National Scrabble Championship (UK)
Encyclopedia
The UK National Scrabble
Championships (NSC) is held annually. It is organised by Mattel
UK, the copyright owners of Scrabble in the UK, and rated by the Association of British Scrabble Players
.
visited Bristol Prison whilst conducting research for a book and noticed the inmates playing Scrabble, at around the same time he also saw the Royal Family playing the game on a British TV documentary . He placed a small ad in The Times
inviting anyone interested in taking part in a National Scrabble Championships to contact him. Hundreds replied and after hooking up with the game's owners at the time J. W. Spear & Sons
, the Championships were born.
Stephen Haskell won the Championships in 1971 with an aggregate of 1345 points from 3 games. Regional qualifying events were introduced in 1976. The Championships continued to be decided by the 3 game cumulative score method until 1988. In 1989, a hybrid format was introduced, where the winner had to win all of his/her four games with the highest score possible. From 1990, the Championships have been exclusively 'play to win' format with no relation to points totals.
There are currently six one-day regional events of seven games where the top 60 players from around the country qualify to play over a 14 game semi-final weekend held in either Birmingham or Leeds. The two players with the greatest number of wins at the semi-final qualify for the final. Where players are on an equal number of wins spread cumulative margin of victory is used as a tie-breaker. The final is over five games and usually held in Central London
to obtain maximum publicity. The two players play in a separate room and their moves are broadcast to an audience as they are made. Experts are on hand to explain and comment on the moves and answer questions from the audience. Entry is free and open to the general public.
The winner receives a prize of £1,500 with £750 going to the runner-up and £100 going to 3rd. There are also smaller prizes for the winners of the regional events and for those who perform above expectation.
The National Scrabble Club Tournament (NSCT) has run since 1979, also with different matchplay formats. In 2004, the regional qualifying events of the NSC and NSCT were combined.
The highest score under the cumulative score method was 1863 in 3 games by Nigel Ingham from Nottingham
in 1987. The youngest winner was 15 year old Allan Saldanha in 1993 and the oldest was 57 year old Jake Jacobs in 2006 when the Championship featured in the BBC Four
and subsequently BBC Two
programme Marcus Brigstocke
's Trophy People.
Scrabble
Scrabble is a word game in which two to four players score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles on a game board marked with a 15-by-15 grid. The words are formed across and down in crossword fashion and must appear in a standard dictionary. Official reference works provide a list...
Championships (NSC) is held annually. It is organised by Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
UK, the copyright owners of Scrabble in the UK, and rated by the Association of British Scrabble Players
Association of British Scrabble Players
The Association of British Scrabble Players oversees competitive Scrabble in the UK. It was formed in 1987 by agreement with J W Spear & Sons, the game's trademark owner, who were subsequently bought out by Mattel in 1993...
.
History
In 1971, the author and broadcaster Gyles BrandrethGyles Brandreth
Gyles Daubeney Brandreth is a British writer, broadcaster and former Conservative Member of Parliament and junior minister.-Early life:...
visited Bristol Prison whilst conducting research for a book and noticed the inmates playing Scrabble, at around the same time he also saw the Royal Family playing the game on a British TV documentary . He placed a small ad in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
inviting anyone interested in taking part in a National Scrabble Championships to contact him. Hundreds replied and after hooking up with the game's owners at the time J. W. Spear & Sons
J. W. Spear & Sons
J. W. Spear and Sons was a significant manufacturer of board games during the 20th century. The company was founded by Jacob Wolf Spier in Fürth, near Nuremberg, Germany in 1879, producing goods such as table mats, photo frames, and waste-paper baskets.By the turn of the century, games had become...
, the Championships were born.
Stephen Haskell won the Championships in 1971 with an aggregate of 1345 points from 3 games. Regional qualifying events were introduced in 1976. The Championships continued to be decided by the 3 game cumulative score method until 1988. In 1989, a hybrid format was introduced, where the winner had to win all of his/her four games with the highest score possible. From 1990, the Championships have been exclusively 'play to win' format with no relation to points totals.
There are currently six one-day regional events of seven games where the top 60 players from around the country qualify to play over a 14 game semi-final weekend held in either Birmingham or Leeds. The two players with the greatest number of wins at the semi-final qualify for the final. Where players are on an equal number of wins spread cumulative margin of victory is used as a tie-breaker. The final is over five games and usually held in Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
to obtain maximum publicity. The two players play in a separate room and their moves are broadcast to an audience as they are made. Experts are on hand to explain and comment on the moves and answer questions from the audience. Entry is free and open to the general public.
The winner receives a prize of £1,500 with £750 going to the runner-up and £100 going to 3rd. There are also smaller prizes for the winners of the regional events and for those who perform above expectation.
The National Scrabble Club Tournament (NSCT) has run since 1979, also with different matchplay formats. In 2004, the regional qualifying events of the NSC and NSCT were combined.
The highest score under the cumulative score method was 1863 in 3 games by Nigel Ingham from Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
in 1987. The youngest winner was 15 year old Allan Saldanha in 1993 and the oldest was 57 year old Jake Jacobs in 2006 when the Championship featured in the BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
and subsequently BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
programme Marcus Brigstocke
Marcus Brigstocke
Marcus Alexander Brigstocke is an English comedian, actor and satirist who has worked extensively in stand-up comedy, television, radio and in 2010-2011 musical theatre. He is particularly associated with the 6.30pm comedy slot on BBC Radio 4, having frequently appeared on several of its shows...
's Trophy People.
Winners of UK National Scrabble Championship
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Mark Nyman Mark Nyman is a Scrabble player originally from London, England now resident in Cheshire. At the end of2002, he was rated 205 and was top-ranked in the ABSP ratings. As at October 14th 2010 he is rated 208... |
Allan Simmons Allan Simmons was one of the founder members of the Association of British Scrabble Players and succeeded Peter Finley as its Chairman. He was the first Chairman of WESPA, the World English-language Scrabble Players Association... |