The website of the Australian Scrabble Players Association (Victoria) Inc.
Watch this space for the latest news and happenings in the Victorian Scrabble scene, and to find lots of information and to check on news from the past click on the links at left. Your social reporter is Marj Miller, and to pass on any news click here
mjwm9@bigpond.com
UPCOMING TOURNAMENTS:
Saturday Session 2 ~ SATURDAY February 24 ~ 5 games ~ at Reservoir
Langwarrin ~ SUNDAY March 4 ~ 6 games ~ at Langwarrin
Saturday Session 3 ~ SATURDAY March 10 ~ 5 games ~ at Reservoir
Nationals Warm Up ~ SUNDAY March 25 ~ 7 games ~ at Box Hill
National Championship & Plate ~ March 31-April 2 ~ 24 games ~ in Canberra
For full details of tournaments click HERE
The Annual Melbourne Team Challenge ~ February 11, 2018
 THE WINNERS! THE GREEN CAPS! Ann Goodwin, Jenny Brysha, Phil Moller, Natasha Podesser, Oliver Podesser, Lina Camilleri and Siva Sivapalasundram, who received his 1000 game badge earlier in the day |  Play in progress, with the Twinkles playing the Black Caps at Bench A, and the Green Caps playing the Bunnies at Bench B |
 The Black Caps (2nd) Marisa Nuccitelli, Christiane McCann, Paula Messer, Noel Coulter, Angie Pearse, Lynne Goodinson, Norma Fisher |  The Bunnies (3rd) Back: Dianne Davis, Rob York, Glenys Dettmann, Katie Rowe. Front: Fintan Conway, June Valentine |  The Robin Hoods (4th) Carol Mascitti, Gayle Cameron, Annette Casey, Lynn Weaver, John Rider, Mythili Rudra |  The Pirates (5th) Mary Mackie, David Eldar, John Parker, Rob Hutchinson, Dominica Krstic, Elizabeth McKean, Angie Winkler |
 The Builders (6th) Rebeccah Booth, Glen Chandler, Shaun Donnelly, Elize Plaganyi, Lorraine Thomas, Dorothy Hunt, Andrew Fisher |  The Blue Caps (7th) Christie Godby, Peter Kougi, Latha Weerakkody, Elaine McGinnes, Barry Harridge, Kris Howat, Rena Aitken |  The Twinkles (8th) Elaine Capewell, Laura Khan, Geoff Shepheard, John Metcalf, Lorna Patching, Faye Leeder, Gwen Lampre |  President Carol Johnsen presented June Valentine with her 1000 game badge - congratulations, June! |
 Individual topdogs on the day - Shaun Donnelly, David Eldar and Michael Smitheram |  High Word and High Game Award winners, Paula Messer and Peter Kougi |  Happy players - Ann Goodwin, Marisa Nuccitelli and Balada Catanchin |  Some of the workers - Marj Miller, Barry Harridge, Carol Johnsen and Khwanjai Thammaping |
To see the full results of the Melbourne Team Challenge click HERE
The Inaugural Saturday Session, February 3rd 2018!
Organiser of the Saturday Sessions, and
Tournament Director - Nick Ivanovski
Clare Ivanovski, who looked after our needs
for the day - thanks, Clare!
The format sees players all accrue individual points that lead up to earning cash prizes after the fourth tournament. Winners of each division received an engraved Scrabble Sessions medallion. Congratulations to our inaugural division winners, David Eldar, Carol Johnsen, Geoff Shepheard, John Metcalf, Dorothy Barraclough, Elizabeth McKean and Oscar Ivanovski.
Several players achieved excellent rating gains, and this will be important following the fourth Saturday Session when the cash prizes are handed out - Carol Johnsen +48, Rod Casey +37, John Metcalf +34, Elizabeth McKean +33, and Robin Steward +32.
To see the full results of this event in the National Archive click HERE
 Players in Division F, from left - Glenys Dettmann, winner Liz Mackean, Elize Plaganyi, Christiane McCann |  Hard workers in Division E - Christie Godby, Doreen Ivanovski, Heather Iapozutto, winner Dorothy Barraclough |  Division B - Norma Fisher plays Geoff Wright with Andrew Fisher standing and Rod Casey seated at the table |  Time for a catchup between games - Lynn Weaver and Carol Mascitti enjoy a chat in the breakout area |  Regular tournament players Angie Pearse and Peter Kougi |
 Division G - Lina Camilleri, Angie Winkler, Ann Goodwin, Faye Leeder, Marisa Nuccitelli and the winner Oscar Ivanovski |  Division A players - Naween Fernando plays Mythili Rudra, with Rod Casey playing Angie Pearse at Table B. |  Division C - top player Geoff Shepheard with Diane Stoyan, Shaun Donnelly, John Parker and Mal Eden |  Division A winner David Eldar plays Peter Kougi - serious Scrabble indeed! With Rod Casey and Geoff Wright |  Doreen Ivanovski, who hadn't played a tournament since 2003 |
Victorians do extremely well at the C.S.I.M.! January 27/28 2018
Winners at the C.S.I.M. Edward Okulicz, Peter Kougi, Andrew Fisher,
Naween Fernando, Trevor Halsall and David Eldar
N.S.W. President Bob Jackman with Ratings Band
prizewinners Alan Burn and Jyoti Chandna
Prizes were given down to sixth place, and Victorians took out the top five places, in the following order - David Eldar, Trevor Halsall, Naween Fernando, Andrew Fisher and Peter Kougi, with Edward Okulicz from N.S.W. filling sixth place. Alan Burn from Victoria collected the prize for best performed player rated from 1400-1700, and Jyoti Chandna from N.S.W. took home the award for best performed player rated below 1400.
The High Game Award went to Joanne Craig for her brilliant score of 641, and Ron Baginski played SENNIGHT for 158 points to take home the High Word Award. Well done to all prizewinners, you are to be congratulated on your achievements.
To see the full results click HERE
The first Victorian tournament for 2018 - The Bil Rose Aestival, January 14
64 players contested the annual Bil Rose Aestival, a perfect number for a Round Robin, resulting in 8 groups of 8 players. Sections were named after tennis players: Aiava, Barty, Cabrera, De Minaur, Ebden, Federer, Gavrilova and Hewitt. Some players participated whom we hadn't seen playing for a while, including Jenny Plant, Ellen Frajman, and Diane and Wayne Stoyan - welcome back, everyone. We also welcomed Benjamin Lee, visiting from Western Australia to sing at the Melbourne Town Hall, and to take some valuable ratings points back to the west. Well played, Ben. There was a theme word prize for the best word relating to TENNIS, and this was won by Gill Renwick for her play of NET. Some of the worthy winners: Benjamin Lee (De Minaur), Janet Bau (Cabrera), Geoff Wright (Barty) & David Eldar (Aiava) |  More champions: Balada Catanchin (Gavrilova), Khwanjai Thammaping (Ebden), Dominica Krstic (Federer), Jeremy Yip (Hewitt) |  Hgh Game & High Word Winners: Jeremy Yip: HG Divs E-H, Rod Casey: HG Divs A-D, Dianne Gibson: HW Divs A-D, Kannan Sethuraman: HW Divs E-H |  Benjamin Lee, visiting from Western Australia for the performance of "Light The Dark" on Saturday evening at the Melbourne Town Hall. Well done, Ben! |  The Australian Open is about to start and the prize for the best tennis word was a ticket to the Open. Gillian played "NET" to score the prize. |
BARTY was won by Geoff Wright on 6 wins, with his only loss being to Mary McMahon. Dianne Davis placed second on 5 wins with John Rider third on 4.
CABRERA was keenly fought with Janet Bau placing first on 5 wins, with Angie Pearse second also on 5 wins, and Rod Casey third on 4 wins.
De MINAUR saw our visitor from Western Australia, Benjamin Lee, place first on 7 wins, followed by Dianne Gibson and Cheryle Jerram, both on 4 wins.
EBDEN was also keenly contested and was won by Khwanjai Thammaping on 5 wins, with Siva Sivapalasundram and John Metcalf second and third on 4 wins.
FEDERER saw Dominica Krstic place first on 6 wins, losing only to Laura Khan. Dorothy Barraclough was second on 5, with Christiane McCann third on 4.
GAVRILOVA was also keenly fought out, with Balada Catanchin first on 5 wins, followed by Lynne Goodinson also on 5, and Jenny Plant on 4.
HEWITT was a happy place for Jeremy Yip in his second tournament - Jeremy won all 7 games, followed by Fintan Conway and Geoff Gittus on 5 wins each.
 Friends Lorna Patching and Dorothy Barraclough, enjoying the day |  Jenny Plant has returned after a break, with Lynne Goodinson |  Fintan Conway with his mum Hilary Conway, and Tim Whiting |  Two of our regular players, Paula Messer and Geoff Shepheard |  Good friends and travel companions Balada Catanchin and Elaine McGinnes |
Thanks to all who helped in any way, and to see the full results click HERE
The 2017 Decathon - the last tourney for the year - Saturday December 30
The Celebration players hard at work!
Alistair's High Word play of COMEBACK
Click the pic to enlarge
Interstate players included John Holgate and Colleen and Richard Birch from New South Wales, and John Hamilton from the Australian Capital Territory who is busy organising the 2018 National Championship - John had his best tournament for some time and was delighted to finish fourth in the top division, Auld Lang. Well done, John!
This was a strong division with David Eldar back from England, Naween Fernando attending after a very big day out at Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test Match, Anand playing after quite a break, and Mythili Rudra, Andrew Fisher, Peter Kougi, Nick Ivanovski, Alistair Kane and many more stars in attendance. The other divisions were also strongly supported and fiercely contested, with 70 players competing in total, and I thank you all for coming.
Mary Mackie acted as standby player for the day, thanks for helping out, Mary, it is truly appreciated. Also thanks to Lalitha Sundaresan for her help on the computer, and to new caterer Leah Frajman who did a lovely job keeping us well fed. Many others helped out in various ways and as Tournament Director I do appreciate your willing assistance!
 The AULD LANG Winners: Alistair Kane, David Eldar, Mythili Rudra, Peter Kougi. |  The BUBBLY people! Khwanjai Thammaping, Lorraine Thomas, Rob York, Sandra Masel |  Clever Celebration winners! Carol Mascitti, Siva Sivapalasundram, Christiane McCann, Christie Godby |  Nick Ivanovski tried streaming this game between Peter Kougi and Mythili Rudra Well done, Nick Ivanovski! |  New player on the day, Jeremy Yip We enjoyed meeting you! |
In keeping with the New Year theme BUBBLY Division saw a great win to an excited Khwanjai Thammaping who claimed 8 wins against some very tough opposition, well done, Khwanjai! Second and third places were filled by Lorraine Thomas and Sandra Masel respectively, both winning seven games as did Mal Eden who placed fourth. Lorraine scored 553 to take home the High Game Award, and Rob York played SQUELCH for 104 points during his first game against Khwanjai to win the High Word Award. Nice Bubbly plays, all!
CELEBRATION was also keenly fought, with a very happy Christie Godby placing first on 8 wins, great effort, Christie! Carol Mascitti also achieved 8 wins to place second, and Siva Sivapalasundram and Dominica Krstic placed third and fourth respectively on seven wins. Christiane McCann was delighted to win both the High Game and High Word Awards for her excellent score of 494 and her play of SERVICE for 109 points. There was much cause for Celebration in this division!
 Phil Moller with Colleen Birch and Dorothy Rice |  Diyath Visidagamage plays John Holgate from N.S.W. |  Rob Hutchinson with Richard Birch from New South Wales |  John Hamilton from The A.C.T., with Victoria's Barry Harridge |  Play underway in the Auld Lang Division - tough games in progress |
To check the full results in the National Archive click HERE
VICTORIAN CLUB CLOSURE AND REOPENING DATES OVER THE HOLIDAY PERIOD 2017 - 2018
| CLUB | BREAKUP DATE | RETURN DATE 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Ballarat | Tuesday December 19 | Tuesday January 9 |
| Balwyn | Monday December 18 | Monday January 8 |
| Bentleigh | Wednesday December 18 | Wednesday February 5 |
| Box Hill | ||
| Cranbourne | ||
| Essendon | Tuesday December 5 | Tuesday February 6 |
| FaNS | Monday December 18 | Monday January 8 |
| Frankston | Wednesday December 13 | Wed 10 January, if temperature less than 34 degrees |
| Frankston Nth | ||
| Geelong | Saturday December 16 | Saturday January 13 |
| Golden Age | Wednesday December 13 | Monday January 8 |
| Gormandale | Friday December 15 | Friday February 2 |
| Greensborough | Tuesday December 12 | Tuesday January 9 |
| Horsham | Permanently closed - thanks for your efforts, Dieter | |
| Langwarrin | Tuesday December 5 | Tuesday January 30 |
| Mt Martha | Tuesday December 19 | Tuesday January 9 |
| Nunawading | Tuesday December 19. Breakup dinner at 6pm at the Mitcham Hotel |
Tuesday January 9 |
| Paynesville | Tuesday December (Library Thursday Dec ) |
Tuesday January (Library Thursday January) |
| Rosanna | Thursday December 14 | Thursday February 8 |
| Sunbury | Wednesday November 29 | Wednesday January 10 at new venue: 5pm - 8pm Sunbury Youth Centre, 51 Evans St, Sunbury |
| Watsonia | Wednesday December 13 | Wednesday February 7 |
| Welshpool | ||
| Wodonga | Thursday December 21 | Thursday January 18 |
Vale Marianne Janssen (Clayton) 16 September 1938 ~ 16 November 2017
Marianne was also involved with the Victorian Travel Scrabble Group, enjoying time with friends and helping organise weekends away at various places, including a boat trip on the Murray River.
Recently Marianne developed cancer and passed away in November at the age of 79. In recent years Marianne still enjoyed family time and playing social games with friends, and will be missed by her family and friends.
Rest peacefully, Marianne.
SUNBURY TOURNAMENT & LUNCH on Saturday December 2nd, 2017
The playing area - Phil Moller, Peter Kougi, John Rider
and Alan Burn at the bar, with Kris Howat in the centre
Organiser Norma Fisher chats to Phil Moller, with
Barry Harridge and Peter Kougi in the background
Not having to pay rental for the use of the dining room and providing only tea, coffee and biscuits made for an inexpensive tournament ($10 plus $1 CASPA levy) plus $10 for a 2-course seniors’ meal or the Saturday Special of fish and chips for non-seniors. From all accounts the food was considered very good, though I think a better job could have been done of getting the meals to the right persons........will work on that next year!! After minimal expenses the total intake was returned as prizes.
ASHES group saw Natasha Podesser take 1st place (5 + 419), Peter Kougi 2nd place (5 + 337) – a very tight finish, and myself a couple of games behind (3 + 104) in 3rd place. Natasha also won the High Word prize for DISFAVOR for 101 and Carol Johnsen took the High Game prize with 517 points.
BRADMAN group was lead by John Metcalf, winning all 6 games with a margin of +374 with Dorothy Barraclough in 2nd place (4 + 323) and Kris Howat in 3rd place (4 + 44). John also won the High Game prize with a 462 game and Phil Moller played SEQUINS for 114 to take the High Word prize.
CRICKET group was won by a delighted Liz McKean (5 + 185) followed in 2nd place by Balada Catanchin (4 + 185) with Christiane McCann coming 3rd (4 + 172) – only 13 points separating these two positions! Liz also won the High Word prize for YAWNERS for 88 points and Marisa Nuccitelli had a 441 game winning her the High Game prize.
 The ASHES Division: Carol Johnsen, Peter Kougi, Norma Fisher and Natasha Podesser |  The BRADMAN group: Dorothy Barraclough, Kris Howat, and John Metcalf |  CRICKET Division: Elizabeth McKean, Marisa Nuccitelli, Christiane McCann and Balada Catanchin |
My thanks to Carol for her computer wizardry (and for the group names – Sunbury being the home of the Ashes!), and a big thank you to Liz McKean who delighted us all with her yummy jelly slice! Norma Fisher.
Thanks for the report, Norma, and I'd like to mention those who made significant ratings gains: John Metcalf +73, Elizabeth McKean +33, Dianne Gibson + 33, and Natasha Podesser +32. Also, the Sunbury Club is meeting at a new venue in the New Year - from Wednesday January 10, from 5pm till 8pm, you'll find them at the Sunbury Youth Centre, 51 Evans Street. All are welcome, so don't hesitate to go along! To see the full results click HERE
The Victorian Matchplay concludes, and Andrew Fisher is the 2017 Victorian Matchplay Champion!
Andrew played Trevor Halsall in the best of nine final, and was victorious five games to nil in the playoff. Here are the links to the first three games of the final, played at The Rose in Fitzroy: The boards show the last two games from the final series....and these were the scores:Andrew 481 (PINDERS/REMBLING), Trevor 372 (INDITERS).
Andrew 456 (AXINITE, ROOTIES) Trevor 411 (AUSTERER, NEOTERIC, DENUDING).
Well done, Andrew and all the finalists, and thanks for organising it all, Nick Ivanovski.
 | .jpg) |
Andrew Fisher 3
Natasha Podesser 3
Nick Ivanovski 3
Trevor Halsall 3
Norma Fisher 2
Oliver Podesser 1
Dilendra Nanayakkara 0
Carol Johnsen 1
Andrew Fisher 4
Nick Ivanovski 3
Natasha Podesser 1
Trevor Halsall 4
Andrew Fisher 5
Trevor Halsall 0
The Inaugural FaNS Tournament, November 12 2017
The Fairfield and Northcote Scrabble Club meet on Monday evenings from 7-9pm, at the Darebin U3A at 26 Railway Place, Fairfield. Drop in and see them for a game - all are welcome. Convenor Rob York organised a new tournament for the Victorian calendar, and 48 players arrived to play, including new player Val Wills who has been playing at FaNS for a while. Val enjoyed her day and handled the start to her tournament career very well, welcome and well done, Val! Rob also welcomed Harry Malcolm back from a break, and Shaun Donnelly whom we hadn't seen for a while. The smart A Division winners: Peter Kougi, Heather Long, Geoff Wright, Jenny Brysha and Nick Ivanovski |  The B Division clever people: Glen Chandler, Peter Bauer and Noel Coulter with a swag of prizes! |  Division C - the cream of the crop: Ann Goodwin, Elizabeth McKean, Angie Winkler and Balada Catanchin |  FaNS Club Convenor Rob York with his assistant, Oscar, who loves a social game of Scrabble when not helping. |
Division A saw a fine performance from Geoff Wright, who won six of the seven games played, well done Geoff. Second and third places went to Peter Kougi and Heather Long respectively, both on five wins. The High Game prize went to Nick Ivanovski for his score of 528, and Jenny Brysha played CONTAINS for 131 points to win the High Game prize in A.
Division B was won by Glen Chandler, winning six games ahead of Peter Bauer and Noel Coulter who won five each. Well done, Glen and all, a great effort. The High Game award went to Noel Coulter for his score of 472, and Noel also won the High Word award for his play of BLUSHERS for 158 points.
Division C was tightly fought with Angie Winkler finishing on 5.5 wins, half a game clear of the field. Good effort, Angie. Second and third places went to Dorothy Hunt and Ann Goodwin, both on five wins - the Greensborough Club was well represented here! The High Game award was won by Balada Catanchin for her score of 452, and the High Word award went to Elizabeth McKean for her play of SQUIZZES for 130 points, well done all!
 New player from the FaNS Club, Val Wills |  Happy to be here, Shaun Donnelly |  Serious play - Nick Ivanovski v Peter Kougi, Harry Malcolm v Geoff Wright at rear |  Front: Angie Pearse v Lorraine Thomas, and Gwen Lampre plays John Rider |  Barry Harridge plays Geoff Shepheard, and Heather Long plays Katie Rowe at the rear |
Rob would like to thank everyone who helped on the day, including Christie Godby who did a superb job with catering, Barry Harridge who sorted computer problems, Gwen Lampre for her help with taking entry money, and everyone who helped with packing up etc. I had volunteered for the Tournament Director's job, and was delighted with everyone's patience and demeanour on the day. Thank you all!
To check out the full results click HERE
The 2017 WESPA CHAMPIONSHIP, November 6 - 12, in Nairobi, Kenya
This exciting event consists of 32 rounds, followed by a best of 7 final on Sunday November 12. Nairobi is -8 hours c/f Eastern Daylight Time, and the Championship will get under way about 4.30pm our time here in Victoria, on Wednesday 8th November. There are several side-tournaments running concurrently, including a last chance qualifier and a Youth event.Australia has thirteen players qualified for the Championship following a stringent selection process - to check out this process click HERE
Here are our four Victorian players who will compete in Nairobi - Andrew and Carol in the Championship, and Elize and Christiane in the side events.
 Andrew Fisher |  Carol Johnsen |  Elize Plaganyi |  Christiane McCann |
The Aussies in Nairobi
Good luck to all!
 The 2017 WESPA Champion - Akshay Bhandarkar. Akshay won all 8 games on the penultimate day to reach the final. |  The final; Akshay Bhandarkar, Tournament Director Wilma Vialle from Australia, and Peter Moses from Nigeria |  History: London in 1995; Naween Fernando with Akshay Bhandarkar |  David Webb from England plays friend and former Englishman, Australia's Andrew Fisher. These two co-authored "How to Win at Scrabble" |  Our other Victorian player Carol Johnsen |
Akshay was behind in the early stages but fought back to tie at three all after six games. In the final game Akshay played consecutive bingoes on his first two moves, making it difficult for Peter to wipe out the deficit. Akshay received US$20,000, and Peter collected $10,000 for his efforts. Congratulations to both, and on another note Victoria's Naween Fernando must feel somewhat as if his brother is the new Champ - Naween and Akshay grew up playing Scrabble together in Bahrain, and their parents took them to London to play in the world Scrabble Championship in 1995.
Australia's best placed finisher was Russell Honeybun from Western Australia, who finished in the prizemoney in 15th place, well done, Russ. Thanks to all who helped with the coverage, it was great to follow events as they unfolded.
Full details, including a great deal of information, can be found HERE
The Annual South Australia - Victoria Border Challenge, October 21-22nd 2017
The happy South Australian Team!
The Victorian diehards!
Seventeen South Australians and twenty-two Victorians travelled to the lovely town of Horsham (in Western Victoria, where everyone makes you feel very welcome) for this annual battle, and met at the White Hart Hotel on Firebrace Street where host Bruce cared for us very well.
South Australia were the tournament organisers this year and did a great job, thanks Paula and team, keeping us well fed with lovely fresh fruit etc. between games. Handling the computer pairings was quite a challenge, made more complex by the uneven numbers in the teams, and Adam Kretschmer and Oliver Jenner-O'Shea did a great job with some help from other team members. All South Australians played all their games against Victorians, with the spare Vics playing each other each round and ten of us having a bye.
Going into the second last round South Australia were ahead 74-62, with 34 games to play. However Victoria came home with a convincing run, winning the last two rounds 23 games to 11 and squaring the final game tally on 85 apiece. As it turned out, in spite of this amazing effort, South Australia claimed the perpetual shield as a result of their far superior margin of +679; congratulations to you all, you're a tough team to beat!
 The winners: Adam Kauschke, Adam Kretschmer, SA President Oliver Jenner-O'Shea and Michael Cameron |  Winners second rating band: Balada Catanchin with Oliver, Khwanjai Thammaping, and Glen Chandler |  Oliver Jenner-O'Shea hands the Perpetual Shield to the SA Team Captain Paula Brown |  The final game of the tournament, with Bronwyn Piechnick from South Australia playing Marisa Nuccitelli |  The White Hart Hotel, scene of the action, on the corner of Firebrace Street and Roberts Avenue |
Overall prizes were awarded for High Game and High Word - Michael Cameron scored 626 to take home the High Game cash, and Adam Kauschke played a nine-timer LEGALITY for 140 points to win the High Word award.
Impressive ratings gains were achieved by Balada Catanchin +70, Adam Kauschke +49, Glen Chandler + 46, Michael Cameron + 41 and Heather Long +40.
Well done to all who took part, it was a most enjoyable tournament and thanks again to the South Australian team for looking after us so well.
 South Australian Adam Kretschmer mans the computer |  Players on the final day, with a mix of state representatives |  Local resident, Tim Guidera, with his great prize for finishing last |  The main street, Firebrace Street, looking north |  Looking south on Firebrace Street: Horsham is a well-cared for town |
The Geelong Tournament takes place in a new venue! October 14, 2017
Members of the Geelong Scrabble Club
It was good to see both Naween Fernando and Peter Kougi in attendance, and these two were pleased to take out first and second places respectively in Division ABLETT, followed by local player Mary McMahon, a game behind in third place. Naween claimed the High Game Award for his score of 529, and Peter collected the High Word Award for his play of TRAVERSE for 140 points.
In BARTEL Division Phil Moller continued his excellent start to his tournament career, placing first on five wins - well done, Phil! Second place went to Betty Egan, also on five wins, with Khwanjai Thammaping winning four to place third. (Thank you for the photos, Khwanjai!) Glen Chandler had a good day, winning both the High Game and High Word Awards for her game score of 533, and her play of FRITTERS for 149 points.
Star of the day, winning all six games, was Latha Weerakkody in Division CAMERON, a wonderful effort, Latha! Second place went to Angie Winkler on five wins, and in third place was the Geelong Scrabble Club Convenor, Marlene Ellis on three wins. The High Word Award also went to Marlene for her play of EQUALING for 101 points, and fellow Club Member Anne Menheere claimed the High Game Award for her game score of 473.
Notable ratings gains were achieved by Phil Moller +42 (Phil is still a provisional player, but having now played 46 games will move from the provisional zone at his next tournament), Latha Weerakkody +39, Angie Winkler +38, Betty Egan +37, Glenys Dettmann +35, Mary McMahon +34 and Balada Catanchin +31.
 Winners in ABLETT: Naween Fernando, Peter Kougi, Mary McMahon |  The BARTEL winners: Betty Egan, Phil Moller Glen Chandler, Khwanjai Thammaping |  The clever ones in CAMERON: Latha Weerakkody, Angie Winkler, Anne Menheere, Marlene Ellis |  Old friends catching up: Don Marshall and Barry Harridge |
To see the full results of the Geelong Tournament click HERE
Vale John van der Schoor ~ 5th July 1937 ~ 8th October 2017
John in 2014
John is survived by a large extended family, including his five brothers who all reside in Australia, and their many descendants. A graveside service to celebrate John's life will take place at Western Cemetery (Minerva Road entrance) at 2.00pm followed by a Memorial Service at Tuckers Chapel, 68-74 Hope Street, Geelong West at 3.00pm. Rest peacefully, John.
The Seniors' Festival Social Day and Tournament, October 12 2017
The Winners on the day, with organisers Sita and Tam Dasika on the right
Prizes were awarded for the first place getter in each section, as well as some extra prizes for high game and high word.
Everyone enjoyed the lovely lunch and snacks provided, and the challenge of playing three competitive games of Scrabble against players of similar talents.
Tam thanked Norma Fisher, Carol Johnsen and Marj Miller for their ongoing assistance, and also thanked all his Club Members for their ongoing help.
This free day out is only possible due to the generous financial assistance of the Department of Health and Human Services through their Representative Officer Chris Reidy, as part of the annual Victorian Seniors Week Festivities.
Tam and Sita and all attendees are also grateful to the Golden Age Senior Citizens' Club for providing the venue free of charge, it is a welcoming and comfortable venue at which to host this popular annual event. The Golden Age Scrabble Club meets here (47 Miller Crescent, Mount Waveley, opposite the railway station) regularly on Wednesdays from 9.30 am till 3pm, and all are welcome to join the group.
Update on the 2017 Victorian Matchplay Event, October 10
All rounds have now been completed, and Andrew Fisher will play Trevor Halsall in the final. This should be a great contest between these two talented players - more news will follow. Norma Fisher plays her quarter final |  Andrew Fisher versus Norma Fisher |  Nick Ivanovski v Dilendra Nanayakkara |  Carol Johnsen plays Trevor Halsall |  SF - Nick just loses 3-4 to Andrew |
Andrew Fisher 3
Natasha Podesser 3
Nick Ivanovski 3
Trevor Halsall 3
Norma Fisher 2
Oliver Podesser 1
Dilendra Nanayakkara 0
Carol Johnsen 1
Andrew Fisher 4
Nick Ivanovski 3
Natasha Podesser 1
Trevor Halsall 4
Andrew Fisher
Trevor Halsall
The Essendon Tournament ~ October 1, 2017
The Essendon Scrabble Club Members: Barry Harridge, Doug Ristic,
Norma Engel, John Taylor, Rob York, John Rider, Glenys Dettmann,
Eloy Gardea. Seated: Lina Camilleri, Rod Casey, Janet Bau.
Play in progress, with Latha Weerakkody and
John Parker in the foreground
Rob welcomed all players to the Tournament, and in particular Michael Smitheram who is well known to contestants on the Melbourne Online Scrabble Players website. Michael enjoyed his day, finishing with four wins and a provisional rating of 820 points - well done, Michael, anything over 500 is good for your first tournament!
Rob had an excellent team of helpers, namely the Essendon members who supplied many delectable cakes and other goodies for our enjoyment, thank you all, our refreshments throughout the day were delightful.
Also helping in various areas were Norma Fisher, Carol Johnsen, Barry Harridge, and Lainie Mercieca who manned the computer for a good part of the day before slotting in to play when one of our players became ill. Many assisted in the final clean-up, and as always we were grateful for all help offered.
Players were divided into three sections for this event - Masters, Advanced and Intermediate.
 The Winners in Masters: Trevor Halsall, Norma Fisher, Nick Ivanovski |  The victors in Advanced: Betty Egan and Lorraine Thomas |  The Intermediate gurus: Lynne Goodinson, Elizabeth McKean, Angie Winkler, John Metcalf |  Tournament Director and Essendon Club Convenor Rob York with his trusty helper Oscar |
ADVANCED saw a fine performance from Lorraine Thomas who won six games, followed by Siva Sivapalasundram on the comeback trail with five wins. Betty Egan won five games as well as the High Game Award, for her excellent score of 534. The High Word Award went to Siva for his play of LAZIEST, worth 109 points - well done, everyone! Carol Mascitti played in this section after some extensive travel in various places around the world and in Australia, its great to have you back, Carol.
In INTERMEDIATE Lynne Goodinson (also on the comeback trail) won all seven games, finishing with an excellent margin of +859 - well done, Lynne, you're getting back to your old form now! Second and third respectively were John Metcalf and Angie Winkler, both on five wins, and both very happy with their day's play. The High Game Award was won by Elizabeth McKean for her great score of 500 points, and the High Word Award went to John Metcalf for his play of ENACTING for 94 points.
 Essendon's Janet Bau with new player Michael Smitheram, and Helen Richards |  Helen Richards with friend Rob York, looking very happy indeed! |  Relaxing at lunchtime: Kris Howat, Marisa Nuccitelli and Angie Pearse |  Tidying up: Chris McCann with Norma Fisher, and Carol Johnsen, Rob York and Barry Harridge |
If you wish to play Scrabble on Tuesday evenings please visit the Essendon Club at the Essendon Senior Citizens Centre, 5 Kellaway Ave, Moonee Ponds at 7pm and Convenor Rob and the members will make you most welcome.
To see the full results of the Essendon Tournament in the National Scrabble Archive click HERE
Rest in peace, Nick Lindsay ~ June 13, 1943 ~ September 15, 2017
Nick on his 70th birthday, with Maria
This is from Maria's email to me this week: "We are all mourning the passing of Nick with sadness and will never forget the passion he had for scrabble. We came to recognise when a bingo was looming with a twinkle forming in his eye, then he'd take his time putting each letter down slowly in it's position, one at a time. Finally the sense of delight and achievement, that we all feel for a bingo, shone in his face. These memories...and many more, will remain with us forever and scrabble in Wangaratta will never be quite the same again."
I remember first meeting Nick in the early 2000's in Melbourne, and on a couple of occasions when dropping booklets and dictionaries in to him at his home when travelling through to Canberra. Nick always appreciated these fresh reference books as he liked to keep his group up to date with the latest word lists, and Maria mentioned to me that Nick christened the Scrabble Dictionary "Marj", and it was always referred to by this name - what an honour!
Nick will be missed by his daughters Fiona and Rebecca, grandchildren Lydia and Ben, family and his many friends.
Rest peacefully, Nick, many people will have happy memories of a life well lived.
The Peninsula Tournament, September 17 2017
The spacious playing area at the Mount Eliza
Community Centre
This was the first year for the ASPA committee-run Peninsula Tournament, formerly the Mt Martha Tournament which had been ably run by Julie Belle and the members of the Mt Martha Scrabble Club. The venue is very spacious and popular but it amazes me how people still get lost finding it! Three players who regularly attend each year had trouble finding it, with one of them only coming from Mornington - just up the road!
Thirty four players took part including standby player Pat Weston from Geelong who had come along to catch up with old friends at the tournament. Pat went on to win the C Section of the tournament and came away a very happy winner. Also of note in this section was Trish Magee's score of 529, well done, Trish.
In the A Section, local player Jane McDonnell proved a very formidable player - winning 4 games of 6 and gaining 51 rating points. We are certainly encouraging her to play in other tournaments but alas, not too successfully. Carol Johnsen's opponent's lament of "I've only had 1 blank all day" was not answered when in a seemingly blocking move to place an S in front of QUIZ, he had created the opportunity for her to have a triple-timer BEASTIES for 144 and highest game (with both blanks). Alan Burn was leading for most of the day but his last game was not fruitful and Gwen Lampre won through to take first place.
Relative newcomer to the Scrabble scene, Phil Moller, took out first place in B Section with 6 wins and a healthy gain of 118 rating points. He is keenly waiting for the Decathon where he can play 10 games in a day! Unfortunately, a player left after lunch due to illness and there were 3 byes, however these would not have affected the placings.
To see the full results click HERE
 Division C: Balada Catanchin, Geoff Gittus, and the winner Pat Weston |  Division B high achievers: winner Phil Moller and Glen Chandler |  Division A: Carol Johnsen, Alan Burn and first placed Gwen Lampre |  Great concentration shown by Dianne Davis, an important part of doing well in Scrabble |
 Mardi Healy |  Glen Chandler |  Geoff Gittus |  Christiane McCann |
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Andrew Fisher is the 2017 Australian Masters Champ, and Victoria wins the State Team Challenge!
September 9/10, in Adelaide, South Australia
 Andrew Fisher with the Masters perpetual trophy, and South Australian President Oliver Jenner O'Shea |  Defending Champ and second placed Joanne Craig, with Oliver Jenner O'Shea |  Daniel Piechnick finished in third place, seen here at Presentations with Oliver |  Technical matters - Daniel Piechnick checking, with Oliver Jenner O'Shea and Trevor Tao |
 The Champion State Team, from Victoria - Gwen Lampre, Carol Johnsen and Norma Fisher |  The top individual player in the Teams event, Edie Mueller, a second time winner of this title |  John Hamilton from the A.C.T. plays Norma Fisher from Victoria |  Play in progress - foreground - Ryan Sutton & Rod Talbot, with Oliver Jenner O'Shea & Barry Harridge |
The top Individual Player Award within the State Team Challenge event was won by Edie Mueller from Western Australia for her 14 wins from 18 games played, a great effort indeed. Second place went to Norma Fisher on 13 wins, with John Spaan from the A.C.T. placing third on 11 wins.
Thanks go to the whole team from South Australian Scrabble for organising this event so well, many people were involved behind the scenes - Oliver Jenner-O'Shea, Adam, Antony, Jacqui, Mel, Tony, Susan, Larrie, Margaret, Tracy, and many more who assisted with various tasks over the weekend - and Barry Harridge for directing the major events, and running the computers and website for the weekend. Well done everyone!
To visit the website click HERE
The 2017 Australian Masters and State Team Challenge - happening this weekend in Adelaide
Andrew Fisher
Gwen Lampre
Carol Johnsen
Norma Fisher
The twenty top Australian players who have accepted their invitations to compete in the AM will play nineteen games against their peers in the Australian Masters, with ten games on Saturday and nine on Sunday. Last year's Masters Champion Joanne Craig from New South Wales will be very keen to take the title again this year but will have some extremely tough opposition.
The State Team Challenge runs concurrently, with teams of three selected players from each state vying for the coveted title of champion Australian State team. Western Australia were victorious last year here in Melbourne and will be trying hard to repeat their victory.
Andrew Fisher, the 2009 Masters Champion, is our sole Victorian representative in the Masters, and our Victorian State team comprises Gwen Lampre, Carol Johnsen and Norma Fisher. Good luck, everyone! The Webmaster for the event is Victoria's Barry Harridge, and Barry will provide regular updates over the weekend on the designated webpage - to keep up to date with results and other news click HERE
David Eldar from Victoria Australia is the new World Scrabble Champion!
 Harshan Lamabadusuriya (Sri Lanka) and David Eldar (Australia) at the conclusion of their best-of-five final |  MSA representative Rachael presents the trophy to David |  Champion David |  The top 8: Elie Dangoor, Harshan Lamabadusuriya, Neil Scott, Nigel Richards, Mark Nyman, Goutham Jayaraman, Austin Shin and David Eldar. |  Goutham Jayaraman from Singapore plays Austin Shin from England in a quarter-final |
2009: David with mentor Don Marshall,
Rod Casey & Barry Harridge behind
2010: David plays felllow Oz whiz kid
Anand Bharadwaj, with Bridget Halge,
Andrew Fisher & Helen Maurus-Hynes
In Nottingham, after winning 21 of the 35 games in the overall competition, a 2-0 win over the world's Number One player Nigel Richards in the Quarter Final, defeating Goutham Jayaraman 3-2 in a very tight Semi Final, and defeating Harshan Lamabadusuriya 3-0 in the Final, a very ecstatic and relieved David was declared the 2017 World Champion. Congratulations, David, this is a well deserved win after many years of competing at such a high level!
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