With 66 players eager to get started poring over one list, it was soon apparent that this method had no hope of succeeding. Then commenced the process of co-organisers Alan Gauci and Colleen Howie reading out all 68 players one by one in their pairings.
Curiously the number two seed John Holgate was nowhere to be found at the start of play, and it could only be surmised that he had gone to one of the other three venues that had been previously used by the Baulkham Hills club. So with some clever last minute switching of names by Fred Reynolds, tournament director extraordinaire, the tournament finally swung into action.
This was an Open tournament, one of three on the NSW calendar (the others being the Hassall Grove Open and the Spring Marathon) In Open events anything can happen, and this tournament was no exception. Peter Shaw (1672) was beaten by Nanette Reynolds (1138) and Helen Young (974), John Barker (1708) was beaten by Gordon Meggs (1274) and Liz Jackman (1474) was beaten by Donna Macdonald (842) and novice Alice Leow, to name just a few major upsets.
Neil and Alice Leow were a Singaporean husband and wife duo contesting their first Sydney tournament. Alice showed she was no slouch by winning 4 games and coming out of the tournament with a rating of 1243, much to the chagrin of others who had toiled industriously over 300 odd games to reach the same point. The moral here is that open tournaments are a sure-fire way of getting off to a flying start in the ratings, if you are good enough. I'm sure we will see a lot more of the Leows now.
Two other novices, Glenn Brindle and Robert Burnett, literally walked in off the street, never having even visited a club previously. From all accounts, they too were both quite accomplished players.
Credit for the new blood must go to Alan Gauci, who is unrelenting in his quest for new members and new players. The marketing of his club is a joy to behold, with all manner of signage and general promotion in constant use.
Sue Flack made a return to tournament play after a few months travelling overseas. She may have wished she didn't, losing 48 points, but I know she will bounce back. Siva Sivapalasundram was contesting his first tournament since his betrothal. His beautiful wife was on hand to help him present the Siva award to the successful Sydney Scrabble Club, who racked up the most wins amongst the nominated four players. Siva and his wife now reside in Newcastle.
Ted Roberts made a rare appearance, having apparently been beset by a lot of bad luck in recent times. Ted was the direct cause of a difficult situation which Fred Reynolds had to adjudicate on. Ted played a word that he was sure was correct. His opponent, Jean Balmer challenged it. Ted was so sure the word was correct, he had helped himself to six extra tiles. So when the word came back judged as incorrect, Ted found himself with 13 tiles on his rack. The adjudication was that the incorrect word, AGAROT, stayed on his rack, with one other tile of Jean's choice. That was bad luck for Ted. In Ted's defence, he had just returned from Israel, where AGOROT is the local currency. He had obviously learnt how to spend it, but not how to spell it.
But the honours of the day surely belonged to Robyn Flynn, who notched up her first ever major tournament victory with seven straight wins. Her last two wins were over Joan Rosenthal and then myself in the last game. I only had to win that game to win the first prize of $300. But Robyn finished ahead, thoroughly deserving the honours and the money. It is a great environment where lesser lights can occasionally step in and steal the show, and this was definitely one such occasion.
Despite the shaky start, it was a great tournament, and Alan Gauci, Colleen Howie and George Khamis are to be thoroughly congratulated for their effort and enthusiasm in giving 68 Scrabble players a most enjoyable day out playing their favourite game.
Results after game 7
BAULKHAM HILLS 1998 -- ALL
Rank Player Wins Mar
--------------------------------
1 Robyn Flynn 7 517 $300
2 Jean McGiffen 6 637 $200
3 Joan Rosenthal 6 461 $100
4 Audrey Newman 6 209 $80
5 Bob Jackman 5 580 $70
6 Robin Duncan 5 387 $60
7 John Barker 5 386 $50
8 Donna Macdonald 5 350
9 Norma Tracey 5 181
10 Cheryl Michler 5 85
11 Ethel Collins 5 80
12 Joan Buchanan 5 50
13 Jean Noonan 5 45
14 Nanette Reynolds 5 7
15 Penny Wells 4 360
16 Kris Logan 4 354
17 Betty Foreman 4 314
18 Jean Balmer 4 307
19 Gordon Meggs 4 243
20 Peter Shaw 4 178
21 Siva Sivapalasundram 4 172
22 Hanne Marks 4 159
23 Linda Dimond 4 149
24 Helen Young 4 114
25 Graeme Lock Lee 4 104
26 Ivana Duria 4 5
27 Trish Windhurst 4 -20
28 Jan Serisier 4 -46
29 Henni Maat 4 -55
30 Richard Birch 4 -64
31 Alan Gauci 4 -89
32 Alice Leow 4 -162
33 Margaret Andrews 4 -177
34 June Stephenson 3 225
35 Sue Flack 3 163
36 Jenny Templeton 3 140
37 Raya Wilkinson 3 53
38 Ted Roberts 3 51
39 Margaret Berliner 3 36
40 Edith Lowbeer 3 -2
41 Faye Van Oyen 3 -29
42 Colleen Howie 3 -52
43 Cristine Small 3 -93
44 Neil Leow 3 -93
45 Margaret Gauci 3 -152
46 Greg Nicol 3 -153
47 Ros Gibbons 3 -159
48 Sue Tuckett 3 -173
49 Jeff Richardson 3 -200
50 George Khamis 3 -297
51 Diana Field 3 -351
52 Liz Jackman 2 54
53 Ian Close 2 -24
54 Noni English 2 -166
55 Maragaret Ackman 2 -174
56 Glenn Brindle 2 -229
57 Daphne Bezuidenhout 2 -247
58 Judy McGuiness 2 -253
59 Marie Mackie 2 -376
60 Nancy Sacchetti 2 -395
61 Maria Kaye 2 -560
62 Win Hendricksen 2 -576
63 Rudolph Puntschuh 1 -342
64 Frank Hunt 1 -448
65 Robert Burnett 1 -494
66 Diana Hilly 1 -505 $30
HIGH GAME: Bob Jackman 577 $40
HIGH WORD: Colleen Howie 122 $30
"WHITING"
HIGH RATING GAIN: Donna Macdonald 119 $40
Stats for Tournament : BAULKHAM HILLS 1998
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| state Name | National | State | Wins | Rating Points |
| | Old New | Old New | Exp Act | Old Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
+Section: *ALL + + + +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Robyn Flynn | 56 42 | 18 11 | 4.9 7.0 | 1639 +47 1686 |
| NSW Jean McGiffen | 21 18 | 7 6 | 5.9 6.0 | 1780 +3 1783 |
| NSW Joan Rosenthal | 12 9 | 5 5 | 5.4 6.0 | 1816 +14 1830 |
| NSW Audrey Newman | 128 114 | 34 29 | 4.9 6.0 | 1499 +24 1523 |
| NSW Bob Jackman | 1 1 | 1 1 | 6.4 5.0 | 2007 -12 1995 |
| NSW Robin Duncan | 26 31 | 8 9 | 5.7 5.0 | 1740 -14 1726 |
| NSW John Barker | 36 36 | 10 10 | 5.4 5.0 | 1708 -8 1700 |
| NSW Norma Tracey | 247 233 | 58 54 | 3.3 5.0 | 1269 +33 1302 |
| NSW Jean Noonan | 162 158 | 42 39 | 4.9 5.0 | 1447 +4 1451 |
| NSW Donna MacDonald | 598 470 | 142 113 | 0.7 5.0 | 842 +119 961 |
| NSW Cheryl Michler | 168 168 | 45 44 | 5.6 5.0 | 1442 -10 1432 |
| NSW Joan Buchanan | 318 322 | 74 78 | 5.3 5.0 | 1161 -2 1159 |
| NSW Ethel Collins | 201 191 | 51 50 | 4.3 5.0 | 1380 +17 1397 |
| NSW Nanette Reynolds | 334 302 | 81 72 | 2.6 5.0 | 1138 +57 1195 |
| NSW Betty Foreman | 84 101 | 25 27 | 6.1 4.0 | 1587 -40 1547 |
| NSW Kris Logan | 77 87 | 23 25 | 5.4 4.0 | 1600 -28 1572 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee | 104 120 | 28 33 | 5.5 4.0 | 1541 -30 1511 |
| NSW Penny Wells | 293 273 | 70 66 | 2.6 4.0 | 1213 +27 1240 |
| NSW Helen Young | 461 401 | 109 100 | 0.9 4.0 | 974 +80 1054 |
| NSW Peter Shaw | 46 62 | 13 18 | 6.3 4.0 | 1672 -42 1630 |
| NSW Hanne Marks | 252 248 | 59 59 | 3.7 4.0 | 1263 +5 1268 |
| NSW Trish Windhurst | 415 404 | 99 102 | 3.4 4.0 | 1034 +14 1048 |
| NSW Siva Sivapalasundram | 163 183 | 43 48 | 6.3 4.0 | 1447 -43 1404 |
| NSW Jean Balmer | 326 309 | 78 74 | 2.4 4.0 | 1150 +32 1182 |
| NSW Richard Birch | 321 320 | 77 77 | 3.6 4.0 | 1157 +9 1166 |
| NSW Linda Dimond | 426 403 | 100 101 | 2.6 4.0 | 1020 +29 1049 |
| NSW Jan Serisier | 172 167 | 48 43 | 4.2 4.0 | 1437 -3 1434 |
| NSW Ivana Duria | 545 529 | 131 130 | 2.6 4.0 | 884 +28 912 |
| NSW Gordon Meggs | 245 237 | 56 55 | 3.2 4.0 | 1274 +16 1290 |
| NSW Henni Maat | 556 539 | 134 133 | 2.9 4.0 | 876 +23 899 |
| NSW Margaret Andrews | 531 459 | 127 110 | 1.0 4.0 | 903 +76 979 |
| NSW Alan Gauci | 562 532 | 135 132 | 2.2 4.0 | 869 +38 907 |
|*NSW Alice Leow | 0 271 | 0 65 | 4.0 4.0 | 1243 1243 |
| NSW Margaret Berliner | 372 371 | 94 93 | 2.9 3.0 | 1095 +1 1096 |
| NSW Cristine Small | 152 154 | 37 37 | 3.5 3.0 | 1465 -8 1457 |
| NSW Jenny Templeton | 259 268 | 61 63 | 3.6 3.0 | 1256 -11 1245 |
| NSW Colleen Howie | 429 448 | 101 106 | 3.8 3.0 | 1016 -17 999 |
| NSW Jeff Richardson | 755 715 | 180 174 | 1.0 3.0 | 704 +41 745 |
| NSW June Stephenson | 365 363 | 89 89 | 2.6 3.0 | 1103 +8 1111 |
| NSW Ted Roberts | 198 215 | 50 51 | 5.0 3.0 | 1383 -41 1342 |
| NSW Ros Gibbons | 155 182 | 40 47 | 5.8 3.0 | 1461 -56 1405 |
| NSW Margaret Gauci | 718 689 | 171 166 | 1.7 3.0 | 739 +26 765 |
| NSW Faye Van Oyen | 534 544 | 128 135 | 3.4 3.0 | 899 -8 891 |
| NSW Sue Flack | 154 176 | 39 46 | 5.4 3.0 | 1462 -48 1414 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson | 362 366 | 88 90 | 3.5 3.0 | 1113 -10 1103 |
|*NSW Neil Leow | 0 417 | 0 103 | 3.0 3.0 | 1039 1039 |
| NSW Greg Nicol | 526 505 | 126 125 | 1.7 3.0 | 908 +26 934 |
| NSW Sue Tuckett | 722 712 | 173 173 | 2.5 3.0 | 735 +12 747 |
| NSW Edith Lowbeer | 367 394 | 91 97 | 4.9 3.0 | 1100 -37 1063 |
| NSW George Khamis | 1074 982 | 277 250 | 1.1 3.0 | 454 +73 527 |
| NSW Diana Field | 932 916 | 231 228 | 2.4 3.0 | 558 +14 572 |
| NSW Judy McGuinness | 494 507 | 117 126 | 2.5 2.0 | 943 -10 933 |
| NSW Ian Close | 114 155 | 30 38 | 5.5 2.0 | 1526 -70 1456 |
| NSW Liz Jackman | 153 188 | 38 49 | 5.3 2.0 | 1464 -65 1399 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout | 684 698 | 162 169 | 2.7 2.0 | 766 -13 753 |
| NSW Nonie English | 455 476 | 106 116 | 3.2 2.0 | 983 -25 958 |
| NSW Margaret Ackman | 604 591 | 144 143 | 1.5 2.0 | 838 +10 848 |
|*NSW Glenn Brindle | 0 700 | 0 170 | 2.0 2.0 | 753 753 |
| NSW Maria Kaye | 879 894 | 212 216 | 2.4 2.0 | 591 -8 583 |
| NSW Nancy Sacchetti | 872 905 | 209 221 | 3.0 2.0 | 597 -19 578 |
| VIC Mary Mackie | 853 847 | 236 235 | 1.7 2.0 | 617 +7 624 |
| NSW Win Hendriksen | 1055 1041 | 269 268 | 1.5 2.0 | 473 +15 488 |
| NSW Rudolf Puntschuh | 624 648 | 150 158 | 2.0 1.0 | 821 -21 800 |
| NSW Diana Hilly | 655 678 | 158 163 | 1.9 1.0 | 791 -19 772 |
| NSW Frank Hunt | 809 843 | 194 203 | 2.1 1.0 | 660 -32 628 |
|*NSW Robert Burnett | 0 1008 | 0 260 | 1.6 1.0 | 500 500 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+