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Here is a list of '''frequently asked questions''' ('''FAQ''') about the
[[North American SCRABBLE Players Association]] (NASPA). Please check
to see if your question is answered here before you
[[contact]] us.
== General questions about the Association ==
# <span class=q>What is NASPA?</span> <br />NASPA is a nonprofit [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)_organization 501(c)(4) corporation] incorporated in Texas. It has We are an exclusive license from [[Hasbro]] to administer competitive SCRABBLE play association of tournament, club and avid home Scrabble players in the United States and Canada.North America# <span class=q>How many members does NASPA have?</span> <br />The exact number varies from day to day as members join, lapse and re-up. We typically have between 2,000-2,500 active paid members and 4,000 past or lapsed members. Our player database lists another 10,000+ players who have competed before our founding, or in affiliated overseas events. We have estimated another 10,000 players competing in our clubs, where membership and registration is not required, based on ratios of members to nonmembers at selected clubs. The number of annual sales of SCRABBLE sets in North America is considered proprietary information, but is likely 1~2 million; past surveys have shown that 1 in 3 households has a SCRABBLE set.
# <span class=q>Who is in charge of NASPA? </span><br />NASPA is formally governed by the [[Board of Trustees]]. Day-to-day management is in the hands of its [[Executive Committee]] (EC), which delegates most tasks to its [[Committees]]. Decisions of working committees may be appealed to the [[Advisory Board]] (AB); AB decisions may be appealed to the EC; EC decisions may be appealed to the board of trustees.
# <span class=q>Do players have a voice in how NASPA works? </span><br /> Yes. Players who have the time and energy to devote to volunteering for one of NASPA's [[Committees]] can have the most direct impact on our future by helping to develop our policy. Others are encouraged to either contact the committee in charge of their concern, or their [[Advisory Board]] representative for general concerns.
== [[cross-tables.com]] ==
# <span class=q>What is cross-tables.com? </span><br />Cross-tables.com is a partner website developed and maintained by [[Seth Lipkin]], providing a wealth of statistical information about the history of official SCRABBLE competitive Scrabble play in North America.
# <span class=q>What does it mean when it says "Check with NASPA" next to an unrated player's name in a tournament roster? </span><br />It means that cross-tables.com does not track information about unrated players, and you should use the regular membership tools to verify an unrated player's membership status.
# <span class=q>When will NASPA start spending its capital reserves?</span><br />It is important for the organization to maintain reserves for unanticipated liability or expenses, such as the COVID-19 moratorium on play. We do, however, allocate resources for various publicity activities.
# <span class=q>Will NASPA spend its capital reserves to subsidize prize pools at major events?</span><br />In general, no, because we believe that this would lead to the very top players being paid better without an increase in overall membership. We would rather spend money on reaching out to a broader group of potential players to encourage them to join the association.
# <span class=q>Can my tournament sponsors make a charitable donation through NASPA?</span><br />No, we are a 501(c)(4) corporation, not a charity. Donations are accepted instead by the [[NASPA Foundation]].
== Membership ==
=== Benefits ===
# <span class=q>What do I get with my membership? </span><br />You get the right to participate in official [[Tournament|tournaments]], access to member-only sections of the website, access to the [[NASPA Store]] where you can buy a printed [[NASPA Word List]] and tournament equipment, the right to volunteer for or stand for election to our [[committees]], and the right to have your [[club]] and tournament accomplishments officially recognized.
# <span class=q>Do I get a printed membership card? </span><br />We will not mail them out to you, but you can either print your own using our [http://scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/mcard.pl online tool] or ask us in person at special events like the [[North American SCRABBLE ChampionshipChampionships]].
# <span class=q>Can I buy member-only publications such as the [[NASPA Word List]] from [http://www.wordgear.com WordGear] as a NASPA member? </span><br /> No, because Word Gear went out of business on July 1, 2013. You can now buy it from the [[NASPA Store]].
# <span class=q>Are newcomers allowed to attend one open-rated tournament before joining as members? </span><br /> No, but they will have an option to purchase a 6-month trial membership for US$15.# <span class=q>What services do you provide to inmates of correctional facilities? </span><br />We cannot sell products or services to inmates at this time but do answer inquiries about NASPA or the game as we do from the public at large.
=== Joining and renewing ===
# <span class=q>Do life members in the former NSA get life membership in NASPA? </span><br /> No. The NSA and NASPA are two separate organizations. [[Life membership]] in NASPA costs $20/year of age up to age 80.
# <span class=q>What proof of age do I need to show to obtain [[life membership]]? </span><br />You can send us a copy of government-issued identification showing your date of birth, or show it to any NASPA-certified [[Director]] and ask him/her to attest to us on your behalf.
=== Member profile ===
# <span class=q>How do I change my NASPA contact information? </span><br /> Click on the [https://www.scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/services.pl Member Services], then Edit Profile. Contact us at [mailto:info@scrabbleplayers.org info@scrabbleplayers.org] if you need to change your name.
# <span class=q>Why did I not receive my [[North American SCRABBLE Championship]] prize winningsor other correspondence? </span><br />NASC prizes are paid by check mailed sends mail to the address given in your member profile; check to make sure that it’s up-to-date.
=== Membership numbers and passwords ===
# <span class=q>What is my membership number (NASPA ID)? </span><br /> You can look it up in the [http://scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/members.pl member database.]
# <span class=q>I don'’t have Internet access; will you mail me my membership number? </span><br />If you cannot ask a friend to look up your number, you can [[Contact|contact]] us and we will look it up for you.
# <span class=q>Can you send me a password to log onto the membership services section of NASPA? </span><br /> You can access your own password by going to the [http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/services.pl member services page], entering your member number and clicking on “Email me my password”.
# <span class=q>My current email address is not in the member database. How can I receive my password? </span><br /> Contact us at [mailto:info@scrabbleplayers.org info@scrabbleplayers.org to receive a password and have your email address updated in the database.
# <span class=q>How do I change my password? </span><br /> Go to the [https://www.scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/services.pl Member Services] page, then click on the “Change Password” button at the bottom of the page. If you don’t remember your password, enter your member number and click on “Email me my password”.
# <span class=q>I tried entering my NASPA ID and password but keep being told “'re trying to connect to an unknown session. Please log on again.” </span><br /> We use “browser cookies” to keep track of sessions at our website. If you see this message and use AOL as your ISP, make sure that you are using Firefox as your browser and not the default AOL browser. Otherwise, make sure that you have cookies enabled in your browser preferences.
== [[Championships|NASPA Championships]] ==
# <span class=q>When/where is the next [[North American SCRABBLE Championship|NASPA Championship]] (NASC)?</span><br />The [[2020 North American SCRABBLE Championship |2020 NASC]] and [[2021 North American SCRABBLE Championship |2021 NASC]] were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Once tournament play resumes, we can begin to plan the next NASC.
# <span class=q> Who decides the format of the NASC?</span><br />The NASPA [[Championship Committee]] is charged with organizing and running our annual championship tournament. The Championship Committee makes hundreds of decisions with respect to the organization of the NASC. The Championship Committee functions much like the organizers/directors of other NASPA tournaments, choosing a venue, negotiating terms, setting entry fees, establishing division cutoffs, determining pairing format, etc.<br />
#;Major decisions of the Championship Committee are typically reviewed by the [[Advisory Board]].
== [[National SCRABBLE Association]] ==
# <span class=q>Do I need to be a member to get the NASPA News? </span><br />No. You can subscribe to the NASPA News [https://www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/IContact#How_to_Subscribe here].
# <span class=q>Is the NASPA Bulletin still published? </span><br /> No. The [[NASPA Bulletin]] was published between 2009 and 2014. You can find back issues [[NASPA Bulletin | here]].
# <span class=q>Why did I not receive [[IContact|NASPA News]]? </span><br />If you have told iContact that you do not wish to receive email from them, you will need to contact them to start receiving email again.
== [[North American SCRABBLE Championship]] ==# <span class=q>When/where is the next [[North American SCRABBLE Championship]] (NASC)?</span><br />The [[2020 North American SCRABBLE Championship |2020 NASC]] and [[2021 North American SCRABBLE Championship |2021 NASC]] were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Once tournament play resumes, we can begin to plan the next NASC.# <span class=q> Who decides the format of the NASC?</span><br />The NASPA [[Championship Committee]] is charged with organizing and running our annual championship tournament. The Championship Committee makes hundreds of decisions with respect to the organization of the NASC. The Championship Committee functions much like the organizers/directors of other NASPA tournaments, choosing a venue, negotiating terms, setting entry fees, establishing division cutoffs, determining pairing format, etc.<br />#;Major decisions of the Championship Committee are typically reviewed by the [[Advisory Board]]. == Other SCRABBLE Scrabble Entities ==# <span class=q>Can you help me with a question about a SCRABBLE Scrabble Brand game?</span><br/>Please contact [https://consumercare.hasbro.com/en-us Hasbro Consumer Care] directly for assistanceNo, we are not affiliated with the Scrabble trademark owners.# <span class=q>Can you help me with a question about playing official SCRABBLE online?</span><br/>Please contact [https://scopely.com/customer-support/ Scopely Customer Service] directly for assistanceinformation about their Scrabble Go app. For competitive online play, we recommend [https://woogles.io Woogles.io].
# <span class=q>Can you help me with a question about the [[Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary]]?</span><br/>Please contact [http://www.merriam-webster.com/contact/index.htm Merriam-Webster Customer Service] directly for assistance.
# <span class=q>I have a product/service/other related to the SCRABBLE brand that I believe the community would very much enjoy. Can you help me promote it?</span><br/>We appreciate you coming to us with this request. We admire your ongoing dedication to the SCRABBLE brand, as well as your dedication to the pursuit of related endeavors that others in our community might enjoy. As much as we'd like to help, due to the licensing agreement that we have signed with Hasbro, we are not permitted to advertise any products that do not specifically belong to Hasbro. We have only the best wishes that your (product/service/other) is a success.
== Playing the Game ==
# <span class=q>Where can I play SCRABBLE games? </span><br /> You can play the [https://scrabble.hasbro.com/en-us original game] in person with your friends and family, play [https://scrabblego.com/ online with Scrabble GO], practice for serious competition at our official [[Clubs]] and earn a [[rating]] at our official [[Tournaments]].
== Ratings ==
# <span class=q>Where can I find a list of NASPA members and ratings? </span><br /> Please consult the [[ratings]] overview.
# <span class=q>How are state / province rankings computed? </span><br /> These ranking lists are updated automatically whenever new ratings are computed after a tournament.
# <span class=q>A player is listed in the wrong state. How can that be corrected? </span><br /> Each player should be able to log in to [https://www.scrabbleplayers.org/cgi-bin/services.pl Member Services] as described above and update the address in his or her own profile. The new state will be used the next time the state rankings are computed.
# <span class=q> Can you send me a list of words that are in one lexicon but not in another? </span><br /> For licensing and copyright reasons no, but you can probably make the list yourself using [[NASPA Zyzzyva]].
=== Word List Purchasing, Publishing, Licensing ===
# <span class=q> Do I have to be a NASPA member to buy a copy of the Official Tournament and Club NASPA Word List?</span><br /> Yes, licensing conditions have always required vendors access to confirm association the NASPA Store, the exclusive for NWL, is a benefit of NASPA membership status for word list sales.
# <span class=q> Where can I buy a copy of the [[NASPA Word List]] (NWL)? </span><br />You can buy it at the [[NASPA Store]] online.
# <span class=q> Will the next printing of [[OSPD]] be any different from the current edition? </span><br />That's a question for [[Merriam-Webster]], but in past editions, most new printings within an edition have included minor updates.
# <span class=q> When can I use the latest word lists with Quackle, Ulu, ...? </span><br /> Software developers can license the NASPA Word List. Click [[Software |here]] to see a list of licensed applications. If you are a software developer, you can find out about the licensing options [[Licensing |here]].