We are pleased to announce the 15th Delhi State Scrabble Championship 2022 to be held on 24th September 2022 at Apeejay School Pitampura, Delhi.

The Scrabble Association of Delhi, which is a non-profit organization under the aegis of Scrabble Association of India is constantly scouting talent to boost to the national and international competitions. One of the beginners platforms that Scrabble Association of Delhi provides is an annual Delhi State Scrabble Championship for school students, which is being held again after a 2 year covid induced break. In addition, the Scrabble Association of Delhi holds an annual national competition by the name of GAIL Scrabble Cup for adults, and on 25-27 November 2022, we will be hosting the first Asia Cup Youth Scrabble Championship for under 18s. Winners of the Delhi State Scrabble Championship, meeting the qualifying criteria, will be given free direct entry to the Asia Cup. The Scrabble Association of Delhi has also partnered with Harper Collins India and a play list of scrabble training videos has been made available at https://tinyurl.com/scrabbleplaylist for ease of learning for beginners. You are also welcome to send your students to the National School Scrabble Championship 2022, the zonals of which is being organised on 29^th September 2022 in Delhi, right after the 15th Delhi State Scrabble Championship 2022 being organised by us on 24th September 2022. Hence, our tournament will provide crucial experience to the qualified contestants to improve their performance in the Zonals of the National School Scrabble Championship 2022.

Venue : Apeejay School Pitampura, 10, Chandra Shekhar Azad Marg, Sainik Vihar, Pitam Pura, Delhi 110034

Date : 24^th September 2022

Schedule:

Tournament kit collection : 9.00 to 9.30 am

First Game : 09.30 am to 10.15 am

Snacks break : 10.15 - 10.45 am

Second Game : 10.45 am to 11.30 am

Break : 11.30 - 11.45 am

Third Game : 11.45 am to 12.30 pm

Fourth Game : 12.30 pm to 1.15 pm

Lunch break : 1.15 to 2.00 pm

Fifth Game : 2.00 pm to 2.45 pm (All participants have to play all 5 Games)

Result processing : 2.45 to 3.15 pm

Prize distribution : 3.15 to 4.00 pm

Game play system : Random pairing first two rounds followed by lagged Australian Draw or King of the Hill league system, subject group size; WESPA Scrabble rules; all players have to play all five rounds and players are advised to carry their boards (Mattel’s Standard International Board) with them. In case of non availability of scrabble board, please inform the organizers in advance so that alternate arrangement can be made. Each game shall be of maximum 45 minutes duration. Rules of game play are attached and also available at .

Contact persons: Mrs. Swati Gupta 9911353067, 9891078855

Registration fee:

Rs. 500/- per player for registrations inclusive of snacks and lunch.

• Last date for registration is 20^th September 2022

• Kindly give duly filled registration form with fees to Mrs. Swati Gupta (9911353067) or transfer the payment to “Scrabble Association of Delhi, Bank of Baroda, Saket (IFSC code: BARB0SAKETX), Account No.: 29190200000634”

• Attendance in school dress is preferred. Masks are mandatory.

• Any student having fever or running nose/ cough like symptoms shall be not be allowed to play

• Participants must bring their own water bottles as water cooler breaks during an ongoing game (45 mins each) shall not be permitted. Drinking water shall be available at venue.

• Students with special food requirements/ dietary restrictions are advised to carry their own snacks & lunch.

Categories:

Group A - Class III to V,

Group B- Class VI to VIII,

Group C- Class IX to XII.

The organizers reserve the right to rearrange the age groups to optimise group size and appropriate competitive level.

Eligibility criteria: Students of schools in NCT of Delhi and NCR of Delhi and other North Indian states which do not have State Scrabble bodies

Prizes : Medals for top three individual winners in each category with rank certificate. Winners from different groups will be given an opportunity to qualify for Asia Cup Youth Scrabble Championship 2022 to be held on 25^th- 27^th November 2022 at Kunskapsskolan School, Sector 28, Gurgaon.

Participation certificates: Each participant will receive a participation certificate.

Workshop: Schools desirous of getting a workshop conducted prior to the tournament for training of their students may please contact Swati Gupta 9911353067 for timings at a nominal fee of Rs.50 per student, subject to a minimum of Rs. 1000/- or minimum batch size of 20 students.

Schools desirous of Advanced Training for existing players may inform with details regarding number of students and their current ability. Accordingly, a one time or periodic program shall be formulated and communicated to your school.

Parents: Parents will not be allowed into the playing areas during playtime

Onlines resource : Visit https://tinyurl.com/scrabbleplaylist for some helpful explainer videos on how to play scrabble and improve your skills

1. There are 100 tiles in the bag. Before the game starts, you should lay them in four squares of 5x5 to check that all tiles are present. The Tournament Director has to be informed about any missing tiles before the start of play. If the players start a game with fewer tiles, it is their own responsibility and the game will not be canceled or replayed later.

2. A player has to always keep the tile bag above eye level while taking tiles from the bag. The player cannot see, select or use any other unfair means of drawing out tiles from the bag.

3. TOSS: Both players will pick up one tile each from the tile bag and the one who gets a blank or a letter closest to “A” begins first. Put the tiles back in the tile bag after the draw.

4. The player who starts first will draw 7 tiles from the tile bag. Only after this can the opponent draw their 7 tiles.

5. OVERDRAW: In case a player draws excess tiles (has 8 or more tiles instead of 7 on the rack), then the opponent, without looking, will pick up the number of extra tiles plus two more from the player’s rack. The opponent will then look at these picked tiles, give back any two, of their own choosing, to the player’s rack and return the rest back in the tile bag.

6. The first player will start in such a way that any one letter of their word should come on the centre star. The first word will always get a double word score.

7. Words can be played vertically (top to bottom) or horizontally (left to right). Diagonal words not allowed.

8. Only words which are in the “Collins Scrabble Word List 2021” dictionary (CSW21) will be considered valid. Usually abbreviations, names and proper nouns are not included in this dictionary but there are some exceptions – e.g., “INDIA” and “AWOL” (acronym for Absent Without Leave) are both listed in this dictionary. Common nouns like TIGER, JASMINE or FOOTBALL are all valid. Both British and American spellings are listed in this dictionary – e.g., “COLOR” and “COLOUR” are both valid. There are also many words with Indian origins – e.g., JUNGLI, GHEE, GOBI, RAJA and DEV are all valid. Lastly, you should familiarize yourself with the list of valid two letter words which are very useful to know!

9. After playing their move, the player will announce the score loudly to the opponent. Both players should confirm the score and then write it down in their respective scoresheets.

10. CHALLENGE: In case of a challenge, i.e., when you suspect an invalid word or an incorrect spelling by your opponent, you raise your hand and stop play for the moment. Wait for the Tournament Director or any member of the conducting team to come to you. They will check and confirm if the challenged word/words are valid or invalid. The player who has played the word gets +5 if the word is valid. If the word is invalid, then the player who has played the word will take back the tiles used for the invalid word, lose that turn and write 0 (zero) as the score for that move. The challenger gets no positive or negative marks for the challenge. Any challenges made before the player has completed their move and announced their score will not be allowed.

11. If an invalid word is not challenged by the opponent, then it stays on the board and the player who has played the word will get the points for it.

12. Do not ask whether a word is correct or not before you play it. It will be considered cheating.

13. Both players will write, their own as well as their opponent’s score. After every turn they should cross check the scores.

14. When a player places their word, it should be connected to any letter/tile already on the board. They will get the points for all the new words that are formed by the tiles they have placed. If a word “TON” is there on the board and the other player plays “NOT” with “N” coming under “O” and “O” coming under “N”, then the player gets the points for three words - NOT, ON, and NO.

15. New words played horizontally, such as “NOT” in above example, can result in vertical words like “NO” and “ON”. In such cases, ALL the words made in any direction have to be valid words. For instance, if the player had played “CAT” instead of “NOT”, it would have resulted in forming “OC” which is an invalid word. In that case the opponent could challenge it and the player would have to take back the word CAT from the board.

16. The two players will play alternatively, while following the same process of playing their move, announcing their score, waiting for challenges before writing down the score and calculating the cumulative score after each move. The game continues like this till the end.

17. If a player is able to play all 7 tiles on their rack in one turn, then they will not only get points for the word/words made on the board but also an additional 50 points (+50) as a bonus. This is known as a BINGO.

18. Premium squares like double letter, double word, triple letter & triple word squares, once used, are exhausted and can no longer be used as a premium square for calculating scores in any subsequent turn.

19. In their own turn, players can exchange all or any of their tiles instead of playing a word. When they do this, they miss a turn and write a score of 0 (zero) for that turn. Tiles cannot be exchanged if the number of tiles remaining in the bag are less than seven.

END OF GAME

1. If one player finishes playing all the tiles on their rack and there are no more tiles left in the bag, then in that case the other player will count the points of the tiles left on their rack, double these points and add it to the score of the 1st player who has finished playing all their tiles.

2. If players are in between the game and the Tournament Director announces the end of play time, then the game will come to an end. If the player who began first has played their move, then the other player will also get a chance to play a word so that both players have equal moves. Players now have to ensure that they have 7 tiles on their rack after their last played move. Each player will then add the points of tiles on their respective racks (remember not to double these points) and add it to the others player’s score.

In case of any disputes, the decision of the Tournament Director shall be considered final.

(This is a simplified version of the rules of competitive scrabble. Knowledge of these rules is sufficient for the Indian School Scrabble Championship. To see the full set of rules, google for “WESPA rules v4”)