Spring Marathon - 20th October 2001


Report from organiser and winner - John Holgate

Some 58 players gathered in the Henry Lawson Room at Revesby Workers Club to run in the 12-round October Marathon (Scrabble's answer to the City-to-Surf).

We had a goodly sprinkling of interstaters from Queensland and the ACT.

A few stragglers delayed the start for 20 minutes - Basil Sands was hijacked by Sydney's State Rail and had to get a taxi across country. However we quickly made up time under the able direction of Lee McGiffen.

I got off to an unusually good start winning my first 8 games. The tiles fell nicely for me against Bob Jackman Paul Cleary and Esther Perrins although I nearly blundered away my game against her by playing PANNEL* and allowing her NEUTRINO on a blocked board.

My pre-lunch game against Graeme Lock Lee was an even battle with Graeme finding CAJOLERS for 94 to secure a win by 51.

By the last round KoH I found myself one game ahead of Paul and Bob but with a handy 340+ lead on spread - Paul needing to win our game by 171 to snatch the tournament. An early CONFUSER* (101) gave him an outside shot but luckily for me it was disallowed. He followed it with the 69-point anagram* but managed a win by 6 giving me a 'marginal' victory. Bob also finished on 10/12 and overtook Paul for second after a 300+ result in his last game.

Sam Greenberg had a great tournament finishing fourth and gaining a whacking 136 point ratings gain.

Highlights:

9-year old Alastair Richards excellent result of 5.5/12 lifted his rating to 1218 and a gave him a berth at the Sydney Summer Masters in January.

He might have had another scalp had Rod Talbot's crafty OLIVE setup been foiled by a knowledge of the hook.**

There were some interesting bingos dished up including Paul Cleary's 9-timer TROPHIES (around H) for and 158 Esther's ORGANISM (158). Bob Jackman appropriately extended EXTEND to EXTENDABLE and Jean McGiffen added AD to VENTURER.

Other exotic bingos were DWARFEST (Esther) ADDIBLE (Paul) my ORINASAL and INNATELY (who knows the front hook?***) CINDERED (John Barker) and Graeme Lock Lee's almost game saving find of XYSTI (62) against Paul Cleary.

But play of the day must go to Esther Perrins with the Nyman-like nine MODULATES played through a D and a T.

Thanks to Lee McGiffen for directing and all those who helped out on the day. It was a marathon effort.

* FROUNCES ** SOLIVE *** PINNATELY

Results after game 12
SPRING MARATHON 2001 -- OPEN

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  John Holgate        10    1210
  2  Bob Jackman         10    1076
  3  Paul Cleary         10     892
  4  Sam Greenberg        9      84
  5  Joanne Craig         8.5   454
  6  Graeme Lock Lee      8     298
  7  Alison Pollard       8     241
  8  John Barker          8     173
  9  Penny Wells          8      31
 10  Esther Perrins       7.5   764
 11  Jean McGiffen        7.5    89
 12  Raya Wilkinson       7     424
 13  Peter Shaw           7     346
 14  Rod Talbot           7     267
 15  Jan Serisier         7     228
 16  Audrey Newman        7     164
 17  John Spaan           7     106
 18  Pat Schuberg         7     -16
 19  Hanne Marks          7    -124
 20  Victor Tung          7    -134
 21  Karen Richards       7    -203
 22  Ann Fiddler          7    -242
 23  Moana Nepia          6.5    20
 24  Ivor Zetler          6     261
 25  Gary Pollard         6     210
 26  Jean Noonan          6     142
 27  Robyn Flynn          6      82
 28  Tony Hunt            6      69
 29  Hari Nanayakkara     6     -52
 30  Norma Tracey         6    -168
 31  Tim Reddan           6    -176
 32  Edith Lowbeer        6    -259
 33  Kerry Constable      6    -260
 34  Donna Macdonald      6    -399
 35  Jenny Templeton      5.5   289
 36  Alastair Richards    5.5   132
 37  Cheryl Michler       5      92
 38  Betty Coleman        5      75
 39  Peggy Womersley      5      48
 40  Paul Richards        5       3
 41  Margaret Andrews     5     -55
 42  Susan Macgillivray   5    -229
 43  Richard Birch        5    -240
 44  Therese Newman       5    -363
 45  Sunny Wright         5    -392
 46  Silvana Newman       4.5  -458
 47  Claire Dove          4.5  -459
 48  Sue Tuckett          4     -77
 49  Dolores Barbon       4    -110
 50  Alan Gauci           4    -170
 51  George Khamis        4    -223
 52  Judy Hay             4    -278
 53  Ivana Duria          4    -378
 54  Andre Lajoie         4    -396
 55  Chris Phillips       3    -199
 56  Basil Sands          3    -399
 57  Daphne Bezuidenhout  3    -609
 58  Diana Field          2   -1202
HIGH GAME: Paul Cleary       576
HIGH WORD: Esther Perrins    158
            "ORGANISM"

Stats for Tournament : SPRING MARATHON 2001

+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| state     Name           | National  | State   |   Wins    | Rating Points |
|                          | Old  New  | Old New | Exp  Act  | Old Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
+Section: *OPEN                        +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW John Holgate         |    3    2 |   1   1 |  9.2 10.0 | 1890 +13 1903 |
| NSW Paul Cleary          |    4    4 |   2   2 |  9.1 10.0 | 1874 +16 1890 |
| NSW Bob Jackman          |    5    5 |   3   3 |  9.5 10.0 | 1863  +8 1871 |
| NSW Sam Greenberg        |  228  139 |  58  40 |  3.7  9.0 | 1302 +136
1438 |
| NSW Joanne Craig         |   22   23 |   7   7 |  9.3  8.5 | 1707 -15 1692 |
| NSW John Barker          |   31   24 |  11   8 |  6.7  8.0 | 1662 +27 1689 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee      |   56   43 |  15  14 |  6.1  8.0 | 1598 +39 1637 |
| NSW Alison Pollard       |  130   95 |  36  25 |  5.4  8.0 | 1456 +52 1508 |
| NSW Penny Wells          |  136  114 |  38  32 |  6.2  8.0 | 1444 +40 1484 |
| NSW Esther Perrins       |   15   17 |   4   5 |  8.4  7.5 | 1764 -13 1751 |
| NSW Jean McGiffen        |   32   38 |  12  11 |  8.3  7.5 | 1662 -13 1649 |
| NSW Peter Shaw           |   73   79 |  20  20 |  8.0  7.0 | 1558 -19 1539 |
| NSW Rod Talbot           |   16   21 |   5   6 |  9.9  7.0 | 1759 -56 1703 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson       |  172  155 |  46  43 |  5.8  7.0 | 1387 +26 1413 |
| NSW John Spaan :act      |   99   94 |  28  24 |  6.7  7.0 | 1505  +6 1511 |
| QLD Karen Richards       |   98  100 |   8   8 |  7.8  7.0 | 1512 -12 1500 |
| NSW Jan Serisier         |   82   89 |  23  21 |  8.1  7.0 | 1539 -22 1517 |
| NSW Pat Schuberg         |  298  252 |  77  63 |  3.3  7.0 | 1198 +84 1282 |
| NSW Audrey Newman        |  200  163 |  51  45 |  4.3  7.0 | 1345 +53 1398 |
| NSW Ann Fiddler          |  512  421 | 122 102 |  2.8  7.0 |  928 +101
1029 |
| NSW Victor Tung          |  432  366 | 104  91 |  3.3  7.0 | 1014 +84 1098 |
| NSW Hanne Marks          |  185  187 |  48  48 |  7.4  7.0 | 1372  -6 1366 |
| NSW Moana Nepia          |   85  121 |  24  35 |  9.9  6.5 | 1538 -66 1472 |
| NSW Robyn Flynn          |   24   41 |   8  13 |  8.2  6.0 | 1679 -40 1639 |
| NSW Gary Pollard         |  209  199 |  54  52 |  5.1  6.0 | 1330 +18 1348 |
| NSW Jean Noonan          |  195  205 |  49  53 |  6.5  6.0 | 1353 -11 1342 |
| NSW Ivor Zetler          |   71  109 |  18  30 |  9.7  6.0 | 1565 -75 1490 |
| NSW H Nanayakkara        |  264  260 |  68  66 |  5.5  6.0 | 1255 +14 1269 |
| NSW Norma Tracey         |  182  196 |  47  50 |  7.1  6.0 | 1374 -18 1356 |
| NSW Tony Hunt            |  216  239 |  57  60 |  7.6  6.0 | 1320 -32 1288 |
| NSW Kerry Constable :act |   77   97 |  21  26 |  8.3  6.0 | 1547 -45 1502 |
| NSW Donna MacDonald      |  428  409 | 103  99 |  4.8  6.0 | 1019 +26 1045 |
| NSW Edith Lowbeer        |  338  312 |  86  80 |  4.0  6.0 | 1135 +40 1175 |
| NSW Tim Reddan :act      |  350  316 |  88  81 |  3.4  6.0 | 1123 +51 1174 |
| NSW Jenny Templeton      |  287  306 |  75  78 |  7.0  5.5 | 1215 -29 1186 |
| QLD Alastair Richards    |  317  284 |  34  30 |  3.1  5.5 | 1171 +47 1218 |
| NSW Cheryl Michler       |  205  211 |  53  55 |  5.8  5.0 | 1340 -15 1325 |
| QLD Paul Richards        |  123  167 |  10  15 |  8.7  5.0 | 1471 -75 1396 |
| NSW Margaret Andrews     |  260  289 |  66  75 |  7.7  5.0 | 1266 -53 1213 |
| NSW Betty Coleman        |   87  137 |  25  38 |  9.7  5.0 | 1530 -91 1439 |
| NSW Peggy Womersley      |  469  439 | 108 105 |  3.4  5.0 |  969 +32 1001 |
| NSW Richard Birch        |  214  240 |  56  61 |  6.8  5.0 | 1320 -33 1287 |
| NSW Susan MacGillivr:act |  156  192 |  42  49 |  7.7  5.0 | 1411 -51 1360 |
| NSW Sunny Wright         |  498  534 | 118 130 |  6.7  5.0 |  944 -33  911 |
| NSW Therese Newman       |  541  507 | 131 120 |  3.6  5.0 |  904 +28  932 |
| NSW Silvana Newman       |  762  717 | 190 184 |  2.4  4.5 |  708 +42  750 |
| NSW Claire Dove          |  648  656 | 160 164 |  4.8  4.5 |  812  -6  806 |
| NSW Judy Hay             |  203  261 |  52  67 |  7.8  4.0 | 1344 -76 1268 |
| NSW Alan Gauci           |  445  467 | 106 108 |  5.2  4.0 |  997 -24  973 |
| NSW Dolores Barbon       |  616  570 | 154 141 |  1.6  4.0 |  838 +47  885 |
| NSW George Khamis        |  482  485 | 115 116 |  4.1  4.0 |  960  -2  958 |
| NSW Sue Tuckett          |  650  645 | 161 160 |  3.7  4.0 |  808  +7  815 |
| NSW Ivana Duria          |  578  554 | 141 135 |  3.1  4.0 |  877 +18  895 |
| NSW Andree Lajoie        |  747  733 | 187 187 |  3.2  4.0 |  720 +16  736 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout  |  426  492 | 101 117 |  6.5  3.0 | 1020 -70  950 |
| NSW Chris Phillips       |  703  698 | 178 176 |  2.8  3.0 |  761  +4  765 |
| NSW Basil Sands          |  720  705 | 183 179 |  2.2  3.0 |  744 +16  760 |
| NSW Diana Field          | 1012  986 | 271 262 |  1.1  2.0 |  500 +18  518 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+