[[NASPA]]-sanctioned [[tournament|tournaments]] are held in a wide range of '''tournament venues''' — hotel ballrooms, convention centers, community centers, church basements, restaurants, cruise ships, etc. — according to the needs of the players and directors.
== [[North American SCRABBLE Championship |NASPA Championship]] venues ==
At the high end, a national event for 400–800 players would almost always be held in a hotel ballroom or convention center and be organized by NASPA staff. Such an event would usually be planned at least a year in advance based on in-house research, though unsolicited bids are welcome. [[Contact]] us for the current RFP.
Our premier event, the [[North American SCRABBLE Championship |NASPA Championship]] (NASC), was for some time being scheduled with some flexibility on a four-year geographic rotation in the Northeast (2014, 2018), West (2015, 2019), Midwest (2016, 2020), and South (2017, 2021). As of summer 2019, we have received some bids for 2020 and 2021, and are open to bids from outside of this rotation.
The event was recently held in the following locations:
NASC competition Competition starts on the last Saturday in July, give or take one week, and runs for five days ending on a Wednesday. Before the event, supplies begin arriving on Monday and staff on Wednesday; setup takes place on Thursday and a warmup event alongside registration on Friday. After the event, teardown takes place on Wednesday, some staff leave on Wednesday night, and remaining staff and supplies leave on Thursday. Depending on other local attractions, players may wish to book additional shoulder dates.
Here is what our ideal national event site would include the following; a more detailed RFP (request for proposal) is available on [[Contact|request]]. See also further down on this page for a more detailed discussion of general requirements for tournament sites.
[http://event.scrabbleplayers.org/2018/nasc/build/photo/5/DSC_6662.html http://event.scrabbleplayers.org/2018/nasc/build/photo/5/DSC_6662.JPG]
* about 20,000 square feet, configured in one open, undivided space with lines of sight to all points in the room from a central position; a little larger or smaller is fine, ; 10,000 square feet is about the smallest space that we could function in, and would require substantial redesign of our event..
* either a ballroom or an exhibit hall is fine
* quiet: our group likes to concentrate quietly, will not disturb others, and does not want to share space with groups that make loud noises
* Free Internet access: directors often post their tournament results live online.
If you manage a venue that you think would be appropriate for a SCRABBLE Scrabble tournament, you may contact us at [mailto:info@scrabbleplayers.org info@scrabbleplayers.org] or look through our [[club roster]] for the contact information for a director near you.