Latest revision as of 21:04, 18 June 2018

The 2018 Canadian National SCRABBLE Championship (CNSC), the tenth such event since its inception in 1996, is tentatively planned to take place in Toronto in June.

Web Coverage

See our live webcast site, now archived, for detailed results.

News

2018-06-10

I have sent out email asking if anyone has dietary restrictions that the hotel catering department should know about. I have updated the schedule to include the school event schedule. I have updated the Early Bird webpage to indicate that we have room for 16 players (shouldn't be a problem, as registration stands at 6 as of tonight)

2018-06-12

The live webcast site is up. Go ahead, check your first-round pairings.

2018-06-13

The #1 alternate player has withdrawn; all others move up one rank.

2018-06-18

Congratulations to the 2018 Canadian National SCRABBLE Champion, Eric Tran!

For older items, see the 2018 Canadian National SCRABBLE Championship News Archive .

Player Roster

You can follow the registration and qualification process in the qualification standings chart. Players marked with a ‘y’ are paid registrants; those with a dollar sign have informed us that their payment is en route, but will not be considered registered until payment is received and cleared.

Schedule

Here is an overview of what happens when. Please also see the more detailed full schedule.

Please note that everyone is welcome to attend the regular weekly meeting of the Mississauga SCRABBLE® Club on the evening of Thursday, June 14th.

How to Compete

The CNSC is an invitational event for the top 52 players who qualify according to a qualification system (QS) developed in consultation with the NASPA Canadian Committee. As described in the QS, competitors must play a minimum number of games during a qualification period (QP), be Canadian citizens or permanent residents and be members in good standing of NASPA.

One place goes to defending champion Adam Logan, the next 51 places are awarded based on a combination of peak ratings and geographical allocations.

Regardless of how you wish to qualify, you must register by making sure that John Chew receives your $75 entry fee no later than April 25, 2018. If you would like an event T-shirt, this would be a good time to mention what size you would like; if you have dietary restrictions, this would be a good time to say what they are, in a note with your payment. You may pay by cash, cheque or INTERAC e-Transfer, but not PayPal or credit card. Cash and cheque payments may be made by mail (9 Fulton Avenue, Toronto ON M4K 1X6) or in person at the Toronto SCRABBLE Club. If you are not sure whether or not you will qualify, please pay by cheque, so that your cheque can be destroyed or returned if you do not qualify.

As usual, to participate in the CNSC, you must comply with the CNSC rules, which set out in legal terms the agreement that you are entering into as a participant in the event.

Refunds

The CNSC is an invitational tournament of fixed size, so holding a place and then withdrawing can lead to a situation where the player who should have replaced you cannot make travel arrangements in time. You should therefore only register to play if you are sure that you can compete.

Format of 2018 CNSC Finals

The top two finishers in the preliminary round will earn berths in the best-of-five CNSC finals which will be held on Monday, June 18. The first player to win three games will be declared the CNSC champion for 2018.

The player who finishes first in the preliminary round will go first in games 1, 3, and 5 of the finals. The player who finishes second in the preliminary round will go first in games 2 and 4.

Any tie games will be considered, as is usual in NASPA tournament competition, a half game won and a half game lost for both players. If each player has 2.5 wins after five games, the player who has the superior point spread in the finals will be declared the winner. If both players have identical points spreads, a sixth game will be played with the player who went first in games 2 and 4 also going first in game 6.

A scheduled lunch break will take place after the third game.

Spectators

Spectators are invited to attend the finals on Monday, where the best-of-five match will be relayed play by play onto a projection screen. Admission is free.

Spectators are also welcome to take a look at the preliminary rounds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, but space is extremely limited. They should introduce themselves to tournament officials on arrival, and take care not to disturb games in progress.

Prizes

The $12,150 prize pool donated by Hasbro Canada will be awarded according to the same distribution as at the 2013 CNSC.

Venue

Exterior photo showing Bond Place Hotel at left, east end of Yonge-Dundas Square at right

The Bond Place Hotel is located in downtown Toronto, one block east of Yonge-Dundas Square, the “Heart of the City”, in a popular neighbourhood known for shopping, dining and entertainment. Within a 200-metre radius are such other Toronto landmarks as the Eaton Centre (the largest mall in the region), Massey Hall (a century-old performing arts theatre), St. Michael’s Hospital and Ryerson University.

A limited number of rooms will be available at a discounted rate of $219, per room per night, based on single or double occupancy, including free WiFi, but not including 16% tax or parking. This rate is available until May 16th under group name Hasbro through

• online reservations
• calling the hotel at 1-800-268-9390

Parking

The hotel’s guest parking is located catercorner to the hotel on the northeast corner of Bond and Dundas (enter off Bond). It is not cheap, but hotel guests are entitled to 24-hour rates with in/out privileges.

In general, parking rates in the area vary according to the day of the week, and whether or not there is a special event (such as a theatre production, or public event at Yonge-Dundas Square) nearby. Most lots have separate maximum rates for day and night parking, but they differ as to when the night rates begin. Some lots are cash only; most accept Visa and Mastercard. It would not be unusual to be charged $35-$40 to park for 24 hours in this area.

There are websites that let you calculate how much parking rates are at different times in different lots, that can save you quite a lot of money.

As of June 13th, here are the best parking rates we have found for typical parking hours.

There is a parking lot on the southeast corner of Bond and Dundas which may be convenient to players who are running late on arrival, but is one of the more expensive lots in the area.

If you park on-street, make sure you pay careful attention to the signage, and are aware of a remote possibility of being ticketed under an unposted time limit of three hours’ parking on city streets unless otherwise signed. You can conveniently pay for on-street parking using the Green P app, which will let you renew/extend parking sessions for exactly the duration that you need without having to return to your car. On-street parking costs between $2.25 and $4.00 per hour, depending on how close you are to Yonge Street.

If you’re driving in from the suburbs, please carefully consider the possibility of parking at a suburban subway station and taking public transit to Dundas subway station.

Dining

Dining area outside the playing room, lower level, Bond Place Hotel

During the main event, breakfast and lunch will be provided to contestants in the lounge. For both the early bird and main event, coffee and tea breaks will be served in the morning and afternoon.

The nearest food courts are in the malls on the other three (NE, NW and SW) corners of Yonge and Dundas.

Staff

If you are interested in working at this event, please contact John Chew.

Equipment

Players should take careful note of what equipment they will be provided, and what equipment they should bring.

Boards

Players must bring their own boards, but may if travelling from outside of the greater Toronto area arrange to borrow a local player’s board. If neither player in a scheduled game has a board, both may forfeit their game.

Racks

Players should bring their own rack. A limited number will be available to borrow on a first-come basis.

Tiles

All players will be given a set of 2018 CNSC Protiles at registration. Please check their distribution carefully before playing your first game; as per NASPA rules, no changes may be made once a game has begun. Games must be played using CNSC Protiles, but players may bring and play with Protiles from past CNSC events if they wish (and are encouraged to do so to avoid having to play with two sets of the same colour at the same table).

Tile Bags

Players should bring their own tile bags. A limited number will be available to borrow on a first-come basis.

Clocks

Players are requested to bring their own digital game timers. A limited number of timers will be available on a first-come basis; if neither player in a game can find a clock, both may forfeit the game.

Scoresheets

A limited number of standard NASPA scoresheets will be available for player use, as well as plentiful supplies of blank paper.

Pens/Pencils

A limited number of writing implements will be available for player use, but we recommend that players bring their own.

Further Information

If you have questions about the 2018 CNSC that are not answered on this website, please contact CNSC Director John Chew.