Youth Happenings

For info please contact Marj Miller on 03 9850 2366, or click here mjwm@connexus.net.au to contact me via email.
And for more news on the Youth Scrabble front click here

Click HERE to read Anand's report on his World Youth Scrabble Championship win!

Victoria's Anand Bharadwaj is the 2011 World Youth Scrabble Champion!

After three days of intense Scrabble Anand has emerged the winner of the sixth World Youth Scrabble Championship, held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Anand won 19 of the 24 games played and finished two games clear of the other 83 competitors, although this does not reflect the closeness of the competition throughout the event - it really was a tight tussle, with Anand's main rival being fellow Aussie Michael McKenna - well played, Michael and Anand. Second placing went to Victor Gwee from Singapore,with Michael from Sydney in third place.
Our other Aussie reps did well - Jayden Kuhne (Victoria 29th), Kitty-Jean Laginha (NSW 32nd), Marvi Delfin (WA 35th) and Maree Farlow (Qld 80th).
The inaugural W.Y.S.C. was held in 2006 at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales and was won by Melburnian David Eldar, and Australians are delighted to have a second Champion in our midst. Here is an extract from Andrew Fisher's blog, and if you'd like to read more of Andrew's thoughts about Scrabble and various topics click HERE

Fantastic to see Anand winning it 19-5, two games ahead of the field. I got a phone call tonight, which turned out to be from Michael Tang: "You trained him well, my friend". Then he put Anand on for a short chat. Apparently at least two games went his way because of things he had picked up from me; one where he stuck his opponent with a W, and slow-played to win it (he said this was from a game I once played against Carmel Dodd, though I don't recall it), and the other when he was in arrears and made a double-edged opening, ultimately bingoing out when his opponent was unable to block. He also fought back from 160 in arrears in another game. Amazing. I told him he might be able to gain a place on our next WSC team - something to shoot for, and perhaps WYSC will have 'been there, done that' status for an eleven-year-old?

Thanks to Karen Richards, WESPA Youth Chair, for the huge amount of organisation undertaken to ensure that the event ran smoothly, and to all who helped in any way, including Barry Harridge who bought us regular updates on the progress of all players.
To see the full results of WYSC 2011 click HERE

At the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Johor Bahru - end of Day 2

Thanks to software guru Barry Harridge for the great pic at right - there is just one day left to play (6 games) and its a very tight struggle indeed!
Our young reps are doing extremely well, and in the first game tomorrow Michael is drawn to play against Anand, with Anand leading 1:0 so far in their head-to-head battle in this event.
The pic shows our six competitors, and here are their placings at the end of Day 2: Kitty-Jean Laginha (left) 16th on 11 wins, Jayden Kuhne 18th on 11 wins, Michael McKenna 2nd on 14, Anand Bharadwaj 1st on 15, Marvi Delfin 20th on 11, and Maree Farlow 81st on 6.
Keep up the good work, everyone, and good luck with the tiles on the final day.

Jayden wins the Open Division at the Causeway!

The new Causeway Champion is Pakorn Nemitrmansuk from Thailand, with Ricky Purnomo from Singapore victorious in Masters. Congratulations to you both.
And after 45 games Jayden Kuhne has finished 6.5 games clear of the other 83 players in the Open Division, a brilliant effort. Jay played the last 11 games of the event without a loss, well done, Jay! Second and third places went to Fadlan Satria and Robbie Swandanu respectively, both from Indonesia, both on 29.5 wins and separated only by margin. Thanks to Barry Harridge for the pics, and more of Barry's shots are available at his website - to see the rest click HERE
As I have little information about Jay's win I've reproduced part of Ugandan Champion Phillip Edwin-Mugisha's report as posted to Ozscrabble. Thanks, Phillip (who is known to many as The Phenomenon), your posts are always a good read!
In the packed 84-player Open Division Nicky Huitson and Arul Inthirajah were just pipped at the death to the Top Ten Prize positions. Ouch. Don't complain, your week was still better than mine. I was very happy to see Martin Waterworth battle for 9th. The massively popular Radhika Mahalingaiah got 8th and Carolyn Watt, who was dressed for the Milan fashion catwalks, 7th. Markus Loke (yeah him) was 4th and some school-going teenager I don't know named Jayden Kuhne grabbed $1000 and the Champion's trophy. Bet he's gonna be popular with the girls in the cafeteria. The Aussies are very excited about his talent. Don't recall him in the prize-giving but from the Scrabble Victoria website photo he looks like a rakish Justin Bieber. And that's what we need in Scrabble, good-looking Champions who can give us 500 million You Tube hits. Especially as some of us are good-looking, really hot, but we aren't Champions.

To see the full results of the 2011 Causeway Challenge click HERE

Our Young Ones off to the World Youth Champs

Michael McKenna New South Wales

Anand Bharadwaj Victoria

Kitty-Jean Laginha New South Wales

Jayden Kuhne Victoria

Marvi Delfin Western Australia

Maree Farlow Queensland

On December 4-6 the World Youth Scrabble Championship will take place in Johor Bahru in Malaysia, and we have six young people travelling there from various states to compete. For Maree Farlow it is a first-time experience but all others have attended previous events, with Michael probably being the most experienced. All will play 24 games over the three day tournament, and enjoy the chance to renew old friendships and form new ones. Barry Harridge is attending to do the webwork and we look forward to his usual professional updates.
We wish our players all the very best of luck and lots of fun, and you'll be able to follow their progress by clicking HERE

The Gippsland Primary Schools Scrabble Championship ~ November 15 2011

Everyone had a lovely day's scrabble at Foster when 34 delightful and well-behaved children from various schools in the area travelled to compete in the annual Gippsland Primary Schools Championship. The schools represented were Bona Vista, Newborough, Tarwin Valley, Toora, Wonthaggi North and Yarragon Primary Schools, and of course Foster Primary. Scrabble Victoria members Carol Johnsen, Norma Fisher, Barry Harridge and Marj Miller helped run the day, and were made very welcome by Foster Principal Fiona Bull, other local teachers and of course the students. (Thanks to Barry for the collage above.) The tournament took place in the General Purpose Room, surrounded by an interesting array of musical instruments, sound equipment and banners displaying the names of each House, namely Darby, Oberon and Waratah. An interesting Picasso Cow stood in pride of place in the foyer of the school, courtesy of a Dairy Board promotion - on arrival the cow was plain white, and the students spent quite some time decorating the cow with various coloured cutouts, and on closer inspection many of these were in the shape of a cow, a fascinating and fun project indeed.
The children were divided into two sections and all played three games of scrabble, and it was good to see the enthusiasm displayed by all participants. The event was not only an opportunity for improving numeracy and literary skills but also a wonderful social experience with new friendships forming quickly across the Scrabble boards. During the luncheon break Carol and Norma played a very competitive game in the outdoor covered play area which generated much interest among both children and adults. We were very impressed with the students' skills at keeping score and their sense of fair play exhibited with good humour and easygoing courtesy. We congratulate all players (and their teachers) for these virtues, and thank Fiona and the Foster Primary School for their hospitality, and look forward to next year when the event may be hosted at Bona Vista, under the guidance of teacher Cara Brasier.

Front: Rhylea (Wonthaggi Nth) v Chloe (Bona Vista). Back: Mitchell (Toora) v Angus (Bona Vista)

Front: Jayde (Foster) v Alex (Tarwin Valley). Back: Demi (Newborough) v Billy (Yarragon)

Front: Melissa (Foster) v Pia (Foster). Back: Grace (Tarwin Valley) v Abbie (Toora)

Front: Yasmin (Foster) v Georgia (Bona Vista). Back: Tyler (Foster) v Austin (Tarwin Valley)

Saffie (Bona Vista) v Heidi, with Elly, both from Wonthaggi North

Hannah (Newborough) v Erin (Bona Vista)

Shaye (Yarragon) v Hayyan (Yarragon)

Evelyn (Yarragon) v Montana (Bona Vista)

Ruby (Tarwin Valley) v Brooke (Foster)

Justin v Kelsey - both Newborough

Elli (Toora) v Sheona (Wonthaggi Nth)

Martin (Bona Vista) v Shelbie (Toora)

The great Dairy Board Cow

A missed opportunity

The Trophies and Perpetual Shield

Some interest in the challenge

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The second Melbourne High/Haileybury College Challenge ~ August 20 2011

The Melbourne High players, with staff member Alexandra Click to enlarge

The Haileybury College Team, with staff member Chris Click to enlarge

Sixteen students attended this tournament at Melbourne High School, with a coaching clinic conducted by our World Championship players Andrew Fisher and Naween Fernando. The level of play of the participants varied considerably, and all picked up some helpful tips as did the teachers and other Association members present, including our World Youth Championship reps Anand Bharadwaj and Jayden Kuhne.
The students were divided into two groups, led by Jay and Anand, and a team game was played using Quackle with comments on the team's suggestions provided by Andrew and Naween. Jayden's team received a very good mix of letters from the random draws allocated by Quackle, and came out the winners 487 - 360. At one stage Andrew was asked by Anand's team what he would do with a particular set of letters, and Andrew's succinct reply, which caused quite a bit of laughter, was "forfeit the game and move on to the next!"

The tutors, Andrew Fisher & Naween Fernando

Paolo Awdry (MHS) v Hannah Vuong (HC)

Eddie Chen (MHS) v Niran Dasika (HC)

Vishal Chopra (MHS) v Chris (HC Staff)

The coaching session was followed by a very enjoyable lunch, organised by one of the students, Eddie Chen. Thanks, Eddie. This was followed by a three-game tournament, with all games keenly contested and thoroughly enjoyed by the players. Jay and Anand each played for one of the school teams, and teachers Alexandra Grimwade and Chris Scholten Smith both played for Haileybury to even up the numbers. However these games were discounted when the final tally of games won by each school was calculated by Carol Johnsen, with Melbourne High finishing ahead of Haileybury, by just one game. The winner of the individual contest between all students was Paolo Awdry, well played, Paolo.

Ozgun Karahan (MHS) v Amy Hu (HC)

Alexandra (MHS Staff) v Jay (Scrabble Victoria)

Herbert Cheung (HC) v Dan Wall (MHS)

Miran Fernando (HC) v Nick Parry-Jones (MHS)

Thank you to all who assisted on the day, your time and commitment was appreciated, and it was a good feeling to give enjoyment to the students, and to promote the game of Scrabble which we all enjoy. Two of the participants have already competed in tournament/s organised by the Association, so for those interested in playing a rated scrabble tournament click on the home button at the top of this page, then click on the link to "Tournaments" to find all the relevant details. Members of Scrabble Victoria will be delighted if you can spare the time to join us.

Max Mattvey (MHS) v Justine Ross (HC)

Ruben Clark (MHS) v Stephanie Moulic (HC)

Anand (Scrabble Victoria) v Sam Jiang (MHS)

The group during the final announcements

Anand Bharadwaj makes the 2011 Vic State team!

The annual State Team Challenge takes place in Adelaide in September, and Anand, who recently celebrated his eleventh birthday, is part of the team representing Victoria. Anand has many interests, including piano, flute, sporting events (in particular cricket and Aussie Rules football) and is very passionate about Masterchef.
The other team members are Norma Fisher and me, and as Anand has the highest rating of the three of us we have appointed him Team Captain. We are all looking forward to this event where teams of three compete against teams from the other six Australian states for the title of Champion Team, and it will be a wonderful feast of very competitive scrabble and a great experience for all.
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The Inaugural Senior Schools' Challenge ~ Haileybury College versus Melbourne High School ~ Saturday April 30 2011

Both these schools have active Scrabble groups, and we brought them together for a small tournament at The Unicorn Pavilion, the home of the MHS Old Boys. Melbourne High were rather disappointed by their reduced number of attendees, but in the games played between the two groups they emerged victorious, downing the students from the Keysborough campus of Haileybury College eight games to four. The overall individual winner was Jordan Pheasant-Kelly who amassed an impressive positive margin of well over 500 in his three Games played against the Haileyburians.
It was a fun event, and we thank the interested teachers from both schools for their assistance - Alexandra Grimwade from MHS, and Chris Scholten from Haileybury. Thank you also to Nicholas Parry-Jones for his enthusiastic help in organising the event, and the excellent thank you speech he delivered at the end of play. Thanks also to Alexandra and Nick for the lovely cakes we enjoyed for afternoon tea, and to Carol Johnsen and Norma Fisher for their expert assistance.
We are hopeful of expanding this experience later in the year, perhaps including other schools to add further interest to the event.

Justine Ross (HC) v Jordan Pheasant-Kelly (MHS)

Jack Stein (HC) plays Nicholas Parry-Jones (MHS)

Sam Jiang (MHS) versus Stephanie Moulic (HC)

Herbert Cheung (HC) versus Miran Fernando (HC)

Friends Hannah Vuong & Amy Hu, both from HC

Truss Hubble & Justine Ross, from Haileybury

Great performances at the National Championship, Easter 2011

In a field of 96 competitors our young players acquitted themselves extremely well, with Michael McKenna (NSW) achieving third placing, Anand Bharadwaj (Vic) finishing 11th, and Kitty-Jean Laginha (NSW) in 55th place. The World Youth Coordinator Karen Richards presented Michael with the award for the Youth player who achieved the highest rating gain over the tournament. With a gain of 148 points Michael was the clear winner of this award, having accounted for players of the calibre of Andrew Fisher, Edward Okulicz and Naween Fernando along the way. Well done, Michael, a brilliant result. In the Plate section our other young player Isaac Kan (NSW) placed 22nd of 56 players, and all enjoyed the event immensely.

Michael McKenna

Anand Bharadwaj

Kitty-Jean Laginha

Isaac Kan

News from the World Youth Scrabble Championship 2010

Eighty-two young players took part in this 24 game event held in Manila from 8-10th December. The standout performance came from Malaysian competitor Ker Jen Ho who finished in first place with 19 wins. Second place went to Preedee Kongthanarat from Thailand on 18.5 wins, and third was William Kang from Malaysia on 18 wins.
An excellent score of 610 won the High Game Award for Shahroz Zamir Ansari from Pakistan, and two players tied for the High Game Award - Jessica Pratesi from the United Kingdom played "VEERINGS" for 158 points, and Pranav Kaarthik from Qatar scored the same for "SELECTED".
Our six reps acquitted themselves well, with Kitty-Jean Laginha in 5th place, Michael McKenna 14th, Jay Kuhne 22nd, Natasha Podesser 24th, Phillip Hamilton 28th and Marvi Delfin 33rd. Well done to all, and thanks again to the Richards family for their continued commitment to Youth Scrabble, it is appreciated as always.
For full results click HERE

Performances at the Causeway Challenge

In the Masters Australia's best performed young player was Michael McKenna in 19th place on 24.5 wins, well done Michael. Second place was filled by Alastair Richards who recently passed the cutoff age and is now a fully-fledged senior player, a great effort, Alastair. Also competing in this section was Kitty-Jean Laginha. In the Open Division youngsters Eden Choo from Singapore and Tim Michaels from the US finished fourth and fifth respectively, followed by our other Oz players - Natasha, Jayden, Phillip and Marvi. Stay tuned for results from the WYSC, starting on Wednesday.

The Princess Cup - Michael pipped on margin alone

After 15 games and a slowish start, Michael McKenna has worked his way up to second place, an outstanding achievement against Thailand's best. A great effort, Michael, and well done to Natasha Podesser who finished 14th on 8 wins, and Kitty-Jean Laginha who won 7 games to finish in 19th place. Good luck for the Causeway and the WYSC!

News about our players competing in the 2010 Princess Cup, the Causeway Challenge & the World Youth Championship - what a great experience!

The Princess Cup is being played in Bangkok on November 28-29 and comprises 15 games against an international field. Natasha, Kitty-Jean and Michael are competing in this event, travelling with World Youth Chairperson Karen Richards. To follow this event click HERE

Following this they will join Marvi, Phillip and Jayden for the Causeway Challenge in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The Causeway is a very challenging 45 game event played over five days from December 1-5, an absolute feast for those who like to play longer tournaments. Results and happenings will be available as they come to hand - click HERE

After this all will travel to Manila in the Philippines to represent Australia in the World Youth Scrabble Championship, a 24-game event played over three days from 8-10th December. Karen and all involved in arranging this exhausting schedule are to be commended, and thank you to those who have contributed financially - your assistance is greatly appreciated. Good luck to everyone, it should be a fun experience for you all! This link will let you keep up to date with the fortunes of our players - click HERE

Natasha Podesser, Vic

Kitty-Jean Laginha, NSW

Marvi Delfin, WA

Michael McKenna, NSW

Phillip Hamilton, NSW

Jayden Kuhne, Vic

The Youth Scrabble Logo

Scrabble Clinic for Helen's students at Kirwan State High School, Queensland

This report was published in the school news letter, well done Naween, Helen and Julie.
On Wednesday, 10th November, twenty students participated in an all-day Scrabble Workshop and minitournament. This included an address by special guest Naween Fernando, who is current Australian National Champion, third-ranked player, and World Scrabble Championship contender. Mr Fernando had participants using their brains from the get-go with spelling and anagramming contests and an interactive demonstration game, won narrowly by the boys’ team. The word game enthusiasts present were exposed to the world of competitive Scrabble by engaging in a scoring tutorial, finding out many of the two and three letter words playable in the game (QI and ZA came in very handy!), and giving their minds a workout by finding bonus words using all the tiles in their racks. Notable plays included FRAPPES by Dustyn van Milt, SHEEPY by Chloe Evans and Jessica Staton, and FANATICS by Zac Hutton-Morel and Brittany Marshall. All students displayed a focus and keenness that did Kirwan High proud, and achieved many personal successes throughout the day, expanding their literacy and numeracy skills all the while. Scrabble Club meets at second lunch on Tuesdays in MU02. For further information, please contact Helen Maurus on 4773 8159 or hmaur3@eq.edu.au . Special thanks to Julie Brice from Brice Engineers, who generously donated prizes and provided lunch, and assisted during the afternoon session.

Great Results at the 2010 New South Wales Championship!

Thanks to Karen Richards for the following report on the excellent results for the youth players who competed in this 24-game event. Click on the pic to enlarge.
This was the 18 and under contingent at NSW Champs - Zavier Carr (left), who had the highest rating gain for a young player at the NSW Championship (105). Also shown - Alastair Richards, Michael McKenna, Ben Munson, and Phillip Hamilton. Phillip won "Highest Game" award for the NSW Championship, 597. Alastair finished 7th this year (he won it two years ago, aged 16). Ben is holding the Joan Rosenthal Shield, which he won this year, for the NSW player with highest rating gain over a year (529). This award was won last year by Phillip (rating gain in 2009 of 280) and the previous year by Michael (rating gain in 2008 of 764).
The adults are not getting much of a look-in when it comes to rapid improvement! Karen

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The 2010 Gippsland Primary Schools Championship & Plate ~ August 5

This event took place on a very wet winter's day at the Yarragon Football Club rooms and was hosted by Robyn Jones and Jan Jansen from Yarragon Primary School - thank you to you both for a warm welcome and some lovely snacks. Thanks also to Norma Fisher and Katie Rowe from Scrabble Victoria who assisted in the running of the tournament.
Twenty-eight children from seven local schools participated, and all appeared to enjoy the four hard-fought games played as well as meeting their peers from the surrounding area. The new Champion for 2010 is Belinda Bursa from Yarragon Primary School, who narrowly defeated second-placed Georgia Brick from Boolarra. Martin Bridson from Bona Vista placed third, while the High Game award went to Justin Morrow from Newborough for a score of 209. Geogia found "ELDRITCH" for 80 points to win the High Word award, an excellent play. This unusual word was familiar to Georgia from a book she had read and illustrates the important part that reading plays in education.
In the Plate Jack Morgan from Yarragon placed first, winning all four games. Second place went to Kelsey Paige from Newborough, with Abbie Tapsel from Foster placing third. Connor Murphy from South Street Moe won the High Game award for a score of 233, while Maddie Dixon from Korumburra played "DAZE" for 42 points to win the High Word award. Next year this event will be hosted by teacher Tristan O'Kane and the children from Boolarra Primary School, and the students who will still be eligible to compete are already looking forward to taking part.

Jessie, Newborough PS v Abbie, Foster PS

Mitch, Boolarra PS v Brooke, Yarragon PS

Ebony, Bona Vista PS v Tyler, Yarragon PS

Jack, Yarragon PS v Maddie, Korumburra PS

Ella, Boolarra PS v Connor, South Street Moe PS

Erin, Bona Vista PS v Susan, Foster PS

James, South Street Moe PS v Kelsey, Newborough PS

Alex, Foster PS v Justin, Newborough PS

Belinda, Yarragon PS v Georgia, Bona Vista PS

Nikkea, Boolarra PS v Bryley, Korumburra PS

Cambell, South Street Moe v Philip, Newborough PS

Georgia, Boolarra PS v Sam, South Street Moe PS

Karli, Foster PS v Hayden, Korumburra PS

Jeanette, Yarragon PS v Martin, Bona Vista PS

Two of the teachers receiving some tips from Norma Fisher

Georgia's High Word - 80 pts - "ELDRITCH" Click to enlarge

Coaching at Haileybury College - a fun experience!

Olga Visser, the President of the Queensland Scrabble Association and interested in promoting scrabble amongst Australia's younger players conducted this session on May 22nd, and a good mix of youngsters and adults attended. We were taken through the importance of knowing the two and three letter words, hooks, words with heavy endings, the wonderful array of words which can be made from the letters of RETAINS plus another letter, and much more.
The large display board was utilised when Olga played a game of duplicate scrabble against the whole class, losing dismally to the combined knowledge of fifteen keen and vociferous opponents.
Following a break for refreshments all students joined forces and played two versus two in some hard-fought games, and all agreed that the session was well worth while. Many thanks to Olga for your time and patience, and to Scrabble Victoria member Chris Scholten for arranging the use of the library at Haileybury, where he teaches Latin amongst other interesting things. Click on the pictures below to see the enlargements.

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Young Aussie Players at the Australian Scrabble Championship, April 3-5th 2010

Eight of our Under 18 players took part in either the Championship or the Plate, with some excellent results, enjoying the keen competition over the 24 games played. Alastair had a good chance of winning the Championship, but losses in some of his later games meant he finished in fourth spot, a creditable effort indeed. Natasha received a smaller type of scrabble clock than is usually used for the highest rating gain of those rated Under 18, well done Natasha.

Here are the results and rating changes in the Championship:-

Alastair Richards: 4th Place, wins 17, margin +1100, rating change +74, new rating 1885
Michael McKenna: 24th Place, wins 13.5, margin +522, rating change +0, new rating 1635
Natasha Podesser: 33rd Place, wins 13, margin +71, rating change +80, new rating 1529
Anand Bharadwaj: 42nd Place, wins 12, margin +459, rating change +8, new rating 1495
Phillip Hamilton: 47th Place, wins 12, margin +8, rating change +30, new rating 1402
Cameron Farlow: 64th Place, wins 11, margin -314, rating change -28, new rating 1335
Jayden Kuhne: 71st Place, wins 10, margin +102, rating change -8, new rating 1390

And in the Plate:
Isaac Kan: 42nd Place, wins 11, margin -585, rating change +43, new rating 809

Well done to all, these are great results for everyone and you can all be proud of your performances in this highly competitive event.

WHAT DO YOUNG SCRABBLE PLAYERS DO ON THEIR HOLIDAYS?

News and an invitation to young players from the World Youth Scrabble Chairperson, Karen Richards.
Youth Coaching Clinic April 2010, in Adelaide
To read more about it in the flier click here

The group arriving for the Coaching Clinic

Robin Robina, president NASCAP, with Alastair

Alastair and Karen with their opponents

Alastair Richards (17) travelled to the Philippines and India to run Scrabble workshops for young players, with the help of me, his mother. On the second day Alastair played 11 games simultaneously against the best young players, losing only one of them (to Traci Malitao, older sister of Matthew, who competed in WYSC 08 and 09) while I took on another 8 players, nearly losing to Jobert in the process. After the Philippines coaching clinic the host country organised an impromptu tournament - 8 games, with 12 adults and children competing - and called it the "Philippines-Australia Friendship Games". Alastair won this event, losing only to Matthew Malitao (13) who finished 12th in WYSC09 (Alastair finished 2nd in WYSC09).
I will be running a similar coaching clinic for young players in Adelaide at Easter, straight after the Australian Scrabble Championships. Beginners are especially welcome, so please click here to get the PDF flier or contact me via email for further details - karendrichards@gmail.com

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News from the Fourth Melbourne Marathon, January 9/10 2010

Of the twenty-eight players who took part eight were aged 20 years or less, including the winner, and all showed great stamina and good humour to last through the 24 games played.
Apart from Michael McKenna all gained ratings points, and it needs noting that Michael played three former Australian Champions, firstly Nick Ivanovski, 1990 National Champ at the age of 18 years and three months (Michael was victorious in this particular game). Apart from Nick's win in 1990 I am unsure of his achievements in the early days although his fame is legendary, and most players remember his speed at the game, earning him the nickname "Quick Nick". Secondly, Naween Fernando, the Oz Champ in 2005 & 2008 learned his skills in his very early years in Bahrain, winning both the Bahrain (firstly at the age of eleven) and the Gulf Championships several times,and the Australian Masters in 2007. The third Australian Champion competing was David Eldar who won the event in 2007 at the age of 17, the Causeway Challenge in the same year, the inaugural WYSC Championship in 2006 and the Australian Masters in 2008.

Below are the finishing positions and rating changes of the under 21's, well done everyone, I'm sure you enjoyed the challenge!
David Eldar - 1st/21 wins/+15
Michael McKenna - 4th/14 wins/-4
Jayden Kuhne - 10th/13 wins/+84
Jason Stockdale - 12th/12 wins/+28
Phillip Hamilton - 13th/12 wins/+78
Natasha Podesser - 14th/12 wins/+24
John Hamilton - 17th/11.5 wins/+51
Robert Blunt - 25th/9 wins/+129

Michael McKenna v Natasha Podesser

Jason Stockdale plays Geoff Wright

Nick Ivanovski v Phillip Hamilton

John Rider v John Hamilton

Jayden Kuhne v Josef Peeters

Robert Blunt relaxes during a break

Great results at the Victorian Decathon 29-12-2009

Five of Australia's teenage players took part, including the second placegetter at the recent World Youth Championship Alastair Richards, with some excellent and exciting results - below are their stats for the event:

Alastair Richards: Masters 1st of 20, rating gain 94 points, now rated 1899.
Natasha Podesser: Masters 7th of 20, rating gain 42 points, now rated 1440.
Won High Word Award for "TRENISES", value 122.
Jason Stockdale: Masters 13th of 20, rating gain 17 points, now rated 1414.
Won High Game Award with a score of 545.
Jayden Kuhne: Advanced 3rd of 18, rating gain 113 points, now rated 1314.
Robert Blunt: Recreation 9th of 12, rating now 791.

Congratulations to you all. Apart from Jason and Alastair the above players are eligible to compete in the 2010 WYSC, and will be joined in the Philippines in December by other young competitors from various Australian states.
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World Youth Championship December 8-10 2009 in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

Congratulations to Ong Suanne from Malaysia on her victory in this event, one game clear of Alastair Richards with Michael McKenna placing third. Our other competitors acquitted themeselves very well in the strong field of 81 players, with Cameron Farlow in 13th place, Phillip Hamilton 23rd, Anand Bharadwaj 28th, Natasha Podesser 30th and Robert Blunt 54th.
Alastair's reward for second place was a very large cheque for 2,500 Malaysian Ringgits, which equates to about AUD$860, well done, Alastair. And as well as placing third Michael received an award for the highest placed player Under 16 years of age, while Anand received the award for the highest placed player Under 10 years of age. The team's performance overall has been truly outstanding, my congratulations to all.

The Princess Cup, Thailand, November 29-30 2009

For players aged 17 years and under. This event comprised 15 games, and our youth players acquitted themselves very well, and also gained some valuable experience playing against young players from other countries.
Here are the standings:
6th Alastair Richards (17 years) W9 L6 +656,
13th Cameron Farlow (17 years) W8 L7 +46,
14th Phillip Hamilton (16 years ) W8 L7 -316,
18th Michael McKenna (14 years? ) W7 L8 +55,
20th Robert Blunt (14 years) W6 L9 +41.
To find more info go to the website - click HERE, then click on "Live Coverage"

Anand ~ 2009 Victorian Spellmasters Junior Champion

Anand Bharadwaj, one of our representatives who will shortly travel to the World Youth Scrabble Championship in Malaysia has competed regularly in the annual Spellmaster Championship. Instead of competing in the Geelong Scrabble tournament on November 8th Anand spent the day facing up to some stiff opposition from the other 20 qualifiers, and after a total of nine rounds he was crowned Champion for 2009. Here are the words he was asked to spell - ECHOES, BEGINNING, VAULT, LLAMA, BINOCULARS, MUESLI, FURTIVE, AGHAST and the winning word was STAGNANT. Well done Anand, from my experience of playing Scrabble with you and watching your progress since first playing competitively in December 2007 these words would not have presented you with a problem!
Anand is pictured at right with Australia's top rated player Andrew Fisher, who will soon travel to Malaysia to compete in the World Championship and the Causeway Challenge. Andrew has encouraged Anand during his Scrabble career with tips on study methods, rack management, strategy etc. The two share some common interests - music, a love of words and particularly the game of Scrabble, and both are mathematical wizards.
Thanks also go to Karen Richards who has been of great assistance to Anand, and to all of Anand's opponents who for the most part have given Anand great encouragement. We wish both Andrew and Anand the best of luck in their respective events in Johor Bahru.

Youth Coaching Clinic April 2010

Karen Richards is holding another of her successful youth coaching clinics for Scrabble in Adelaide in April 2009.
Read more about it in the flyer (click to get PDF document).

Australia's 2009 World Youth Championship Team

Australia has 7 places and the following players are preparing to attend:

Alastair Richards

Michael McKenna

Natasha Podesser

Phillip Hamilton

Cameron Farlow

Anand Bharadwaj

Robert Blunt

Kitty-Jean Laginha

Kitty-Jean is unable to attend this year's event, and although Robert didn't quite reach the qualifying standard (having played his first tournament in April this year) he will attend as an extra, and is paying an extra fee to compete.
All players are grateful to Karen Richards for her foresight in instigating this annual event, and special thanks to Barry Harridge for updating the standings regularly over the Qualification Period. More news will follow as the event draws closer, and we wish our Youth Reps good luck in Malaysia, and hope that all enjoy the experience.

Some stats for our Youth Reps

PLAYER'S NAME	TOTAL GAMES PLAYED	HIGHEST GAME SCORE	RATING AS AT JANUARY 1ST	RATING AS AT OCTOBER 18
Alastair Richards	2595	613	1939	1872
Natasha Podesser	752	556	1435	1405
Michael McKenna	562	590	1491	1559
Phillip Hamilton	333	533	1222	1360
Anand Bharadwaj	213	555	1083	1342
Cameron Farlow	132	528	1299	1283
Robert Blunt	75	453	648	817

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The 2009 Gippsland Primary Schools Championship

This happy event took place on September 4th at Korumburra, with the event very capably organised by local teacher Candice Huntley. Players from various schools in the Gippsland area - Toora, Newborough, South Street Moe, Morwell Park, Tarwin Valley, Yarragon and Korumburra - competed in two sections, the Championship and the Plate.
This year's Champion is Daniel Board (Yarragon) who won all five games, with Devin Pollock (Yarragon) second and Cameron Cilia (Newborough) in third place. Daniel also received the award for High Game, and Andrew Richardson (Tarwin Valley) played "ZAG" to win the High Word Award. In the Plate section the winner was Alex Witty (Yarragon) who also won all five games, followed by Nic Jenkins (Toora) and Jeanette McKee (Yarragon). Alex won the award for High Game, and Nic won the High Word award with "HYDRA". Congratulations to all who received trophies, and to all contestants for the spirit in which the tournament was played.
Norma, Barry and I assisted in the running of the event, and enjoyed our day with twenty-eight very well behaved and charming children. We also enjoyed meeting the various teachers who provided transport for the children, and we look forward to next year's event, planned to take place at Yarragon in September under the guidance of local teachers Jan Jansen and Robyn Jones. Here are all the contestants, and thank you to Barry for the pics.

Bryley vs Nic	Caroline vs Taylah	Connor vs Cameron	Daniel vs David	Devin vs Andrew
Haden vs Sharni	Isis vs James	Jackson vs Eloise	Jeanette vs Maddie	Jesse H. vs Cambell
Justin vs Alex	Nick vs Jesse C.	Nicole vs Paige	Steph vs Adonica

Raising funds for our WYSC representatives

A special tournament was held on July 5 2009 to assist with travel expenses when our Youth Reps travel to Johor Bahru in Malaysia for the World Championship in early December. The combined families of Natasha Podesser, Anand Bharadwaj and Robert Blunt (who couldn't be with us, due to attending Karen Richard's Advanced Coaching in NSW) all pitched in and helped the Committee with the organisation of the event, supplying lovely food throughout the day, and helping in many ways, as did our young players. The highlight of the day for Natasha was a win against Geoff Wright, and Anand was excited by the play of his opponent Shaun Donnelly who recorded High Game in their section with a lovely tally of 558 - surpassing his previous best game by 29 points.
Thank you to all who attended the tournament, your support is appreciated and we hope you enjoyed the event. A second fundraising tournament is planned for Sunday October 11th at the Mitcham Senior Citizens' Centre, and we hope that it will also be an enjoyable success.

Anand with dad Kannan, manning the registration desk

Natasha, looking great, and pleased to have won against Geoff W.

Robert at the Vic Champs with Karen, receiving "High Junior Rating Gain Award"

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At the Vic Champs, June 2009

Just two young players took part in the 24-game Championship, with Alastair Richards (NSW) finishing a creditable 6th in a tough field and taking home the High Game award when he scored 604 points against Norma Fisher. Anand Bharadwaj competed in his second Vic Champs, this year winning 10 games and placing 39th. Unfortunately the NSW Schools Swine Flu restrictions resulted in the withdrawal of Phillip Hamilton, we hope you can make it next year, Phillip.
In Division A of the two-section Queen's Birthday event on Monday Natasha Podesser placed 8th and scored 503 to win the High Game Award, while Jayden Kuhne placed 11th in just his second tournament.
Karen Richards presented a rotating board to the junior player who gained the most rating points over the weekend, and this clearly went to Robert Blunt, whose 11th place in Division B gained him 69 ratings points for the tournament. Well done to Robert and everyone who participated. Here are some pics taken at the event.

Rene Chelton vs Alastair Richards

John Barker vs Anand Bharadwaj

Natasha Podesser vs Janet Bau

Lynette and Robert Blunt

Queen's Birthday Players

Ex World Youth Champ David Eldar

Most Improved Player 2008-9

Every year in Victoria an award is presented to the player, either junior or senior, who has achieved the Highest Rating Gain from May 31st one year to May 31st the following year. Only players who have been in the Australian rating system for the full 12 month period can win this award, and last year Natasha Podesser easily gained this distinction. This year our worthy winner is Anand Bharadwaj, whose rating has climbed from 884 to 1190, an increase of 306 points. Anand narrowly pipped the second placegetter for this award, our #1 player and National Champion Andrew Fisher whose rating rose by 302 points over the same period. Congratulations, Anand (and Andrew!!), this is an excellent achievement.

Leongatha Coaching Clinic - Wrap-up

It was great to see so much interest and enthusiasm for Scrabble amongst the youngsters who attended the clinic at the Leongatha Caravan Park, and we were fortunate that fine weather allowed some fresh air breaks between sessions.
Scrabble Victoria thanks Karen Richards, John Hamilton and Michael McKenna for their tuition, and in Karen's case for a huge amount of organisation, and donations of her personal time and money. It is great to see the younger Scrabble players stepping in to the role of coaching, and we do appreciate the assistance of John and Michael. Also thank you to Ubisoft, who donated various educational Nintendo games, which proved to be the most popular choice when awards for various achievements were presented.
Norma Fisher, Katie Rowe and myself helped where possible, and all were treated to lovely lunches and dinners planned and cooked by Connie To, mother of Isaac and Aaron Kan from NSW, and Lyn Ridsdale, grandmother of Will Jackson from WA. Thank you to you both, we all appreciated your efforts. Robert Blunt, winner of the 2007 Gippsland Schools Championship attended, as did new Victorian player Jayden Kuhne and mum Tania, and we are confident of seeing these new members at our tournaments soon.

Cameron, Jayden and Tania

Robert and John

Aaron and Nathan

Cameron with Karen

Nathan, Karen, Ruth, Isaac

Will, Isaac and Robert

Ruth and Isaac

Jayden, Aaaron, Nathan

Happy Faces at the end

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Leongatha Coaching Clinic April 09

During the 2009 Easter school holidays from 16th - 18th April, Karen Richards, who is the Chairperson of the World Youth Scrabble Organisation, will be running a coaching clinic in the recreation room of the Leongatha Apex Caravan Park in Turner Street, assisted by players from Scrabble Victoria and some experienced younger players.

This opportunity is offered to young people aged 10-15 years in the Gippsland area and is guaranteed to inspire the participants to greater things in the Scrabble world. Registrations will be taken in the order in which I receive them, and anyone who misses out will be placed on a reserve list and contacted if a vacancy becomes available.
Parents and teachers may attend, and this would be of benefit when assisting the children with their scrabble, both at school and at home.

Leongatha Caravan Park

Leongatha Primary School

The Township

The Town Hall

Accommodation if required: Students attending can either travel daily to the clinic, or stay at the Leongatha Caravan Park (pictured above left, phone 5662 2753) if space is available - approximate cost of shared cabin accommodation - $20/$30 per night. Please make your own arrangements with Kay and Bim Puru at the caravan park, and ensure that you have a responsible adult staying in your cabin.
The adjacent Leongatha Motel is another option, phone 5662 2375, but again you would need to be accompanied by a responsible adult.

Food: Lunch - all participants may bring their own lunch and snacks, or bring $30 - $50 to cover the cost of purchasing lunch and refreshments.
Breakfast & Dinner: Live in students will be charged $10 per day to cover this cost.

Tournament: On Sunday April 19th, following the coaching clinic, there will be a rated Scrabble tournament at the Leongatha Primary School on Horn Road for players of all ages, whether or not they have been involved in the clinic.

All students who participate in both the coaching clinic and the tournament will receive a gift of a Scrabble T-shirt, and there will be many prizes awarded for various achievements at the clinic.

Parents or teachers who wish to be involved and arrange for children to attend should contact me, please - Marj Miller, phone 03 9850 2366, or email mjwm@connexus.net.au for further details.

Gippsland Primary Schools

In 2007, teacher Sue McLaren (Newborough PS) encouraged primary schools in the Gippsland area to conduct Scrabble competitions within their schools throughout the year. The season started in Education Week in May, and culminated in an interschool playoff in Literacy and Numeracy Week in early September. The winner of the 2007 Gippsland Primary Schools Championship was Robert Blunt from Moe, pictured at right. Scrabble Victoria helped at these events in 2007, and did so again in 2008 when Lynette Blunt (South Street, Moe) did the organising, with the help and support of teachers and parents. The program will continue in 2009 under the guidance of Candice Huntly from Korumburra PS.

In 2008, Karen Richards from New South Wales attended the final playoff. The picture at left shows the prizewinners at the 2008 Gippsland Schools Scrabble Championship. Division A: Natasha Cininas (San Remo, 1st & High Word), Anscar Densley (San Remo, 2nd), Cassie Pollock (Yarragon, 3rd & High Game).
Division B: Devin Pollock (Yarragon, 1st), Rachael Fairfoot (San Remo, 2nd & High Game), Rebecca Sanders (Warragul North, 3rd), Ebony Remyn (Warragul North, High Word). Karen has been instrumental in encouraging young Scrabblers by conducting regular coaching clinics, generally in NSW. She invited some of the Gippsland players to a clinic in Wyong, and Natasha Cininas, the 2008 Gippsland Schools Champion, with runner-up Anscar Densley attended the clinic, and played in subsequent tournaments. We hope to see them at Victorian tournaments in the future, and hope that they convey their enthusiasm for Scrabble to their friends as well.

World Youth Scrabble Championship

The first World Youth Scrabble Championship was held in Wollongong in 2006, and was won by Australia's own David Eldar. In 2007, it was held in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. In December 2008 it will be held in Penang, Malaysia. See http://www.youthscrabble.org for more details. The picture below shows nine of the ten junior players who competed in the 2008 Australian National Championship and Plate, held over Easter at the Prahran Town Hall in Melbourne.

Our young players

The future of Scrabble relies on the youth of today. It has been very satisfying to see the enthusiasm and ability of our young players over recent years. David Eldar started as a thirteen year old, and has now won several major titles. He achieved the rank of Australia's highest rated player by the age of 17, and is the current Australian Masters Champion. Other notable achievements at the 2008 Nats came from Alastair Richards from NSW who finished 4th in the top division in a tough field of 108 players, with Matthew Selvanera from SA crowned the winner of the Plate. A great effort from all who participated.
Jason Stockdale, Natasha Podesser and Anand Bharadwaj have all improved markedly in their Scrabble ability. Each year we recognise the player who has achieved the highest rating gain for the previous 12 months, and Natasha P. was presented with this award for 2007/08, having increased her rating by 323 points over the year. A great achievement, Natasha.

David E. WYSC Champion 2006

Jason S. WYSC Rep 2006/07

Natasha P. WYSC Rep 2006/07/08

Anand B. Rising Star 2008

Natasha C. Gippsland Schools Champion 2008

Anscar D. R/U Gippsland Championship 08

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