Wollongong Tournament - 17th February 2001


Report from Graeme Lock Lee, WORDS Club President

Yet again fair weather greeted the eager throng of Scrabblers from Canberra, Sydney, Newcastle, and of course, Wollongong. Eighty-eight enthusiasts endured eight forty-four minute games over eight hours at the gastronomically-improved Collegians RL Football Club.

The A division promised to provide particular interest. Contenders for a World Championship place would be directly opposed in the race for an honoured spot on the Australian team, with only the Balmain and Wyong tournaments to follow before the qualification deadline. For this contest, home ground advantage proved to be a factor with locals Rod Talbot and John Holgate taking out first and second from in-form Joan Rosenthal, thereby moving to 5th and 6th places nationally. Rod claims to have been extremely lucky to overcome young Canberra mother Susan McGillivray in his first game before eventually suffering his only loss to mature Campbelltown father John Holgate who played four bingos plus QI for 60+ points in his last six moves. Good mate Derek McKenzie (who doesn’t fit either of the above categories) did Rod a favour by beating John in the final round. Unfortunately, the overworked Wilma Vialle valiantly tried to play despite illness but had to retire after four games.

B division was yet again won by flame-haired Pat Schuberg from Joan Buchanan (both claiming Wollongong as a happy hunting ground), with Dr Gordon Meggs being the only male to fend off a horde of chasing women.

Probably the happiest winner was TV quiz show contestant and trivia expert Sue Tuckett, who was promoted to C division after a no-show. Although losing to young upstart Stacey Lock Lee in the last round, she had accumulated enough of a margin to claim first place from Stacey and Beverly Purkiss, all on 6 wins, grabbing the tournament’s highest rating gain of 84 points in the process. Stacey was probably the next happiest player, walking away with prizes for 2nd place, highest game, the raffle and for just being the youngest player. Perhaps if she had for once listened to her dad’s advice about studying word lists and playing practice games, she wouldn’t have done so well – just like her dad!

Rex Shakespeare was the only undefeated player in the tournament after eight games to take out D division comfortably from Chris Phillips and Beryl Pearson. Two novices, Shirley Taylor and Trish Shepherd were welcomed to the world of tournament Scrabble. Both vow to return next time after solid practice with clocks (which they think are necessary for fairness).

After jousting with words all day, fourteen participants chose to unwind by staying behind for an evening of sumptuous food and wine. Inevitably, spelling mistakes were found in the menu and the anagram puzzles set by the revellers became impossible as the evening wore on and the wine flowed.

Results after game  8
WORDS FEB FROL 0201 -- A SECTION

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Rod Talbot           7     372
  2  John Holgate         6     480
  3  Joan Rosenthal       6     197
  4  Paul Cleary          5     601
  5  Derek McKenzie       5     355
  6  Jean McGiffen        5     299
  7  John Barker          5     265
  8  Kerry Constable      5     164
  9  Joanne Craig         5     121
 10  Ian Close            5     -92
 11  Richard Farrington   4     268
 12  Bob Jackman          4     210
 13  Jeff Chelton         4     159
 14  Gloria Gallagher     4      14
 15  Sue Gergeliffi       4     -15
 16  Keith Bioletti       4     -39
 17  Jan Serisier         4    -217
 18  John Spaan           4    -223
 19  Hanne Marks          4    -540
 20  Audrey Newman        3     -11
 21  Ros Gibbons          3     -93
 22  Norma Tracey         3    -247
 23  Susan MacGillivray   3    -253
 24  Jean Noonan          3    -475
 25  Graeme Lock Lee      2    -275
 26  Betty Coleman        2    -288
 27  Betty Foreman        2    -377
 28  Wilma Vialle         1    -360
HIGH GAME: Rod Talbot        595
HIGH WORD: Rod Talbot        113
            "LANCIERS"

 Results after game  8
WORDS FEB FROL 0201 -- B SECTION

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Pat Schuberg         7     445
  2  Joan Buchanan        6     355
  3  Gordon Meggs         6     340
  4  Daphne Bezuidenhout  6     230
  5  Angie Farrington     5     225
  6  Ann Fiddler          5     207
  7  Natalie Tadday       5      41
  8  Val Ryan             5    -124
  9  Michael Adler        4     204
 10  Esther Rolfe         4     177
 11  Richard Birch        4      17
 12  Nonie English        4     -30
 13  Sunny Wright         4     -44
 14  Margaret Berliner    4     -55
 15  Tony Hunt            4     -57
 16  Jean Balmer          3      37
 17  June Stephenson      3     -66
 18  Jenny Templeton      3    -148
 19  Judy McGuinness      3    -228
 20  Raya Wilkinson       3    -233
 21  Liz Jackman          3    -379
 22  Fay Van Oyen         2    -144
 23  Mary Craven          2    -440
 24  Margaret Andrews     1    -330
HIGH GAME: Joan Buchanan     489
HIGH WORD: Angie Farrington      101
            "VERACITY"

 Results after game  8
WORDS FEB FROL 0201 -- C SECTION

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Sue Tuckett          6     376
  2  Stacey Lock Lee      6     206
  3  Beverly Purkis       6      49
  4  Therese Newman       5     366
  5  Peggy Womersley      5     197
  6  Leonie McConnell     5     188
  7  Edith Lowbeer        5     126
  8  Mireille Minet       4     143
  9  Merle Young          4       7
 10  David Ragen          4       0
 11  Margaret Ackman      4     -26
 12  Heather Sorenson     4     -40
 13  Betty Irwin          4     -50
 14  Judy Hall            4    -100
 15  Claire Dove          4    -125
 16  Maureen Wilkins      3    -228
 17  Andree Lajoie        3    -326
 18  Roslynn Parnell      2    -194
 19  Vi Phillips          2    -197
 20  Louise Ready         0    -372
HIGH GAME: Stacey Lock Lee   443
HIGH WORD: Judy Hall              96
            "FESTERS"

 Results after game  8
WORDS FEB FROL 0201 -- D SECTION

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Rex Shakespeare      8     391
  2  Chris Phillips       6     417
  3  Beryl Pearson        5     276
  4  Joy Bresser          5     242
  5  Joy Morris           5     148
  6  Merriss Adler        5     -95
  7  Shirley Taylor       4     -21
  8  Brian Irwin          4     -22
  9  Yvonne Edwards       4     -52
 10  Elwyn Smith          4     -60
 11  John Smith           4    -107
 12  Nicola Turner        3      96
 13  Trish Shepherd       3     -73
 14  Diana Field          2    -462
 15  Beryl Christiansen   1    -206
 16  Maria Kaye           1    -472
HIGH GAME: Chris Phillips    445
HIGH WORD: Nicole Turner         102
            "FLOODING"

Stats for Tournament : WORDS FEB FROL 0201

+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| state     Name           | National  | State   |   Wins    | Rating Points |
|                          | Old  New  | Old New | Exp  Act  | Old Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
+Section: *A SECTION                   +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Rod Talbot           |    8    5 |   5   2 |  5.8  7.0 | 1809 +19 1828 |
| NSW John Holgate         |    6    6 |   3   3 |  5.6  6.0 | 1813  +7 1820 |
| NSW Joan Rosenthal       |   15   14 |   7   6 |  6.0  6.0 | 1773     1773 |
| NSW Paul Cleary          |    2    2 |   1   1 |  6.6  5.0 | 1914 -25 1889 |
| NSW John Barker          |   72   55 |  20  16 |  3.1  5.0 | 1564 +38 1602 |
| NSW Derek McKenzie       |   40   38 |  12  13 |  4.3  5.0 | 1633 +14 1647 |
| NSW Joanne Craig         |   41   35 |  13  11 |  4.0  5.0 | 1632 +21 1653 |
| NSW Jean McGiffen        |   49   49 |  15  15 |  5.0  5.0 | 1617  +1 1618 |
| NSW Kerry Constable :act |   93   84 |  24  20 |  4.2  5.0 | 1521 +15 1536 |
| NSW Ian Close            |  122   99 |  35  29 |  2.9  5.0 | 1458 +44 1502 |
| NSW Bob Jackman          |    5   15 |   2   7 |  6.8  4.0 | 1814 -45 1769 |
| NSW Richard Farrington   |  121  115 |  34  33 |  2.8  4.0 | 1459 +25 1484 |
| NSW Gloria Gallagher     |  146  133 |  43  42 |  2.6  4.0 | 1424 +28 1452 |
| NSW Jeff Chelton         |  132  129 |  40  39 |  3.7  4.0 | 1448  +6 1454 |
| NSW John Spaan :act      |   87   86 |  23  22 |  4.0  4.0 | 1530     1530 |
| NSW Jan Serisier         |   95   93 |  26  24 |  3.9  4.0 | 1517  +3 1520 |
| NSW Sue Gergelifi        |   98   88 |  28  23 |  3.2  4.0 | 1510 +16 1526 |
| NSW Keith Bioletti       |  136  131 |  42  40 |  3.4  4.0 | 1442 +12 1454 |
| NSW Hanne Marks          |  158  132 |  47  41 |  2.1  4.0 | 1415 +38 1453 |
| NSW Norma Tracey         |   94  103 |  25  30 |  4.0  3.0 | 1520 -20 1500 |
| NSW Audrey Newman        |  169  156 |  49  46 |  2.3  3.0 | 1401 +15 1416 |
| NSW Jean Noonan          |  135  138 |  41  44 |  3.0  3.0 | 1442  +1 1443 |
| NSW Susan MacGillivr:act |  118  122 |  33  35 |  3.2  3.0 | 1463  -4 1459 |
| NSW Ros Gibbons          |  156  161 |  46  47 |  3.3  3.0 | 1416  -6 1410 |
| NSW Betty Coleman        |  154  183 |  45  51 |  3.3  2.0 | 1417 -26 1391 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee      |   62   94 |  18  25 |  4.9  2.0 | 1576 -58 1518 |
| NSW Betty Foreman        |  200  211 |  54  56 |  2.8  2.0 | 1362 -15 1347 |
| NSW Wilma Vialle         |   57   97 |  17  27 |  5.2  1.0 | 1588 -84 1504 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *B SECTION                   +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Pat Schuberg         |  283  245 |  77  63 |  4.4  7.0 | 1219 +61 1280 |
| NSW Joan Buchanan        |  277  254 |  76  65 |  4.6  6.0 | 1232 +30 1262 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout  |  320  281 |  84  77 |  3.2  6.0 | 1159 +68 1227 |
| NSW Gordon Meggs         |  248  237 |  66  61 |  5.2  6.0 | 1280 +18 1298 |
| NSW Angie Farrington     |  288  275 |  79  74 |  3.9  5.0 | 1212 +22 1234 |
| NSW Ann Fiddler          |  384  353 |  96  90 |  2.9  5.0 | 1068 +41 1109 |
| NSW Natalie Tadday       |  461  418 | 109 101 |  2.5  5.0 |  972 +55 1027 |
| NSW Val Ryan             |  266  255 |  70  66 |  4.5  5.0 | 1250 +11 1261 |
| NSW Esther Rolfe         |  413  390 | 100  97 |  2.5  4.0 | 1028 +30 1058 |
| NSW Nonie English        |  263  277 |  69  76 |  5.0  4.0 | 1251 -19 1232 |
| NSW Tony Hunt            |  367  356 |  90  91 |  3.1  4.0 | 1088 +19 1107 |
| NSW Margaret Berliner    |  275  287 |  74  79 |  5.2  4.0 | 1238 -24 1214 |
| NSW Michael Adler :act   |  274  276 |  73  75 |  4.4  4.0 | 1239  -6 1233 |
| NSW Sunny Wright         |  421  391 | 102  98 |  2.4  4.0 | 1024 +33 1057 |
| NSW Richard Birch        |  253  273 |  68  72 |  5.4  4.0 | 1267 -28 1239 |
| NSW Jean Balmer          |  323  334 |  86  88 |  3.7  3.0 | 1154 -15 1139 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson       |  246  267 |  65  70 |  4.8  3.0 | 1283 -35 1248 |
| NSW Jenny Templeton      |  238  256 |  62  67 |  4.8  3.0 | 1297 -37 1260 |
| NSW Judy McGuinness      |  372  376 |  94  95 |  3.2  3.0 | 1084  -2 1082 |
| NSW June Stephenson      |  312  320 |  83  84 |  3.6  3.0 | 1172 -12 1160 |
| NSW Liz Jackman          |  243  259 |  64  68 |  4.9  3.0 | 1291 -37 1254 |
| NSW Fay Van Oyen         |  401  422 |  98 103 |  3.1  2.0 | 1043 -21 1022 |
| NSW Mary Craven :act     |  454  462 | 106 110 |  2.4  2.0 |  975  -7  968 |
| NSW Margaret Andrews     |  224  282 |  58  78 |  6.1  1.0 | 1329 -102
1227 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *C SECTION                   +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Stacey Lock Lee      |  610  577 | 152 140 |  4.4  6.0 |  832 +35  867 |
| NSW Sue Tuckett          |  693  599 | 178 147 |  2.7  6.0 |  756 +84  840 |
| NSW Bev Purkis           |  507  479 | 124 117 |  4.7  6.0 |  923 +28  951 |
| NSW Edith Lowbeer        |  475  474 | 116 116 |  4.9  5.0 |  959  +1  960 |
| NSW Therese Newman       |  736  668 | 192 172 |  2.4  5.0 |  715 +59  774 |
| NSW Peggy Womersley      |  569  561 | 140 139 |  4.6  5.0 |  875 +10  885 |
| NSW Leonie McConnell     |  660  623 | 169 156 |  3.1  5.0 |  783 +39  822 |
| NSW Mireille Minet       |  514  522 | 129 128 |  4.5  4.0 |  920  -9  911 |
| NSW Heather Sorensen :ac |  702  673 | 182 175 |  2.8  4.0 |  746 +25  771 |
| NSW Judy Hall            |  515  549 | 130 135 |  5.2  4.0 |  919 -24  895 |
| NSW Merle Young          |  480  512 | 118 127 |  5.7  4.0 |  951 -32  919 |
| NSW Betty Irwin          |  478  498 | 117 121 |  5.2  4.0 |  953 -23  930 |
| NSW David Ragen          |  639  635 | 163 163 |  3.8  4.0 |  805  +7  812 |
| NSW Claire Dove          |  631  626 | 159 159 |  3.6  4.0 |  812  +9  821 |
| NSW Margaret Ackman      |  634  624 | 162 157 |  3.3  4.0 |  807 +14  821 |
| NSW Maureen Wilkins      |  599  618 | 147 154 |  4.0  3.0 |  842 -18  824 |
| NSW Andree Lajoie        |  682  669 | 174 173 |  2.5  3.0 |  763 +10  773 |
| NSW Roslynn Parnell      |  588  634 | 141 162 |  4.2  2.0 |  856 -44  812 |
| NSW Vi Phillips          |  489  597 | 121 145 |  5.2  2.0 |  942 -96  846 |
| NSW Louise Ready         |  633  705 | 161 184 |  3.3  0.0 |  809 -65  744 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *D SECTION                   +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Rex Shakespeare      |  714  662 | 185 171 |  5.8  8.0 |  734 +47  781 |
| NSW Chris Phillips       |  727  717 | 188 188 |  5.6  6.0 |  722 +10  732 |
| NSW Joy Bresser :act     |  823  808 | 216 211 |  4.5  5.0 |  633 +16  649 |
| NSW Beryl Pearson :act   |    0  866 |   0 226 |  3.6  5.0 |  551 +43  594 |
| NSW Joy Morris           |  987  931 | 260 249 |  3.0  5.0 |  495 +39  534 |
| NSW Merriss Adler :act   |  923  898 | 243 237 |  3.8  5.0 |  539 +24  563 |
| NSW Brian Irwin          |  859  877 | 225 228 |  4.9  4.0 |  601 -18  583 |
|*NSW Shirley Taylor       |    0  944 |   0 251 |  4.0  4.0 |  522  +1  523 |
| NSW Elwyn Smith :act     |  980  952 | 257 253 |  3.4  4.0 |  499 +12  511 |
| NSW Yvonne Edwards       |  957  947 | 251 252 |  3.4  4.0 |  502 +18  520 |
| NSW John Smith :act      |  889  903 | 232 238 |  4.7  4.0 |  573 -14  559 |
| NSW Nicola Turner        |    0  920 |   0 242 |  3.8  3.0 |  568 -23  545 |
|*NSW Trish Shepherd       |    0  967 |   0 259 |  3.3  3.0 |  500      500 |
| NSW Diana Field          | 1020 1039 | 270 279 |  3.1  2.0 |  451 -23  428 |
| NSW Beryl Christensen    | 1054 1065 | 284 289 |  2.3  1.0 |  386 -27  359 |
| NSW Maria Kaye           |  850  930 | 222 248 |  4.7  1.0 |  609 -75  534 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+