tussle - three players finished on five wins, with Cheryle Jerram in first place, followed by Paula Messer and Diane Stoyan.....the High Game Award went to Cheryle for a score of 491, and Anne Menheere took home the High Word Award for her play of HAZINGS for 100 points.
Division C was also a tight contest with Ann Goodwin victorious on 6 wins, followed by Carol Mascitti and Dominica Krstic......Dominica scored 498 to collect the High Game Award, and Carol scored 104 points for SQUIRED to win the High Word Award for the section.

Latha Weerakkody plays Dominica Krstic, and Rena Aitken v Judith Westwood

Julie Belle plays Janet Matthews, with John Taylor at table 16

Norma Fisher plays Lainie Mercieca, a tough matchup in Division A

Peter Kougi plays Natasha Podesser, another tough pairing

Excellent ratings gains were recorded by Ann Goodwin +43, Paula Messer +39, June Valentine +35, Kris Howat +31 and Dominica Krstic +31. Well done to everyone, and thanks to all who played for supporting our players with their travel expenses.

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The Australian Masters and State Team Challenge ~ September 7/8 2013

After two solid days of inspired Scrabble Alastair Richards from Queensland has been crowned the Australian Masters Champion for 2013, winning 15 games and finishing three games clear of Russell Honeybun from Western Australia in second place. Third was Andrew Fisher from Victoria on 11 wins, with three more players also on 11 wins - Peter Kougi and Naween Fernando from Victoria and Richard Jeremy from the A.C.T. in sixth place.
Andrew Fisher scored 639 to collect the High Game Award, and Edie Mueller played CHEEKIER for a massive score of 239 to collect the High Word Award in the Masters and create a record for the current year. Well done, all, and hearty congratulations to Alastair on a great win!
In the State Team Challenge the Victorian team of Matte Dunn, Harry Malcolm and Mythili Rudra (who filled in for Michael Rubinstein, who unfortunately was unable to play) proved too strong and consistent for the other state/territory teams, finishing on 37.5 wins, with South Australia in second place on 34 wins, followed by the fast-finishing team from New South Wales on 29.5.

The 2013 Masters Champ, Alastair Richards, prior to the final game

Andrew Fisher, Edie Mueller, Naween Fernando, Peter Kougi, Alastair Richards, Russell Honeybun

The Victorian Team, winners of the State Challenge - Matte Dunn, Harry Malcolm, Mythili Rudra

Individual Winners: Matte Dunn, Caroline Scowcroft, Stephen Mooney Pursell & Mythili Rudra

The individual winners within the State Team Challenge were Matte Dunn first, Mythili Rudra second, and Stephen Mooney Pursell from South Australia third - all three players were separated by margin only, all finshing on 13 wins - a nail-biting contest indeed! Caroline Scowcroft had a magical game on Day 1, claiming both the High Game and the High Word Awards for a score of 559, and playing VESTIGES for 158 - good play, all.
Thanks to everyone for travelling from interstate, and to all who helped make the event a success, particularly Carol Johnsen, Norma Fisher, Barry Harridge and Tournament Director Wilma Vialle.
The venue, Fredricks Restaurant at the Mount Alexander Motor Inn, proved to be very suitable, with many players staying in the motel and enjoying the proximity to the airport. Next year's tournament is scheduled to take place in South Australia, and as always the qualification process will be extremely interesting.

To follow the happenings over the two days, with more photos and news, click HERE

And to see all the results click HERE

The Ballarat Winter Tournament ~ August 31, 2013

This tournament took place at the very end of winter on a pleasant almost springlike day, and was enjoyed by all thirty who played - many travelled quite a distance to compete, and the event ran smoothly with the help of Tess Robinson's daughter Tanya, who handled the software with aplomb. Tess, convenor of the Ballarat Club, had done her usual wonderful job of supplying snacks and lunch for all, and this was appreciated by everyone, as was the space available in the Brown Hill Hall in Ballarat East. The number of 30 divided neatly into three sections, and there were some fine performances on the day.

Division A: Peter Bauer, Harry Malcolm, Geoff Wright & Heather Long

Division B: Jenny Kearney, Mal Eden & Mohammed Hegazi

Division C: Marisa Nuccitelli, Marjorie Clark & Elizabeth McKean

Neville Hesketh & Marisa Nuccitelli with Balada Catanchin and Liz McKean

Division A saw Peter Bauer take out the honours, possibly his first section win in the top division. Peter won five games of the six played, followed by Geoff Wright and Heather Long on four wins each. Harry Malcolm won the High Game Award for a score of 529, and Peter Bauer collected his second trophy for the day - the High Word Award for playing ZANIEST for 119 points.
In Division B Mohammed Hegazi recorded five wins with a good margin to win the section, and also took home the High Game Award for a score of 491. Jenny Kearney placed second with four wins, followed by Mal Eden in third place, also winning four. Jenny played EXITING for 115 points to collect the High Word Award for the section.
Division C saw a fine performance from Elizabeth McKean, who won all six games to finish well clear of her opponents, and take home the High Game Award for an excellent score of 502. Marjorie Clark and Marisa Nuccitelli each recorded four wins to finish second and third respectively, and the High Word Award went to Tess Robinson who played SCOOTER for a score of 98.
Ratings gains of note were recorded by Elizabeth McKean +62, Peter Bauer +60, and Mohammed Hegazi +53, well done to all. Thanks to Ann Goodwin for the pics, and thanks from everyone to Tess and her Club members and family for a very pleasant day out, your efforts were appreciated by all.

The Inaugural Frankston North Tournament ~ August 25, 2013

The Mahogany Neighbourhood Centre - the Frankston North Club meets here on Tuesdays at 12 MD

Division A - Harry Malcolm, second & High Word, Natasha Podesser, first & High Game, with Zev and Lovelia Malcolm

The Division B winners - Marie D'Rosario 2nd & High Game (492), Julie Belle 3rd, Lorraine Thomas, 1st and equal High Word

The Division C achievers - Rob Marotta (from SA) 3rd, Geoff Shepheard 2nd, High Game & High Word, and winner Geoff Gittus

Here is a report from the Tournament Organiser, Ray Alford -
36 keen Scrabblers ventured to Frankston North to compete in our first tournament. Division A was won by Natasha Podesser and she also claimed high game with a huge 609 game. B Division was won by Lorraine Thomas and she also claimed high word with QUASHED for 98 points. Equal high word was played by Heather Iapozzuto - JOLLIEST.
C Division was won by local Langwarrin Scrabbler Geoff Gittus, winning all 7 games. High word in this section was 149 for the word WATERING played by Geoff Shepheard. Rob Marotta who finished third in Division 3 visited us from South Australia.
We had 2 novices today - Fay Boxshall who won a game in her section with a 400 game and Jeanette Swann who won 4 of her 7 games and finished fourth. Well done Fay and Jeanette, we hope to see you both again soon. The venue was the spacious Mahogany Centre which everyone enjoyed playing at. Lorraine Alford provided the food in between the games while Ray Alford was Tournament Director, and Barry Harridge looked after the computer work. We will be having another tournament soon so keep a look out for the next date. It is not too far away.

New players on the day - local Fay Boxshall and Jeanette Swann from Welshpool

In the foreground Geoff Shepheard plays Rob Marotta

Just finished their game - Brigid Murphy and Carole Eden

Katie Rowe relaxing, next to Norma Fisher and Gwen Lampre at Table 5

Thanks for the report, Ray, and thank you Lorraine for your work and input - the lucky chocolates were appreciated by all whose names were drawn from the jar. Further highlights were the great play of Natasha Podesser in Division A who scored her first 600 game in a tournament, and her first win in Masters, and finished just clear of Harry Malcolm by 11 margin points. Lorraine Thomas in Division B is finding lost form which is great, and in Division C the brilliance of the popular convenor of the Langwarrin Club, Geoff Gittus, was wonderful - as was the performance of Geoff Shepheard, achieving second place, High Word as mentioned above, and High Game...
Also of interest was the number of draws played on the day - three, and all in Division A. In Game 1 Katie Rowe and Harry Malcolm each scored 368, and in Game 6 Norma Fisher and Naween Fernando tied on 413. Much to Norma's surprise her final game resulted in her second tied game for the day, when her opponent (and the eventual section winner!) Natasha Podesser equalled her score of 441 to finish the day.
Impressive rating gains for the day were posted by Geoff Gittus +80, Natasha Podesser +46, Harry Malcolm +44, Geoff Shepheard + 40, Anne Bingham + 37, Chris Scholten +32, Janet Matthews +31, and Lorraine Thomas +30.
Well played, everyone, some great achievements there!
To find the full results click HERE

Harry Malcolm is the 2013 Victorian Country Champion

The 2013 Champion, Harry Malcolm

Group during play - a pleasant venue

Mary McMahon at the laptop, entering data

Serious concentration during play!

A small field of 16 attended this year's Country Championship, which was again held at the Daylesford Bowls Club as part of the annual Words In Winter Festival. The presence of Clive Rutherford was missed - Clive and his wife Jan had been in charge of the organisation of this tournament for several years, and we thank them for their contribution to the success of the event.
The competitors were divided into two sections, and the weather must have been quite chilly as the sections were titled ARCTIC and BLUSTERY.
The Championship section was keenly contested, with Harry Malcolm emerging on top with 5 wins from the six games played, congratulations, Harry. Second placed was Carol Johnsen also on five wins, followed by Heather Long on three. The High Game Award went to Dorothy Barraclough for a score of 536, and Dorothy also won the High Word Award for the brilliant play of QUEENIES for a score of 194, which equals the current High Word record in Australia for 2013 - well done to all!
In the Blustery Section Maggie Solomon and Marlene Ellis finished on five wins each, with Maggie ahead by just 28 margin points, followed by evergreen Bendigo player Ruth Fewings on four wins. The High Game Award went to Robin Dettmann for a score of 468, and two players each scored 94 to share the High Word Award - Jenny Kearney played RETAXES, and Debbie Hoffmann played SERVINGS.
Congrats to all on your achievements, and thank you to the organiser Carol Johnsen, and to Norma Fisher who looked after the data entry for the day.
To see the full results click HERE

The Midwinter Tournament and A.G.M. ~ August 11 2013

This seven game event saw 60 players in action, playing 22 minute games in four divisions. The tournament saw the ASPA(Vic)Inc Annual General Meeting take place after Game 5, and as usual it was an interesting event, although perhaps not everyone thought so.
The winners in two sections achieved the ultimate goal - winning all seven games, a brilliant feat indeed.
In Recreation returned player Liam Gillespie finished clear of Anne Bingham and Gillian Renwick in second and third places respectively, both on five wins. Fintan Conway was also in fine form, placing fourth and collecting the awards for High Game (489) and High Word - GENERATE for 131 points, the highest for all sections on the day.
Intermediate saw a win to ex-Queenslander John Rider - John also won all his games, and is increasing his rating regularly. Anna Palmer "played up" a section and showed good form to place second on five wins, with Stephanie Saunders winning four to place third. John Rider scored 476 to win the High Game Award, and Dorothy Barraclough played WAVERED for 90 points to take home the High Word prize.

Masters: Andrew Fisher, Norma Fisher & Nick Ivanovski

Advanced: June Valentine, Lorraine Thomas & ELaine Capewell

Intermediate: Stephanie Saunders, Anna Palmer, John Rider & Dorothy Barraclough

Recreation: Liam Gillespie, Fintan Conway & Anne Bingham

In Advanced four players finished on five wins, a hard-fought battle for all - Elaine Capewell came out on top due to a superior margin, with June Valentine and Lorraine Thomas hot on her heels. The High Game Award went to Mary McMahon for a score of 595, the highest of all sections for the day, and Sandra Masel's play of SPONGED for 94 points earned her the High Word Award.
Masters was also closely-fought, with Norma Fisher and Andrew Fisher finishing on six wins each, with Norma ahead by just 33 margin points. As Norma commented, a long time between drinks! Third place went to Nick Ivanovski who continues to improve his scrabble after a long, long break....Andrew's score of 574 earned him the High Game Award, and Norma's play of JAUNCES for 127 earned her the High Word Award for the section.
Some excellent ratings gains were recorded on the day - Liam Gillespie +66, Norma Fisher +59, John Rider +53, Anna Palmer +37, June Valentine +35, Julie Belle +32, and Barry Harridge +31. Well done to everyone, and thank you all for your participation, and thanks also to those who helped out on the day.

Fundraising for the Members of Clota Cottage Neighbourhood House ~ July 28, 2013

Back playing after many years, and playing well - Liam Gillespie

Cheerful players at a very pleasant event - Chris Scholten and Dianne Gibson

Anne Menheere plays Anne Bingham, with John Parker & Anne Hagley at the next board

In Division A, Natasha Podesser plays Mythili Rudra, watched by Peter Kougi

Thirty keen players gathered to support A.S.P.A. Vic member Ann Hagley in her endeavours to assist the members of the local Neighbourhood House, of which she is the Chairperson, to travel to Queenscliff for a break later in the year. Ann's primary aim was to raise sufficient funds to offset the cost of hiring a bus, and the generosity of those present allowed this goal to be achieved - the profit for the day was $750, and Ann wishes to express her gratitude to all present. Prizes were kept to a minimum, as is usual at fundraising events. The Members of the House had baked many goodies, and their stall was well patronised with the income supplemented by donations from various members. Thank you to all, it is an excellent result considering that the venue and date had to be changed due to unexpected constraints at the original venue.
Tournament Director Barry Harridge kept the day running smoothly, and welcomed returning player Liam Gillespie who hadn't played a tournament since 2001, in his own words "as a callow teenager". Liam enjoyed the day, and we hope to see him again at our next tournament on August 11, Liam.

Division A winners - Peter Kougi, Geoff Wright and Mythili Rudra

Top of Division B - Anne Bingham, Ann Hagley and John Parker

Keen players in Division B - Janet Trupp, with Rena Aitken at the next board

At the end of the day - Barry Harridge at the laptop, with Ian Hagley & Norma Fisher

Players were divided into two sections, with some great results on the day - Division A was keenly contested, with Peter Kougi emerging victorious on five wins from the seven games played, closely followed by in-form Geoff Wright and Mythili Rudra, both also winning five. This was only the second occasion (after several clashes) on which Mythili has defeated Peter in tournament play, well done Mythili. Peter achieved the High Game Award for a score of 527, and Sue Bridges scored 96 for playing ARCSINE, a nice four-timer and the Highest Word Score for Division A.
In Division B Anne Bingham almost completed a clean sweep, losing only the last game. Well done Anne, a wonderful result for you, and a sign of your continued improvement. Organiser Ann Hagley placed second with five wins, followed by John Parker, Liam Gillespie, and Marisa Nuccitelli, all also on five wins. As well as second place John Parker achieved the High Game score for the day, 476. The Highest Word score for the section was played by Paula Messer - ADIPOSE for 94 points.
Thanks from Ann and the Clota Cottage members to all who contributed to the success of the day, and special thanks to Norma Fisher, Ian Hagley, Barry Harridge and all the bakers!

The Nunawading Tournament ~ July 21, 2013

This was a very pleasant seven game tournament with 54 players competing in four sections, and Mary Mackie standing by as the reserve player - thanks for doing the job, Mary, and for your help throughout the day, it was appreciated. All players enjoyed the lovely home-baked goodies provided, and we thank the Nunawading Club Convenor Cheryle Jerram and Club members June Valentine and Geoff Shepheard for their contributions. The Nunawading Club has recently moved to new premises and meets on Tuesday evenings at 7.00 pm at 16 Station Street, Mitcham, and all are welcome to attend. We welcomed new player Janet Trupp who plays regularly online and at the Greensborough Club, and we hope to see you at another tournament soon, Janet.

Masters Gurus - Matte Dunn, Mythili Rudra, Geoff Wright

Aces in Advanced - Jenny Brysha, Oliver Podesser, Kris Howat & Barry Harridge

Clever Intermediate Players - Mal Eden, Tam Dasika & Rob York

Deserving Recreation winners - Anna Palmer with Marisa Nuccitelli

Masters saw victory to Matte Dunn, who is looking forward to representing Victoria in the State Team Challenge in September. Second placed was Mythili Rudra, on five wins as was Matte, with Geoff Wright in third place on four wins. Matte also took home the High Game Award for a score of 571, and the High Word Award for playing INCASED for 101 points.

Advanced saw Barry Harridge in fine form, winning six games and recovering some recently lost ratings points. Second and third on five wins were Kris Howat and Jenny Brysha respectively, and Kris also received the High Game Award for a score of 531, with the High Word Award presented to Oliver Podesser for playing TANGIEST for 131 points - a nice nine-timer, Oliver, the highest score across all sections for the day!

Intermediate was won by a happy Tam Dasika on six wins - Tam is again organising the Seniors' Scrabble Day in October, and is looking for 60 Seniors to take part. Second place went to Mal Eden on five wins (Mal had been unwell, but it didn't affect his Scrabble!), and third was steadily improving Rob York who won four games. As part of his stellar day's play Tam also collected the awards for High Game and High Word, scoring 506 and playing DETAILS for 82 points.

Recreation was the largest section, with a glowing Anna Palmer triumphant on six wins, followed by Marisa Nuccitelli and Fintan Conway, both on five wins and both pleased with their results. Dominica Krstic scored 466 to achieve the High Game Award, and Marisa played ATONERS for 101 points to take home the High Word Award.

Action in Round 2, with Janet Trupp, Marlene Ellis, Judith Westwood & Norma Engel

Nuna Stalwarts - former Convenor Lorraine Thomas plays Convenor Cheryle Jerram

Nunawading player (and cook!) Geoff Shepheard plays Marisa Nuccitelli

Fun with presentations - Cheryle Jerram, June Valentine, Oliver Podesser & Kris Howat

Well done to all, and congrats to those who achieved remarkable ratings gains - Marisa Nuccitelli +46, Tam Dasika +44, Barry Harridge +37, Anna Palmer +35, Mal Eden +32, Balada Catanchin +32, Elizabeth McKean +29 and Val Hardiman +25.
Thanks to all who contributed to the success of the day, and to those who remained to help tidy up, your assistance was appreciated.
To see the full results click HERE

The Annual SA versus Victoria Border Challenge ~ July 13/14 2013

The Victors - South Australia's team

The Vanquished - the Victorian team

Adam Kretschmer v. Chris Scholten

As in past years both teams travelled a fair distance to compete in this event, held at the White Hart Hotel, a well-known Horsham landmark. As always the atmosphere was very friendly, but with some fierce competition across the boards. Most of the South Australian team of twenty arrived in Horsham on Friday, as did some of the sixteen strong Victorian team. The trip via V-line on Saturday morning was an interesting experience involving a bus to Ballarat, train to Ararat, and a further spell on a bus via several country towns including Stawell, Rupanyup and Murtoa, before arriving at Horsham in time for a quick lunch before tackling the South Aussies.

Trevor Tao sings the SA team song to gee up his team - it worked!

Early in the tournament, with Lyndee Hill at centre, Joan King at left

Chris Scholten (Vic) plays Susan Roberts (SA) in Game 8

Oliver Jenner-O'Shea and Adam Kretschmer, organising the draw

The chief organiser, Adam Kretschmer from South Australia (it was their turn to organise the tournament this year) did a wonderful job of ensuring that all ran smoothly, with help from many of his fellow team members, including supplying food between games and individual nametags and scorebooks, and lots of equipment. Thanks for all the effort, everyone, especially Adam, Paula Brown and Oliver Jenner-O'Shea, it was appreciated.
Part way through the tournament SA were well ahead, but by the last round either team had a chance to win, with Victoria needing to win eleven of the last sixteen games to take home the trophy - sadly we weren't quite up to it and South Australia won 81 games to 79.....congratulations, we'll have to do just a little better next year!

Mary McMahon (V) with SA's Jacqui Pearce, Michelle Sterzebechr, Margaret Gibson, Karyn Crease

Antony Kimber from SA plays Peter Bauer from Victoria, with Carol Johnsen at the next board

Paula Brown presents the perpetual trophy board to the individual winner, Carmel Dodd from SA

Travelling home, on our swing through some neighbouring towns - the road between Murtoa and Rupanyup

Individual awards went to Carmel Dodd in first place, Adam Kretschmer second and Michael Cameron third. The High Word Award went to Oliver Jenner-O'Shea who played RELIVERS for 158 points, and the High Game Award was won by Adam Kretschmer for a score of 582 against Chris Scholten - see the pic of the board above. In this game Adam equalled an all-time Australian record, playing 6 bonus words in the game, all during his first eight moves - ENACTORS, PLATERS, ENDIRONS, BOXIEST, BANGERS and DEBUTING - well done, Adam!
Rating band prizes went to Margaret Gibson, Malcolm McAnulty and Antony Kimber, with Francoise Finlayson receiving the High Game Award for a score of 483, and the High Word Award went to Malcolm McAnulty who played QUENCHED.
Thank you to South Australia for organising everything, Victoria will look forward to hosting the event next year!
To see everyone's individual results click HERE

A Tournament to support Anand's quest for his second World Youth Championship Crown

Fifty two players took part in this seven-game three-section event, including our new player Carmelita Dionisio, who enjoyed her day. We hope to see you again, Carmelita!

All present contributed generously to assist with Anand Bharadwaj's plans to travel to Dubai in December where he will compete against some of the best young players in the world for the title of World Youth Scrabble Champion. David Eldar won the inaugural event in 2006, Anand in 2011, and Michael McKenna in 2012, so Australia has a proud record in this annual event.

A raffle to help the cause saw the major prize, donated by Lainie Mercieca, go to Sandra Masel. This is a night's accommodation at the Mercure Hotel in Horsham, just in time for the coming weekend's SA/Vic Border Challenge - thanks, Lainie! Other prizes were donated by Mattel, and included their latest releases - a new design Travel Scrabble Set went to Dorothy Rice, Carmel Doney received "Twists and Turns", and Glenys Dettmann the latest "original Scrabble Set". Thanks to all who supported the raffle, and to all who made such generous donations - the nett total raised was $1375, and Anand and his parents Lalitha and Kannan are truly appreciative of your generosity.

Division A: Trevor Halsall, Mythili Rudra and Peter Kougi

Division B: Sue Bridges, Rob York, Stephanie Saunders and Glen Chandler

Division C: Elizabeth McKean, Anna Palmer and Elize Plaganyi

Anand Bharadwaj, 2011 Youth Champ

In Division A Trevor Halsall played great Scrabble to win six games and finish a game clear of Peter Kougi and Mythili Rudra in second and third places respectively. Mythili's scrabble continues to improve, which is great to see. Trevor also claimed the High Game and High Word Awards for a score of 573 and playing REAFFIX for 122 points.
Division B saw Glen Chandler in fine form, finishing on six wins and ahead on margin alone from Stephanie Saunders, with Ann Hagley in third place on five wins. Rob York was delighted to score 514 to achieve the High Game Award for the section, and Sue Bridges played OVERSEES for 149 points to receive the High Word Award, the highest across all sections for the day.
In Division C Elize Plaganyi had a great day - Elize has relocated from Queensland and continues to enjoy Scrabble, winning 6 games ahead of Anna Palmer and Latha Weerakkody who finished on 5 wins each. Anna also received the award for her High Game of 508 points, and Liz McKean deserved the High Word Award for playing DESERVES for 107 points.

Lorna Patching and Oliver Podesser

Rod Casey plays Angie Pearse

Peter Kougi versus Trevor Halsall

Time management!

Several players achieved very impressive ratings gains - Stephanie Saunders +67, Elize Plaganyi +62, Glen Chandler +56, Angie Winkler +43, Balada Catanchin + 39, Trevor Halsall + 38 and Lina Camilleri + 33.
Well done to all, thanks to Nick Ivanovski for some of the pics, and thank you to all who attended and helped in any way with the running of the event, as always your assistance was appreciated!

The Inaugural Penang International Scrabble Tournament 2013

This four-day event, directed by former champion player Ganesh Asirvatham, saw well known New Zealand player Nigel Richards finish six games clear of Thacha Koowirat from Thailand and Hubert Wee from Singapore, with Cameron Farlow from Queensland, Australia finishing fourth - well done, Cam, we're proud of you!

Other Aussies competing in the Championship were Russell Honeybun, Bob Jackman, Karen Richards, Rod Talbot and John Barker. Well done to all for flying the Australian flag for us, and we hope that you and the other Australians competing in the second division had an enjoyable time. To see the work done by Webmaster Barry Harridge click HERE

Trevor Halsall wins the 2013 Victorian Matchplay event!

Here is a report from the Organiser Peter Kougi, thanks, Peter!

Seven hours were needed to find a winner in the Victorian Matchplay final yesterday. Trevor was the better player on the day and defeated me 5-3. Most of the games were quite close, and there were at least 3 occasions where one of us had 00:00 left on our clock at the end!

Congratulations to Trevor on being crowned the 2013 Victorian Matchplay Champion, and thanks to all who were involved in the organisation of the tournament for making the 2013 edition another successful one. PK

And on behalf of all who took part, thanks to Peter for organising the event, and congratulations to Trevor on a great win - well done. Also, congratulations to all competitors for the spirit in which the event was played - although the games weren't rated the level of competition was high in all matches played.

The games can be played through here:

• Game 1
• Game 2
• Game 3
• Game 4
• Game 5
• Game 6
• Game 7
• Game 8

For the full tournament results check the table below: Update June 1 - the Semi-finals: four players remain in the hunt for the title of the Victorian Matchplay Champion for 2013, and the semifinals will be completed shortly - Nick Ivanovski will do battle with Trevor Halsall, which may be a match of contrasts. Quick Nick still lives up to his nickname of many years ago when he won the 1990 Australian Championship and Trevor plays at a very measured pace, usually using most of his allotted time to excellent advantage.
In the second semifinal Michael Rubinstein will play the organiser Peter Kougi - both players have progressed steadily through the system, having begun their careers at the Bentleigh Tournament in 2008 and 2005 respectively, and both are now formidable opponents, with Peter preparing to attend the Scrabble Champions Tournament in Prague in December (this tournament replaces the former World Scrabble Championship). The semis are the best of seven games, a true test of skill and stamina, so good luck to all!

Peter Kougi

Gwen Lampre

Janet Bau

Mike Rubinstein

Trevor Halsall

Mythili Rudra

Nick Ivanovski

KJ Thammaping

The Eight Quarterfinalists: the highlight of this round was the match between Khwanjai Thammaping and Nick Ivanovski, with Khwanjai leading 2:1 after the first three games before Nick steadied and eventually won the match. Well played, Khwanjai, you've had a wonderful tournament.

Earlier Matchplay News: what a great contest Janet Bau and Tash Podesser had in the first round, finishing on 2.5 games each after five, with Janet taking out the sixth game to advance to a match-up with Michael Rubinstein in the next round. The other close tussle was between Khwanjai Thammaping and Marj Miller, with KJ playing great scrabble to emerge the victor after the fifth game.

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The Annual Victorian Championship ~ June 8/9/10 2013

This year's Victorian Championship was a generally happy event, with numbers considerably higher than previously - a total of 58 played, c/f 38 last year. Once again our interstate friends gave us great support - ten came from Queensland, eight travelled from New South Wales, three from South Australia and one each from Western Australia, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. Thanks to all, its always good to catch up. Sadly one of the NSW players, Joanne Craig, received serious wrist injuries in a fall on the way to the venue on Monday morning and was unable to complete the tournament, a great pity as Jo was placed 7th at the time. After consultation with various friends and organisers, including advice from Dr Mythili, Joanne visited hospital for xrays which luckily showed no fractures, and is now slowly recovering at home - all the best, Jo, see you next year.......
Arrangements to keep the numbers even had already been made as Barry Harridge was scheduled to drop out of the event on Monday morning to direct the final day, and after a quick redraw play continued, without Joanne and Barry. Placings had been changing over the first two days, with Michael Cameron from SA leading at the close of play on Day one, and Andrew Fisher from Victoria leading on Day 2. Watching the progress of Naween Fernando (Vic) was fascinating - Stephanie Saunders, also from Victoria and having a good tournament, was delighted to play Naween at Table 11 in the ninth game when Naween was in 23rd position, but following this Naween proceeded to move steadily up through the field.

Regardless, on Day 3 a spectacular performance from Bob Jackman made him very hard to overtake - Bob was always in contention, fifth after Day 1, third after Day 2, and winning all games on Day 3 to take the title a game and a half clear of second placed Naween Fernando, followed by Andrew Fisher, Esther Perrins (NSW), Cameron Farlow (Qld), and Michael Cameron (SA). Congratulations to Bob who has served Scrabble so well over many years and who was delighted to once again win a State Championship, something that hadn't happened for some time, so he said!
The award for High Game went to Cameron Farlow for a great score of 627 early in the tournament, and Paul Richards (Qld) scored 158 for "WHOOPIES" to receive the High Word Award for the Championship. Well done to each and every player, it was a great event.

Hilary Conway with Garth van Vliet

Glenys Dettmann and a bright caterpillar

Barry Harridge with an amazing octopus

KJ Thammaping shows a lovely ladybird

Lalitha Sunderesan with her cute monkey

Balada Catanchin with Geoffrey the Giraffe

Jenny Brysha with a lamb, & Rena Aitken

At lunch - John Parker & Marjorie Clark

Lunch time was fun on Day 3, with NSW player Garth van Vliet showing us his specialty, the construction of various fascinating balloon animals, done with great humour and dexterity. What an artist! Thanks, Garth, we did appreciate your efforts!

Cool Melbourne - Paul Richards Qld, Mythili Rudra in her bear hat, with David More, Qld

Good friends over many years, Dianne Davis and Lorraine Thomas, both from Victoria

Practising the fine art of Scrabble, during the lunch break - Vonnie and Cameron Farlow

Lois Binnie received a badge for playing 2000 games, with Trevor Halsall, Naween Fernando

Thanks go to all who attended, and to all who helped make the event run smoothly, your assistance was greatly appreciated. Thanks also to the organisers, the players, and to Jack Miller, who stayed around to help pack up at the end of the presentations......

To see the full results of the 2013 Victorian Championship click HERE

If you use facebook click HERE to go to the Scrabble Victoria facebook page, click "Like" if you haven't already done so, then check out the reports and the wonderful array of pics posted by the page administrator, Nick Ivanovski.

The Queen's Birthday Tournament ~ Monday June 10, 2013

The Queen's Birthday Tournament, A Division: Matte Dunn 1st, Lois Binnie High Game, Katie Rowe 3rd and High Word, Kris Howat 2nd

Queen's Birthday B Division: June Valentine 3rd, Oliver Podesser 2nd, with the winner Dorothy Barraclough

The Queen's Birthday Tournament, Division C: Long time Scrabble friends, Janet Roberts 1st with Fintan Conway, High Game of 475

Fun with the Malcolms - Lina Camilleri, Harry, Lovelia & Chile Malcolm, Carmel Doney, Zev Malcolm with Khwanjai Thammaping

The separate and popular Queen's Birthday Tournament ran concurrently (and on time!) with the final day of the Championship on Monday, with 42 entrants playing six games and competing in three divisions, with some great rivalry and some excellent results ensuing. Numbers were kept even by the inclusion of reserve player Sandra Masel, who will donate her fee for the task to the 2013 WYSC support fund.
In Division A Matte Dunn took out first place from a consistently improving Kris Howat on 4 wins, the only player to win against Matte on the day. Third place went to Katie Rowe, also on 4 wins, and Lois Binnie took home the High Game Award for a score of 526, with Katie Rowe playing "SUNBLIND" for 103 points to win the High Word Award.
Division B saw a delighted Dorothy Barraclough place first on 5 wins, ahead on margin from Oliver Podesser and June Valentine on 4 wins, great play all. The High Game Award went to Diane Stoyan for a score of 498, and evergreen John Parker played "MALTEDS" for 96 to collect the High Word Award for the section.
Division C saw the highlight of the event with Janet Roberts winning all 6 games, well done Janet, followed by two players on 4 wins - Marjorie Clark and Judith Westwood, separated by margin only. A happy Fintan Conway, whose scrabble continues to improve, won the High Game Award with a score of 475, and Marjorie Clark scored 108 for "QUESTED" to win the High Word Award.

To check on the full results of the Queen's Birthday event click HERE

Victoria's Most Improved Player, 2012 - 2013

As is traditional in Victoria this award was presented during the Victorian Championship to the player who gained the most ratings points over the previous 12 month period, from June 1st till May 31st the following year, after being rated in the system for the whole period.
This year's delighted winner was Rena Aitken who gained 244 rating points, and Rena received a trophy and a lovely portrait painted by fellow-player Katie Rowe, thanks, Katie!
Other great rating gains over the year were recorded by Judith Westwood +140, Heather Iapozzuto +121, Peter Kougi + 113, Lainie Mercieca +111, Lina Camilleri +109, Anand Bharadwaj +104, Angie Pearse +104, and Betty Egan +100. Well done to everyone who improved their rating over the year, its not an easy thing to do....
Three other Victorians also gained considerable points - Harry Chojna, Geoff Shepheard and Dilendra Nanayakkara, but as none had competed over the full 12 month period weren't eligible for the award - well done, all, and good luck in your Scrabble for the coming year.

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The Cranbourne Tournament ~ May 26 2013

First time player Dell Stitz receives her novice certificate from Tournament Director Katie Rowe

Carmel Doney, seated, looking happy with friends Dorothy Barraclough and Lois Binnie

Membership Officer Gwen Lampre collects Jenny Brysha's annual subscription, valid till mid 2014

Here is a report from the Cranbourne Club Convenor, Katie Rowe, who also filled the role of Tournament Director on the day, and on behalf of the players we say a hearty thank you to Katie and her Club members for the way in which they looked after us - the home cooking was enjoyed by all!

We can usually rely on a lovely Melbourne autumn day for Cranbourne's annual tournament , but the icy weather we've had lately reduced the numbers attending to 52. Our Standby Player, Livia Caulfield, was free for the first three games but worked hard in the kitchen dishing out the toothsome savouries and sweets made by club members.
That was fortuitous because when one player had to leave unexpectedly Livia was able to fill in and keep the numbers even. We welcomed new player Dell Stitz from the Bentleigh Club to her first tournament - Dell enjoyed her day and mentioned late in the day that she will be back to play again at a later date, which is great.

High Achievers in Recreation - Rena Aitken, Irlande Alfred and Elize Plaganyi, recently relocated from Queensland

The Rising Stars in Intermediate - Rob York, Diane Stoyan and Dieter Jedamski

Relaxing between games - Dell Stitz, Paula Messer and Glen Chandler, happy with her first stint in Advanced

Recreation section was a close finish amongst the 12 competitors, but Irlande Alfred from the Cranbourne club triumphed with 5.5 wins, chased by Lina Camilleri and Elize Plaganyi each with 5 wins. Irlande also took out the High Game with 484 points, and Rena Aitken's High Word, TOFFIEST 104, won the other prize.
Of the 10 players in the Intermediate Section, five finished with 5 wins each, and Gianna Devcic took 1st place with a margin of 307, Diane Stoyan 2nd (margin 199) and Dieter Jedamski 3rd with 159. High Game was awarded to Rob York (517), and Diane Stoyan also grabbed the High Word award, TEACHING 98.

Great players in Advanced - Oliver Podesser, Jenny Brysha and Julie Belle

The Masters experts - Nick Ivanovski, Trevor Halsall, Peter Kougi and Harry Malcolm

The last of the Clean-up Crew, minus Norma Fisher - Carol Johnsen, Barry Harridge and Rob York

In Advanced Jenny Brysha beat off the other 11 players and carried off 1st prize with 5 wins, Oliver Podesser 2nd - also with 5 wins, and Marie D'Rosario a close 3rd with 4.5 wins. Jenny's JAWLINES 104 was the High Word, and Julie Belle's High Game of 479 got the guernsey. In Masters Section Harry Malcolm vanquished the other 15 contestants, winning 6 from 7 games and improving by 56 rating points. Trevor Halsall was 2nd with 5 games and the highest margin of the day - 567 and Mythili Rudra's margin of 262 meant she beat Peter Kougi into 3rd place. Nick Ivanovski held the High Game award, 557, and Peter Kougi played the lovely EPIZOIC 118 for High Word.
Harry's rating gain of 56 was the best of the day, although Carol Johnsen gained 50 points and Gianna Devcic 49 points, congratulations to all three. The raffle raised $45 for our only WYSC entrant, the 2011 Champion Anand Bharadwaj - good luck in December, Anand!
To see the full results of the event click HERE

Follow top-seed David Eldar's fortunes in the European Open in Malta, May 11-14 2013

To do so, click HERE and explore John Chew's excellent website, which includes round by round results of the the 45 contestants, photos and much more. The third day's play is under way, and there are several more rounds to come.
Unfortunately a no-show taxi in London meant that David missed his flight and the first two games, but nevertheless he is doing very well, moving from well down in the field to first place after Round 17....
On the last day, with four rounds to play, David is leading by one game from Helen Gipson from Scotland, with Theresa Brousson of Malta a further half game behind......in the final washup David played Helen Gipson in the last two games, losing both to finish in second place. Well done, Helen and David.

New South Wales wins the Tri State Challenge ~ April 27/28, 2013

Once again teams from the Australian Capital Territory (8 players), New South Wales (19) and Victoria (13) travelled to Wagga Wagga in N.S.W. for the annual challenge between the states. The start was somewhat delayed due to the unavoidable lateness of the XPT, from both directions, but all went smoothly after play began. John Hamilton (President of the A.C.T Scrabble Association) did a wonderful job as Chief Organiser and Tournament Director, and local Wagga Wagga personality Norm Byng was very helpful to all as the man on the spot. We were grateful to the local council for allowing us to use the venue, it was appreciated.

The team from New South Wales - triumphant over the other two teams.

The individual prizewinners, all happy!

At the end of ten rated games NSW had won 58% of their games played against representatives from the other States, the ACT had won 51%, with Victoria placing last on 40%. Congrats to the NSW players, a brilliant result indeed. From a Victorian point of view it was a fun experience, and as always catching up with friends from interstate was a wonderful bonus, as well as making new friends.....
The individual prizewinners are shown above - from left to right - Richard Jeremy, 2nd overall; Heather Long, High Word (OPAQUEST for 128 points); Joanne Craig, 1st overall; Peter Bauer, High Game 580 points; Arlene Williams, Rating Band Prize, best performed player under 1100; Colleen Birch, Highest Rating Gain, 38 points; (missing from the pic is George Khamis, who also went up 38 points); next in line is Norma Fisher, 3rd place; and at right is Rocky Sharma, 4th place. Well played, everyone.

The team from the Australian Capital Territory

The Victorian team, still happy.....

Jyoti Chandna & Bob Jackman

A separate non-rated tournament took place on Saturday with players travelling from Tumut to compete against some of the locals, and we thank members from both clubs for the wonderful array of food supplied on both days. John organised pizza for dinner on Saturday evening for those who wished to partake, with others walking the short distance to the main street to find something to eat.
Here are some photos from the travel, and the tournament...........

A bit cold at Southern Cross - Carol Johnsen, Norma Fisher, Rebecca Booth

Mostly ACT players - Ann Schick, Christine Foot, Mal Eden (Vic), Arlene Williams

Tony K, Sharon Sorenson, Joanne Craig, Janene Whittaker & Rebecca Booth

Rocky Sharma & Rod Talbot from N.S.W., with Richard Jeremy from the A.C.T.

Friends Jan Serisier and Sharon Sorenson, both from N.S.W.

Rocky Sharma with Victorians Heather Long and Peter Bauer

TD John Hamilton making faces, with Carol Johnsen, Balada Catanchin & Rob York

Marisa Nuccitelli, playing in her first Challenge, with John Hamilton

Heather Long plays Peter Shaw

George Khamis and John Barker, N.S.W.

Danny Khouri vs Dorothy Barraclough

Carol Johnsen plays Norma Fisher

Local Wagga player Norm Byng, with Carol Johnsen and John Hamilton

At the Wagga Wagga Station, on the way home - Carol waves goodbye

Waiting - Marisa, Carol, Danny, Colleen Walker, Norma, La'Reine Lang, Balada

Still waiting - Peter and Heather, with Rob, Norma, Balada, Marj and Marisa

Special thanks to John and Norm and all who worked to make the tournament a success, your efforts were appreciated by all who attended.

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The Matchplay Kickoff and Draw ~ April 21 2013

This was a very pleasant day out, with many of the lower rated players claiming wins over some of those rated much higher, resulting in either delight or dismay. Thanks to organiser Peter Kougi for the following report:

Forty-four took part in the 7th Victorian Matchplay qualifier event on a sunny autumn Sunday. Trevor Halsall triumphed, winning 7 out of 8. His only loss came at the hands of Michael Rubinstein, who also claimed the scalp of Peter Kougi (2nd), with Nick Ivanovski placing third. Janet Bau and Oliver Podesser both had good tournaments, taking out the 1400 and 1200 rating band prizes respectively while Chris Scholten scored the high word with MAXIMISE for 119.
Several players achieved solid ratings gains, notably Anne Bingham +64, Jenny Brysha +55, Janet Bau +51 and Lorraine Thomas +45. Some fine words observed on the day were: MAINLAND by Marisa and TINNITUS by Mythili. Norma did a fantastic job making sure players were well fed, and Lalitha operated the computer with her usual efficiency. Thanks to Mary Mackie who filled in as the reserve player, and to everyone who helped run this tournament.
The fixture for the knockout phase has been devised and qualifiers have been notified, and results will be brought to you as the matches are completed.

Thanks to Nick Ivanovski for most of the pics, and to see the final results of the Qualifier check the National Scrabble website - click HERE

Janet Bau, best player rated 1200 - 1400

Oliver Podesser, best rated player below 1200

Chris Scholten, happy with his award for High Word

Katie Rowe plays Bridget Halge

Geoff Shepheard plays Mary Mackie in Game 4

Game 7 - Harry Malcolm versus Barry Harridge

At Table 1 - Gwen Lampre versus Lainie Mercieca

Game 2 - Marj Miller plays Marisa Nuccitelli

Vale Eilene Howarth ~ April 4, 2013

Eilene was a keen scrabble player for a long period of time, participating in tournaments until 2006 when ill health necessitated her retirement from the game she loved. She was a very pleasant but tough opponent, and always enjoyed the friendly challenge of a good game, as well as catching up with friends.
Eilene was also a devoted travel scrabbler who would travel anywhere for a game of scrabble. Her long standing friend Brenda Thurgar reports that Eilene traveled all over Victoria and to Tasmania with herself and the late Nan Smith - Eilene and Nan would play before breakfast, and late into the night, and any other spare moment as well....
Eilene was a popular member of the Frankston Scrabble Club for many years, and her friends at the Club sent flowers in her memory to the nursing home where she resided in recent times. Rest in peace, Eilene.

David Eldar is the 2013 Australian Scrabble Champion!

David Eldar, Victoria, 2013 Champion

David at the Presentation Ceremony

Andrew Fisher, Victoria, Runner up

Esther Perrins, N.S.W., third place

Winner of the Plate, Rhonda Rickard, Qld

Peter Bauer, Victoria, second in the Plate

Sharon Sorensen, NSW, Plate third

Easter fun for Sunny Wright & Anand Bharadwaj

Congratulations to David Eldar from Victoria, who has been dividing his time between England and Australia, and who has now qualified for the World Championship later this year, having played 94 games since his return to Australia in January. This was David's second win in this prestigious event, having triumphed in Sydney in 2007, at the age of seventeen.
Second placing went to Victoria's fast-finishing Andrew Fisher, and Esther Perrins from New South Wales had a wonderful tournament to place third.

There were many outstanding performances in the Plate, with Rhonda Rickard from Queensland finishing first, followed by Peter Bauer from Victoria in second place, and Sharon Sorensen from NSW third.
Other Victorians who deserve a mention include Anand Bharadwaj, seventh in the Championship, and in the Plate Paula Messer finished in sixth place. Well played, everyone, it was a tough tournament indeed.

Southport proved to be a popular place to stage the Championship, with a total of 188 players taking part. It was good to see so many overseas players competing, and a quick count shows that more than a dozen attended, playing in both the Championship and the Plate.

Competitors in the Plate: John McNaughton from New Zealand plays Veena Mohe, NSW

Hardworking Queenslanders Wayne Willis and Martin Waterworth, with Michael Tang

Peter Kougi listens intently as Richard Jeremy from the A.C.T. explains how to play the game

Friendship spans the states - Helen Maurus Qld; Andrew Fisher Vic; & Chris May N.S.W.

The High Game award for the Championship was won by Queensland player Cameron Farlow with a brilliant score of 643, and Helen Maurus (Qld) and Andrew Fisher (Victoria) shared the High Word Award - Helen played LYRICISE, and Andrew played SCRAWLER, both notching up a score of 194. Well done to all three.
In the Plate Arnold Appelhof from Queensland scored 559 to collect the award for the High Game, and Mary Curtis, visiting from New Zealand, played OVERGOES for 167 points to win the High Word award.
All prizewinners received cash prizes as a reward for their efforts, and many received a cute Queynie owl, modelled on the emblem for the Queensland Scrabble Association.
(I have heard that one of the trophies was accidentally dropped and broken at the presentation ceremony, which is a shame as I know someone who would have really liked to have one.)

Helen Maurus (11th), Trish Cearns and Olga Visser, Chief Organiser and Queensland President

The youngest players - Shekinah from Queensland, and Lewis from New Zealand. Well done!

Some of South Australia's competitors - Adam Kretschmer (10th), Trevor Tao and Tony Miller

Representing Western Australia: Carolyn Watt, Tim Mason and Edie Mueller (5th)

The Queensland Scrabble Association, with President Olga Visser and a team of helpers comprising Karrin Henderson, Martin Waterworth, Wayne Willis, and Trish Cearns and her Southport Scrabble Club members, did a wonderful job of organising the event, and we thank them all for their efforts.
Tournament Director Wilma Vialle kept everything moving along smoothly, and Barry Harridge did his usual sterling job of keeping everyone informed re what was happening. Thank you both for your input, it is appreciated.
Next year's Championship will be held in Sydney, and NSW President Tony Hunt will bring us news as it comes to hand.
Thank you to all who contributed to the above array of photos, including Kannan Sethuraman, Nick Ivanovski, Cheah Siu Hean, the Scrabble NSW website, Carol Johnsen, Andrew Fisher, Wayne Willis and anyone else I've missed. Also, some have come from earlier files.......

To check the fortunes of all players, with details of the performances of individual players and stories from Barry Harridge, click HERE

To see the final results check the National Scrabble website - click HERE

If you are a facebook member click HERE to go to the Scrabble Victoria facebook page, click "Like" if you haven't already done so, please, then check out the reports and pics posted by the page administrator, Nick Ivanovski.

Vale Isabel Van Hoorn - 26.09.1944 ~ 22.03.2013

It was with sadness that we heard today of Isabel's passing. Isabel had been unwell for some time but continued to hope and believe that she would get back to tournament play at some stage, although she was a little reluctant as she hadn't learned the "new words" introduced in January 2012.
At the Mount Martha tournament in October 2009 Isabel was presented with her badge marking 1000 tournament games played, and this was where the lovely photo at left was taken.
In earlier times Isabel was a regular attendee at the Knox Scrabble Club in Ferntree Gully where she competed against other well known players such as Sylvia Galloway, Carmel Doney, the late Gladys Sharp, Harry Malcolm, John Parker and others, thoroughly enjoying the banter and camaraderie but remaining very competitive during her games.
One of Isabel's great loves was solving the word puzzles in the quarterly Scrabble magazine "Across the Board" and she was extremely good at it, winning at least one prize each edition, most often first prize against some very tough opponents such as Ruth Fewings and Cecilia Wootton.
Isabel's final tournament was the World Championship Fundraiser in June 2011, where she won five of the eight games she played.
Isabel is survived by her husband Gerard and children Shane, Jodie-Ann, Jeremy and Justin and partners, and eleven grandchildren. This lovely tribute from her family was published in the Herald Sun on Monday 25th:
You have been an inspiration with your amazing strength and courage during your battle. Your love, kindness and fairness will never be forgotten.
Isabel's funeral was held today, March 28th, at the Springvale Crematorium. Rest in peace, Isabel.

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The Langwarrin Tournament ~ March 17 2013

Once again Langwarrin Club Convenor Geoff Gittus and his loyal Club members did a wonderful job of organising a tournament for us, and also feeding us very well with yummy cakes etc - thank you to all, your contributions and efforts were greatly appreciated. All fifty-eight contestants enjoyed the six game event, and Tournament Director Carol Johnsen, who is a regular attendee at the Langwarrin Club, did her usual expert job with the tournament software, and we thank you for your part in the success of the day, Carol.

Recreation: Judith Westwood, Geoff Shepheard, Eileen Mills and Heather Iapozzuto

Inter: Khwanjai Thammaping, Dieter Jedamski Diane Stoyan, Oliver Podesser, Glen Chandler

Advanced: Wayne Stoyan (recording his first win) Lainie Mercieca and Katie Rowe

Masters: Khwanjai, standing in for David Eldar, Marj Miller, Peter Kougi and Natasha Podesser

Recreation saw victory to Heather Iapozzuto, who continues to improve her game and won five on the day. Second place went to Geoff Shepheard who has still only played 21 tournament games and also won five, and third place went to Eileen Mills, the best of four players who finished on four wins. Heather scored 447 to win the High Game award, and Judith Westwood played ATTIRING for 122 points to take home the High Word award.

Intermediate was won by Dieter Jedamski who was in fine form, winning five games and finishing ahead of Khwanjai Thammaping on margin. Third place went to Diane Stoyan on four wins, and the High Game award went to Oliver Podesser for a score of 497, almost reaching the magical mark of 500. Glen Chandler found the excellent nine-timer DUMPLING which scored 149 points, and gained her the High Word award for the section.

Advanced saw Wayne Stoyan win five games and place first for the first time, after playing well over 700 games - well done Wayne, a great achievement! Second place went to Lainie Mercieca, also on five wins, with Katie Rowe in third place on four wins. Katie also took home the High Game award for a score of 486, and Lainie played QUANTITY for 114 points to win the High Word award.

Masters saw more great play from Peter Kougi who won all six games and finished two games clear of David Eldar in second place, with Natasha Podesser third, also on four wins. David scored 573 points to win the High Game award, and Marj Miller won the High Word award for a score of 151 for NACRITES.


Fun for the day came from Rob York who was participating in "The World's Greatest Shave" to raise funds to support leukaemia sufferers, and Rob chose to have his copious locks/beard/mo shaved at lunchtime - Norma Fisher did a wonderfully dexterous job with the clippers, commenting that she had honed her skills clipping her dogs at home......many people donated generously to the cause, and at last count Rob had raised almost $3000 from various sources, a great effort, Rob! Above is a series of pics of the extensive defoliation......

Several players achieved excellent ratings gains on the day: Lainie Mercieca +44, Wayne Stoyan +41, Dieter Jedamski +40, and Angie Pearse +39. Also of note was the rise in Geoff Shepheard's provisional rating, which rose from (909) to (1010) - it will be interesting to note Geoff's rating at the end of the provisional period of 50 games.

Langwarrin Club regulars ~ Chris Radin, Brigid Murphy, Janet Stuckenschmidt and Krina Clark

Marie D'Rosario and Marjorie Page, with Carole, Glen, Dianne and John in the background

Tournament Director & club player Carol Johnsen, with Club Convenor Geoff Gittus

David Eldar and Natasha Podesser, about to start Game 5 on Table 2.

To see the full results of this tournament click HERE

The 2013 Melbourne Team Challenge ~ March 3

After some delay this challenging event kicked off, and there was some very intense Scrabble played at all levels!
We welcomed Darren Khoo Beng Way from Malaysia - Darren competed in Wollongong in New South Wales in the inaugural World Youth Championship in 2006, and placed second in the same event in 2008 in Malaysia. Darren is in Melbourne for a year or so to study at Victoria University - best of luck with this, Darren, and we hope to see you at many events in the next 12 months.
Barry Harridge had written a clever and very fair new program which sorted the fifty competitors into ten teams of five players, with each team member pitted against the nine other players closest to them on the ratings list. This year we lacked a little of the team camaraderie of past years, and we hope to find a way to reintroduce more of this next year. It will still be serious scrabble, of course, but more fun as well!
I can recommend this format as a different style of tournament - it can move along quite quickly as the matchups for the day are known as soon as the draw is done, and as usual some games finished well before the 44 minutes allotted for each game. "Quick Nick" Ivanovski and rapidly growing Anand Bharadwaj had time to spare after their meeting, which they completed in 17 minutes...... while others pushed the clock to the limit! And in some games, past the limit.......
We wished Barry Harridge Happy Birthday for the following day, and thanked our reserve player Rob York for attending at the outset - your contribution is appreciated, Rob, as an exact number of competitors is required to ensure the success of the tournament, and it was reassuring to have you on hand if needed.

The Bratpack (2): Lina Camilleri, Barry Harridge, Betty Egan, John Rider, Captain Naween Fernando

The Very Lucky Players (3): Captain Peter Kougi, Lorraine Thomas, Gianna Devcic, Carole Eden, Sandra Masel

The Ruby Reds (4): Gayle Cameron, Lois Binnie, Captain Michael Rubinstein, Julie Belle, Paula Messer

There were some great and interesting happenings on the day - Betty Egan (fourth ranked in The Bratpack) finished on 8 wins and gained 80 rating points, and Gianna Devcic (fourth ranked in The Very Lucky Players) went up 63 points. Geoff Shepheard, playing in his second tournament, won 7 games and improved his provisional rating by 259 points, which augurs well for his future in the game - and thanks for the homemade cookies, Geoff! As far as Margins were concerned, Andrew Fisher (Captain of the Melbourne Victory, 8 wins) finished his 9 games with a margin of +1168 - brilliant achievements by all.

Eclipse (5): Audree Clifton, Captain Darren Khoo Beng Way, Gwen Lampre, Geoff Shepheard, Dorothy Barraclough

The Aficionados (6): Marisa Nuccitelli, Carol Johnsen, Jenny Brysha, Glen Chandler, Captain Anand Bharadwaj

Jacks High (7): Sue Bridges, Elizabeth McKean, Natasha Podesser, Captain David Eldar, Ann Goodwin

The Overdogs (8): Anne Menheere, Angie Pearse, Judith Westwood, Captain Trevor Halsall, Khwanjai Thammaping

Emanon (9): Norma Fisher, Katie Rowe, Captain Geoff Wright, Mal Eden, Balada Catanchin

The Knickerbockers (10): Oliver Podesser, Mary Mackie, Bridget Halge, Mythili Rudra, Captain Nick Ivanovski

Thanks also to everyone who assisted on the day - Norma Fisher, Lalitha Sunderesan, Barry Harridge, Carol Johnsen, and my apologies to anyone else I've missed.
The final team placings are shown beneath the individual team pics, and to see the detailed results of the individual players click HERE

The Camberwell Tournament ~ February 10 2013

Thanks to Barry Harridge and all the Camberwell members for running such an enjoyable tournament for us! Below is a report from Barry, and thank you for some of the pics.

Like a Scrabble party. That's how one player described this tournament. It was a fun day indeed. Tournament Director, Barry Harridge had promised good karma to those who brought rotating boards and we had enough for all tables. Patricia Mitchell, arrayed as the tile fairy, bestowed blessings on those who had brought boards, but reportedly her aim was a bit out. The tournament results from the Camberwell tournament of 1992 were on display and these were of great interest.
We were also pleased to have Sue Bridges playing. She had not played for many years, and her recent relocation to Pakenham bodes well for her return to Scrabble. Meg Henderson, who has organised the Camberwell Scrabble Club for more than 30 years, spoke briefly to say that she was handing over the running of the club to Patricia Mitchell. Meg has done a wonderful job for the Camberwell Scrabble Club and has been an enthusiastic Scrabble player for a long time, and we wish her well in returning to tournament play soon, and in her ongoing research projects.

Checking a word - Elise Dettmann and Anne Menheere

A serious game - Anna Palmer plays Heather Iapozzuto

Kevin Burfitt, reliving the old days, with son Hunter

The historical reminiscences were further played out when Kevin Burfitt dropped in to say hello. Kevin acted as a computer operator for our Scrabble tournaments for many years in the early days. He went to Melbourne High School, a student of Barry Harridge, and remembered being at the first Camberwell tournament in 1983. Coincidentally he also had appeared in the printout of 1992 results as a player. The photo above shows Kevin and his son, Hunter. The software we use today is essentially the same as that used in 1983.

Masters: Trevor Halsall, Dianne Davis and Peter Kougi

Advanced: Paula Messer, Elaine Capewell and Patricia Mitchell

Intermediate: Dorothy Rice, Glen Chandler and Dieter Jedamski

The Masters section had Peter Kougi emerge as winner in a tough field, with Dianne Davis coming second, also on five wins - a delightful outcome for Dianne in such a strong field, and she earned 55 rating points for that. She also achieved the high word prize for REJECTS (113). In third place was Trevor Halsall, who also had the highest game score (557).
Patricia Mitchell had not only been busy helping with taking entry money, tallying cash and playing tile fairy, but had also had to cope with being shunted back and forth between sections to get started. So it was ample justice, and obviously good play, which earned her first place in Advanced, just ahead of Elaine Capewell and then Mary McMahon. Mary had also claimed the high game score prize (499) and Paula Messer, who had also helped throughout the day, got the high word score, 132 for SQUIRED.
Intermediate had Glen Chandler in first place, followed by Dieter Jedamski and then Ann Hagley. Dieter had the high game score of 516, and Dorothy Rice got 132 for AERATING as the high word prize.

Recreation: Betty Egan, Glenys Dettmann and Heather Iapozzuto

New player Geoff Shepheard, with Jean de Neef and June Valentine

Ann Hagley and Marlene Ellis, just finished their game in Round 4

Recreation saw Betty Egan as the clear winner. She was the only person across all four sections to win all her games. Second place was rising star Heather Iapozzuto, who has not been playing for long. Third place was the always smiling Gianna Devcic. Glenys Dettmann claimed not only the high game (494) but also the high word, BEEPERS for 102.
Our new player for the day was Geoff Shepheard, who came along for a game after finding the details of the tournament on the internet. Geoff acquitted himself well, and we hope to see him again soon. It was indeed a fun day, and thank you to all the players who played in good spirit, and helped with packing up at the end of the day.
Full results can be found by clicking HERE

The Ballarat Summer Tournament ~ February 2 2013

Forty-two keen players gathered to contest this three-division event held in the lovely old city of Ballarat in Western Victoria, in the spacious and comfortable Brown Hill Hall on Humffray Street North. Many travelled considerable dstances to compete, but I'm sure it was worth the trip.
The convenor of the Ballarat Scrabble Club Tess Robinson had done a fantastic job (as always) of organising the event, this time without the wonderful assistance of Jenny McLeod, her hardworking regular helper. Jenny is experiencing a bout of ill health at the moment and paid a brief visit to the tournament during the day, and we all wish her well. Tess was ably assisted by her many family members, and we thank them all for their efforts. Barry Harridge helped with the task of setting up the tournament on the laptop, and the event moved along smoothly, with Tess's daughter's friend doing an excellent job of entering the results etc - thank you to everyone who assisted in any way, including those who transported equipment to Ballarat - thanks, Barry and Ann Goodwin. Players were treated to lovely food throughout the day, including lunch, and with the clement weather and surroundings I have been told it was a pleasant experience for all.

Division A: Heather Long, Peter Bauer, Julie Belle, Harry Malcolm and Barry Harridge

Division B: Carol Hoffmann, Mohammed Hegazi and Elise Dettmann

Div C: Judith Westwood, Ruth Fewings & Debbie Hoffmann, with Kat (Tess's grandchild) holding Donna McKay's trophy.

Division A saw Heather Long victorious, winning five games and losing only the last game to second-placed Barry Harridge, who won four. Three other players recorded four wins, with Harry Malcolm in third place well ahead on margin from Dianne Gibson and Lainie Mercieca - a good day for all. Peter Bauer scored 560 to claim the High Game trophy, and two players tied for the High Word Award - Julie Belle played UNQUIETS, and Barry Harridge played VISTAED, both scoring 104 points.

In B Division Mohammed Hegazi won five of the six games played to take out first place, followed by Elise Dettmann who was playing in only her second tournament, and also recorded five wins. Third place went to local Carol Hoffmann with four wins, and an excellent margin. Carol also claimed the High Game and High Word trophies, with a game score of 509 and a play of LEAKIEST for 101 points, and as you can see above Carol went home with a wonderful armful of trophies!

Division C saw a well deserved victory to Ruth Fewings from Bendigo. Ruth recorded five wins and finished ahead on margin from Judith Westwood, who also won five. Third place went to local player Donna McKay on four wins, and Debbie Hoffmann, also a local player, scored 80 for BUSTIERS to collect the High Word trophy.The High Game award went to Ruth Fewings for a score of 444, a lovely day for Ruth indeed.

John van der Schoor from Melbourne, and Anne Menheere from Geelong, visiting the refreshment area

Rebeccah Booth, recently relocated from Western Australia, records her winning score on the wall chart

At the "Top Table" - Heather Long plays Lainie Mercieca, with Peter Bauer playing Dianne Gibson in the background.

The following achieved great rating gains on the day - Mohammed Hegazi +47, Lainie Mercieca +46, Judith Westwood +39, Debbie Hoffmann +37, Rebeccah Booth +34 and Ruth Fewings +28.
Special thanks to Barry Harridge and Lainie Mercieca for supplying the pics, it is appreciated. Well done to everyone, and again thanks to all for making the Ballarat event an enjoyable day out.
To check out the full results of this event click HERE

Vale John Lynch

Thank you to Patricia Mitchell for the following tribute to John, a friend and dedicated Scrabble player.
The Scrabble community was saddened to learn of the recent passing of John Lynch who for many years had been a keen member of the Camberwell Scrabble Club. A fastidious and shy man, he had a wide interest in words and their derivations and was never seen without his reference books under his arm. John's other abiding interest was music and for many years he sang bass with the Hawthorn U3A choir, taking part in several public performances annually.
In later years, afflicted by Alzheimer's Disease, he dropped out of Scrabble but good friends drove him to choir where he still sang with enthusiasm. John was 70 years old when he passed away, rather too early for a keen Scrabbler as many of us will attest. Rest in peace, John.

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The City of Sydney International Masters - January 26/27/28 2013

The three-day 26-game CSIM attracted many of Australia's top players, and also several from overseas, and moved along smoothly under the guidance of experienced Tournament Director Wilma Vialle.
It was a keenly fought contest, and going into the last game Peter Kougi was a game ahead of Alastair Richards (Qld). For Alastair to win he needed to win by at least 150, and hope that Peter would lose his last game. This is exactly how events unfolded - congratulations, Alastair, a great win indeed against some very tough opposition.
The following also collected prize money for placing in the top six - Peter Kougi (Vic) second, Andrew Fisher (Vic) third, Esther Perrins (NSW) fourth, David Eldar (Vic) fifth, and Russell Honeybun (WA) sixth. Our other Victorians finished as follows - Michael Rubinstein 16th, Mythili Rudra 17th, Matte Dunn 26th, and Natasha Podesser 31st - a good effort from all in a field of 54 players.
The Highest Local Ratings Gain went to Liz Jackman who gained 114 points, well done, Liz. The High Game for the tournament was played by Karen Richards, a score of 636, and George Khamis collected the High Word Award for playing SHAKIEST for 185 points.
Thanks to Scrabble NSW for the above photos - the ones below are file pics taken at previous events. Congratulations to all who achieved success in the event, well done. I expect this tournament will grow in stature and attract more players in future years, both local and overseas.
To see the full results click HERE

Alastair Richards

Peter Kougi

Andrew Fisher

Esther Perrins

David Eldar

Russell Honeybun

The 2013 iGate Tournament in Bangalore, India

Australia had just one representative in this event, namely Carol Johnsen, the President of Scrabble in Victoria. There is an increasing trend for local players to combine Scrabble with travel to exotic locations, and this is what Carol has done, moving on from Bangalore to Chennai and then to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
Forty-three players competed in Division B in this 35-game event, and here are some snippets from Carol's posts on Facebook:

I had a wonderful tourney, finishing second in the B Division! At the commencement of day four I was 2nd placed and 6 games behind the leader Ramaprasad Nuggehaili, a local Bangalore player. For the 7 games on that day it was King of the Hill, so Ramaprasad and I played 6 successive games because I won the first 5 games and we drew the 6th game. That ensured that Ramaprasad had won the tournament because his margin was so high. The final game was between Sam Joseph and myself to vie for 2nd place.
The 5 point challenge certainly puts a different aspect/challenge to the game - especially in the B division with quite a few phoneys getting thru and which, in my opinion, affected the outcome of many games. I had an interesting game where my opponent played BALONIEs, which I knew to be a phoney.......but, it meant I still had won the game with OOART on my rack. If I had challenged her off, there was no way I could block the spot where I knew she could play BOwLINE which she had time to search for and which gave her a triple word score which would have won the game for her. By the way, they also gave an amount of money prize per bingo above a certain total. Overseas, the trend is more about the prize money than we tend to do in Australia.
Congratulations, Carol, a great effort!

The Bil Rose Aestival ~ January 20 2013

This was a friendly but keenly contested round robin, with 60 players divided into seven sections named after some of the tennis players competing at the Australian Open, currently taking place at Melbourne Park. The first six sections had eight players in each, with 12 players in the Gajdosova section - these played a regular Australian Draw. The day moved along smoothly with Lalitha Sundaresan manning the computers, and Norma Fisher, Barry Harridge and several others helping out - thank you, all.

We welcomed new player Angela Osborne to her first tournament, and she enjoyed her day and is planning to join us again. Well done, Angela, we hope you continue to enjoy the experience! It was good to see Alan Stewart and Frank Csarics, both back after a break from competitive play and hopefully enjoying the day. Also playing and in good form was David Eldar who flew in from the UK on Friday evening, and although looking rather tired played extremely well - its good to have you back, David, and good luck with your tournaments here in Oz over the next couple of months.

Wayne Stoyan had kindly offered to speak about his friend the late Bil Rose, and Wayne spoke of Bil's achievements in the Scrabble world - he loved words and poetry and began competing in tournaments at the age of 90, treating us each year at the Aestival tournament to a poem he had written. He gained recognition in the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest person competing in tournaments, and passed away in 2003, aged 98. Thanks for your welcome contribution, Wayne.

ALMAGRO: Peter Kougi with David Eldar, tired but happy

BAGHDATIS: Norma Fisher, Angie Pearse and winner Dianne Davis

CILIC: Audree Clifton, still great at 90 years young, with Kris Howat & Bridget Halge

DJOKOVIC: Paula Messer, Patricia Mitchell. Missing from the pic - Marie D'Rosario

EBDEN: Diane Stoyan (winner and High Word) and Dorothy Rice, High Game

FEDERER: experienced players Fintan Conway and Stephanie Saunders

The winners of each section were as follows - ALMAGRO David Eldar, BAGHDATIS Dianne Davis, CILIC Bridget Halge, DJOKOVIC Marie D'Rosario, EBDEN Diane Stoyan, FEDERER Stephanie Saunders, and GAJDOSOVA Rena Aitken, with Latha Weerakkody receiving a prize for second place as this was the section with extra players.

Some great game scores were recorded on the day - Peter Kougi scored 627 points, the highest for the day across all sections. Other High Games recorded came from Norma Fisher 542, Kris Howat 507, Mary McMahon 505, Dorothy Rice 501, Fintan Conway 477 and Elizabeth McKean 457.

The High Word plays for the day were as follows: Judith Westwood BODEGAS 93; Glenys Dettmann HAILERS 95; Angie Pearse EXPLODE 98; Diane Stoyan SHORING 110; Audree Clifton DOZINGS 152; Peter Kougi OPERATIC 167; and the best for the day came from Paula Messer, who scored 185 for QUIETEST - nice one, Paula!

Two players achieved really notable ratings gains - Rena Aitken gained 56, and Bridget Halge went up 51 points. Well done, everyone, and thank you for the spirit in which the tournament was played.

To check out the full results of this event click HERE

GAJDOSOVA: Judith Westwood, Rena Aitken, Elizabeth McKean and Latha Weerakkody

Bridget Halge with friend and first-time player Angela Osborne - both really love the game.

Some of the Almagro players - Naween Fernando, Trevor Halsall, Nick Ivanovski, David Eldar and Peter Kougi

From Greensborough and Watsonia Clubs - Judith Westwood, Balada Catanchin, Ann Goodwin, Marisa Nuccitelli and Dianne Gibson

Relaxing with friends at lunch time - Gillian Renwick, Rod Casey, Carmel Doney, Mal Eden and John Parker

Two former World Youth Scrabble Champions do battle - Anand Bharadwaj, the 2011 Champion, versus David Eldar, the inaugural Champion in 2006

Vale Evelyn Hill - January 9 2013

Evelyn was a regular tournament attendee until the late 1990's, and for quite some time was the convenor of the Greensborough Club. This is from the notice in the newspaper "She passed away peacefully and with dignity at Saint Vincent Hospital on the 9.1.2013. Loving mother of Stephen and Michael and aunt to Colin, Denise and Robert." Rest in peace, Evelyn.

The Mornington New Year Tournament ~ January 13 2013

This new tournament on the Victorian calendar was the brainchild of Ray Alford, convenor of the Mornington Scrabble Club which meets on Thursdays from 1-5pm during school terms at the Bentons Square Community Centre, 145 Bentons Road, Mornington.
Ray was ably assisted by his wife Lorraine who kept us all well nourished and watered throughout the day - thanks, Lorraine! President Carol Johnsen provided invaluable assistance with many things including computer duties, and together with a few other willing helpers everything ran smoothly - thank you to all, it was a very pleasant day out, with 70 players taking part in this 7 game event.
Ray welcomed a new player to the tournament scene, namely Elise Dettmann, daughter of member Glenys - we hope you enjoyed the experience, Elise!
Ray also welcomed two Queensland players, Elize Plaganyi and Quentin Abbott (who may be in the throes of becoming a Victorian), and an overseas visitor from the US, Betty Toole, a friend of Norma Fisher.

Recreation players: Rena Aitken, Betty Toole, Elize Plaganyi & Marisa Nuccitelli

Intermediate: Marie D'Rosario, Dorothy Barraclough & Janet Bau

Advanced: all happy - Elaine Capewell, Katie Rowe & Paula Messer

Starting with Recreation, the winner turned out to be Betty Toole - Betty had played one Victorian tournament in 2008, and this time round won six games and improved her provisional rating considerably, taking it from 813 to 1005. Following Betty were four players on five wins each, with rapidly improving Rena Aitken second, Carole Eden third, Anne Bingham fourth and novice Elise Dettmann fifth.
In Intermediate Marie D'Rosario had a great day, recording a margin of +680, the best for the day across all sections. Both Marie and Dorothy Barraclough finished on 6 wins, with Janet Bau in third place on five wins.
Advanced saw Katie Rowe in fine form, taking a break from her studies and winning six games ahead of four players on five wins - Elaine Capewell second, Paula Messer third, Kris Howat fourth, and Cheryle Jerram fifth.

The Masters - Geoff Wright & Trevor Halsall

Game 4 at Table 1 - Lorraine Thomas versus Peter Kougi

Delighted prizewinners, Patricia Mitchell & Marisa Nuccitelli

Masters once again was claimed by Peter Kougi who is playing brilliantly, and won six games ahead of three players on five wins - Trevor Halsall, Geoff Wright and Marj Miller.
Ray came up with a prize structure which was a little different to the norm, with no player permitted to win two prizes - if you placed in your section you became ineligible for the special awards, so some of the information listed about the recipients of the High Game and High Word prizes may not be quite accurate, but well done to all!
Some excellent High Game scores were recorded - Elaine Capewell 581, Marie D'Rosario 578, Geoff Wright 549, and Elize Plaganyi 539.
Some good scores were recorded for the following words - SEXTAIN 110 - Geoff Wright, SKATING 103 - Gillian Renwick, & TEXTILES 95 - Patricia Mitchell.
Lastly, good ratings gains were recorded by Rena Aitken +50, Balada Catanchin +47, Paula Messer +45, Dorothy Barraclough +44, Katie Rowe +42, Marie D'Rosario +39, Marj Miller +37, Val Hardiman +37, Carmel Doney +34 & Anne Bingham +30.
Well played, all, and thanks again to Ray and Lorraine for all your hard work, it was appreciated.

To check out the full results of this event click HERE

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