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Club news

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This club news page contains news about events and notable achievements in sanctioned clubs before 2016. Other articles may be found in the periodical Bulletins or the weekly newsletter.

Club feats are limited to those who are:

a.) members b.) play in a sanctioned club

Since 2016, the weekly newsletter has covered club events and achievements. You can submit stories about your club via email.

January 2013

January 15, 2013: Chris Schneider Extends ZING

On January 15, Chris Schneider, seeing ZING on the board, extended it with OSTRACI for OSTRACIZING.

Congratulations from Directors Mary Rhoades, Kate Watson, and Dee Segrest and Bedford (TX) NASPA Club #248!

June 2011

720 Game by Christopher Sykes

Christopher Sykes set a new single-game record at Club #471 (Cambridge, ON) on June 3 with a 720 game versus Petronella Read. There were no phonies played by Christopher, but one played by Petronella. None of Christopher's plays were triple-triples.

April 2011

669 Game by Matt DeWaelsche

April 25 at Club #234 (Austin, TX) Matt DeWaelsche set a new personal record at the Austin club, scoring 669 points against David Zuckerman. Matt opened with three bingoes in a row. It was the 4th highest game in the history of the Austin club. There were no phonies on the board. — Geoff Thevenot, Director, Austin Club #234

February 2011

10-letter Play by John Robertson

February 11 at Club #471 (Cambridge, ON) John was playing a game versus Peter Sawatzky. John was winning handily. With no tiles left in the bag, his last rack was QFRIEND. There was no place to play his Q until Peter played WIVE, opening up an I for him to play QI, leaving FRIEND on his rack. When it was his turn again, he was looking for a place to play FRIEND but didn't see one right away. Then he had a eureka moment: The word GIRL was on the board. He extended it to make the 10-letter non-bingo GIRLFRIEND for 46 points. — John Robertson, Director, Cambridge Club #471

7-Bingo Game by Judy Levitt

NASPA Club #44, in Los Angeles, CA, congratulates Judy Levitt for her 7-bingo game on February 3, 2011. For the second time ever at our club she once again played 7 bingos in a single game! They were: MEDICOS, BATTLES, EAGERER, DUsTBINS, WIELDIER, ZOOgLEA, PEACING. Six of the 7 were played horizontally. Judy scored 608 points in that game. — Alan Stern, Director, Los Angeles Club #44

October 2010

October 21, 2010: Craig Rowland Played 5 Consecutive Bingos

On Oct 21, Craig Rowland had 5 consecutive bingoes against Priya Fernando: ADIPOSE RATIONED HOGTIES FROGGIER TITIVATE.

Congratulations from Directors Shan Abbasi and Jean Barinque and Mississauga (ON) NASPA Club #422!

July 2010

Allen Pengelly Is Father of Twins

Congratulations to 2009 National SCRABBLE Championship Division 4 Leader Allen Pengelly and his wife Jenna Paikowsky on the birth of their daughters Sarah Isabelle Pengelly and Natasha Claire Pengelly on July 15th, 2010.

June 2010

Palo Alto Scrabble Club members spread passion for board game

The Palo Alto club received some great publicity in the Voice.

— Mitch Bayersdorfer, Director, Palo Alto, CA Club #512

May 2010

Memorial Day Weekend, 2010: Club #663, Remarkable evening for Dave Moersdorf

Memorial Day 2010 at the Smoky Mountain division of the Tennessee Valley Anagrammers Club #553 took on a whole new meaning when Dave Moersdorf, a perennial top 10 rated player in the state, conducted a personal clinic by putting up an 8-1 record for the night that included three games over 500 points, an average of 486 per game, an average margin of victory of 174 points, and a mind-bending 23 seven-letter plays (bingos), thrashing every member at least once. Frank Schin, another top 10 rated player, was the only player to win a game, taking a 402-368 match. Schin’s victory was the only game where Moersdorf scored less than 450 points in a game, and the only game where he was held to a single bingo.

Also on the victims list was club director Trish Harrop, another top 10 player, who scored a creditable 328 points in an 11-round game, only to fall by 208 when Moersdorf opened the game with four bingos in the first five plays totaling 286 of his final score of 530, an average of more than 50 points per play.

Moersdorf’s numbers for the night were the highest single-night totals in every known category of tournament-style Scrabble ever seen by any member of the club, some of whom have more than 30 years of competition under their belts. Moersdorf, himself a 30-plus year player with a national reputation, was surprised by his own performance, saying he had never seen a player draw so many desirable tiles in a single night in his life.

— Vicki Blizzard, Director, Knoxville/Sevierville, TN Club #553

May 3, 2010: Club #438, Remarkable play by Linn Wheeler

NASPA Club #438, in Casselberry FL (near Orlando), congratulates Linn Wheeler for playing SQUEeZE for 121 points on May 3, 2010. The play was remarkable for scoring so many points without the benefit of being either a Double Word Score or a Triple Word Score. The word was played from J1, with both the Q and the Z landing on Triple Letter Scores, also forming the word (FAN)E. It's the highest scoring non-DWS-non-TWS bingo that anyone at the Casselberry Club could recall seeing.

— Carl Warner, Director, Casselberry, FL Club #438

April 2010

April 3, 2010: Jack Black visits Club #195

Actor Jack Black, avid online Scrabble player, made an appearance at NASPA Santa Monica Club #195 the first Saturday of April. He compiled an impressive 3-1 record during the session while averaging 378.25 with a high game of 434 and a high non-bingo score of 84! Hope you come back soon, Jack!

— Bruce D'Ambrosio, Director, Santa Monica Club #195

March 2010

March 3, 2010: Club #276, Robert Kahn scores 801 points

Congratulations to Robert Kahn on his 801-point game at NASPA Club #276 in Lauderhill, FL. He made seven bingos: HAEMOID, sTARTLE, INSERTS, ENVIOUS, BEPAINT, RE(E)CHOEd and TEARIEST.

As far as we know, his score 801 is the second highest ever recorded in a sanctioned competitive club game in North America. On October 12, 2006, Michael Cresta scored 830 points at NSA Club #108 in Lexington, MA.

Robert has been playing Scrabble for approximately 56 years. His rating is 1695 and ranking 209.

— Sandee Bloom, Director, Lauderhill, FL Club #276

February 2010

February 8, 2010: Club #667, Northampton, MA

NASPA congratulates the Northampton, MA club for playing their 1500th game in their 2-1/2 years of existence. They average about 10 players per night.

— Brett Constantine, Director, Northampton, MA Club #667

January 2010

January 6, 2010: Club #276, Lauderhill, FL Annual Awards Night

The Lauderhill club, directed by Sandee Bloom, celebrated player achievements at their 21st Annual Awards Night. Ian Weinstein (Coral Springs, FL) and Sandee Bloom (Tamarac, FL), received 1000-win Plateau Awards. We congratulate them and all the other club members who received awards for accomplishments during the past 12 years of record-keeping.

— Sandee Bloom, Director, Lauderhill, FL Club #276

December 2009

Jesse Matthews Starts SCRABBLE Club in Kelowna (BC)

Kelowna.com reported that Jesse Matthews has started a new Scrabble club that will meet Thursday evenings, starting January 7, 2010.

November 2009

November 23, 2009: Club #550, Maddy Kamen has 724 point game

The directors of Club #550, along with its members, want to congratulate Maddy Kamen (Covina, CA) on her 724-point game, which included a 284-point bingo, QUARtZES, Monday in a game against Bruce D'Ambrosio. There were no phonies and no challenges in the game.

— Yukiko Loritz, Director, Anaheim, CA Club #550

November 10, 2009: Club #248, Dee Segrest makes 203 point play

The directors of Club #248, along with its members, want to congratulate Dee Segrest (Grand Prairie, TX) on her superb 203-point bingo Tuesday in a game against Mike Early. Mike played an X on the triple line and Dee cheerfully played MONOXIDE for 203 points. It wasn't enough to secure the win in the game, but the play will make her happy for a long time!

— Mary Rhoades, Director, Bedford, TX Club #248

November 8, 2009: Club #603, Scott Morese has 702 point game

Ridgefield CT Club #603 congratulates Scott Morese (New Milford, CT) for his 702-point game against Tim Iglinski at the Rhinebeck NY Tournament.

— Cornelia Guest, Director, Ridgefield, CT Club #603

June 2009

Club #427, Juanita Scott Washington

Juanita Scott Washington, known to her friends as Nita, was a charter member of the Mississippi NASPA Club #427. She attended the first meeting in November of 1994 and missed very few meetings in the years since, making the one-hour drive from Yazoo City regularly. For the last several years, she served as Club Director.

She moved the club's tournament from Jackson to Yazoo City and attracted a good turnout with her well-known hospitality. Just one among her many loving touches was serving her homemade ice cream to everyone at the tournament each year. She was a fixture at southern tournaments. As a player, you never assumed you had a game won when playing Nita. Everyone in the club has had the experience of Nita's coming from 100 points or more behind to pull out a spectacular win. She was at the SCRABBLE club meetings in May, as usual filling everyone with her smile and enthusiasm for the game.

She passed away in June at the age of 62, after losing a very brief battle with cancer. Club #427 will be naming their annual tournament in her honor.

Club #350, Maddy Kamen is 2009 - 2010 champion

Gary Moss reports that Maddy Kamen is the 2009 - 2010 Club #350 SCRABBLE Champion. Congratulations, Maddy!