Latest revision as of 19:45, 26 August 2019

This page outlines the criteria that will be used to select the players who qualify to represent the United States at the 2019 WESPA Championship (WESPAC2019).

WESPAC2019 is an event with national allocations resembling those of the World SCRABBLE Championship (WSC). It will be held in Goa, India, from October 16-20, 2019. There will also be a Last Chance Qualifier on October 15, 2019 in Goa to select additional players.

The United States has been allotted 18 spots for the WESPAC2019. This document sets out how the 18 qualifiers will be chosen.

The qualifying period is now over, and as of June 16, 2019, there are unclaimed spots available for the US Team. These spots are available to any NASPA member in good standing who is a United States Citizen or permanent resident on a first-come first-served basis.

Eligibility

All players wishing to qualify must be NASPA members in good standing.

United States citizens and permanent residents are eligible.

Players may not register for the qualification process if they have already registered to qualify for another nation. If a player registers to play for the U.S. and also attempts to represent another nation at WESPAC2019 (with or without withdrawing from the U.S. registration), they will be ineligible to compete for the U.S. at the next such championship.

Registering for the qualification process

Players wishing to register for the qualification process can do so by contacting info@scrabbleplayers.org.

The application deadline for qualifying by peak rating is 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on June 16, 2019.

The deadline for registering for the Qualifying Tournament will be determined later.

Qualification period (QP)

The qualification period began on December 1, 2017 and ends on June 16, 2019. The qualification tournament(s), if held, will be held sometime thereafter.

Note: Tournaments that are in progress at the beginning or end of the QP will be considered to fall within the QP.

All players wishing to qualify by peak rating must play a minimum of 31 rated CSW tournament games during the Qualifying Period.

Criteria (in order)

1. World English-language Scrabble Players' Association (WESPA) invitation(s)

WESPA awards these spots - for example, for being a finalist at the previous WESPAC. These spots do not count against the U.S. allotment.

Qualified under this criterion:

• Jesse Day - WSC 2018 runner-up

2. Top finishers from the 2017 WESPA Championship

These spots are awarded to eligible U.S. players who finished in the top quarter of the 119 person field in WESPAC 2017 while representing the United States.

Players already awarded WESPA byes are not considered part of the U.S. allotment and do not count against the maximum number of spots to be awarded.

These spots must be accepted before June 16, 2019.

Any spots not claimed under this provision will be awarded based on peak rating.

Qualified under this criterion:

• Dave Wiegand (24th place)
• Evans Clinchy (27th place)

3. Peak NASPA CSW rating (PR)

3 spots will be reserved for a Qualification Tournament. The remaining 13 to 15 available slots (after allocating the spots awarded under criteria 1 and 2) will be determined by peak NASPA CSW rating during the QP.

• A player must play at least 31 fully rated NASPA CSW games during the Qualifying Period before their post-tournament rating will count as a peak rating.
• The final rating from any fully rated tournament once this participation requirement is met may be used as a PR.
• Ratings achieved at the midpoint of split rated tournaments may be used as a PR.
• Any bonus points will count toward a person’s PR.
• Ratings following tournaments that are not fully rated (i.e., LCTs) will not count as a peak rating, but any such games played will count as 1/3 of a game towards fulfilling the participation requirement.
• Players wishing to qualify based on PR must register for the qualification process by June 16, 2019.

PR tie-breakers

1. Head-to-head records among tied players in fully rated games during the QP.
2. Second highest rating achieved after playing at least 31 games in the QP.
3. Highest rating achieved after any fully rated tournament in the QP.
4. Number of CSW games played in the QP.
5. Drawing of lots.

4. Qualification tournament (QT)

3 spots will be determined by a qualification tournament. Location, date and format will be announced later.

To be eligible for the QT, players must meet the eligibility requirements for representing the US at the 2019 WESPAC as enumerated above.

The 31-game participation requirement does not apply to players who wish to qualify via the QT.

Players who sign up for the QT will be automatically registered for the qualifying process and must commit to play the WESPAC if they earn a spot.

Additionally, the 4th-place finisher at the QT will be the primary alternate for the US team at WESPAC.

5. Unclaimed Spots

Any positions that remain open once the list of people interested and eligible to qualify based on PR is exhausted will be allocated based on peak NASPA rating (either CSW or TWL) in the qualification period, with a minimum 4 game participation requirement in the lexicon used to determine the peak rating.

A position can be claimed once the appropriate deadline to register for that position has passed:

• The open spots in the U.S. allocation less 3 spots reserved for the QT can be claimed at the end of the Qualifying Period.
• Up to 4 spots (3 spots plus the position of First Alternate who will be awarded a previously unclaimed spot, should one exist) can be claimed at the end of the QT.

Qualified Players

The following players have registered and qualified to represent the U.S. at WESPAC2019:

• Paula Catanese
• Jesse Day
• Supriya Devnani
• Andrea Hatch
• Sam Kantimathi
• Bob Linn
• Ben Schoenbrun
• Puneet Sharma
• Tim Weiss
• David Whitley
• Dave Wiegand
• Jeannie J. Wilson

Registered Players

The following players have registered to represent the U.S. at WESPAC2019:

• Peter Armstrong - Declined
• Paula Catanese
• Andrea Hatch
• Sam Kantimathi
• Bob Linn
• Daniel Milton - Withdrew due to injury
• Ben Schoenbrun
• Puneet Sharma
• Tim Weiss
• David Whitley
• Jeannie J. Wilson

Alternates

The first spot opened by withdrawal of a player after the completion of the Qualifying Tournament will be filled first by the Primary Alternate (i.e., the 4th-place finisher in the Qualifying Tournament).

Any additional spots opened by withdrawal of a player after the completion of the Qualifying Tournament, or any spots opened by the withdrawal of a player before the Primary Alternate is selected, will be filled by PR.

Unclaimed Spots

There were 7 unfilled spots for the US team at the end of the qualifying period. Players could register up to June 16 for those spots.

These players have been given one of the remaining unclaimed spots:

• Supriya Devnani

There are now 6 remaining spots for the US Team. If you are interested in claiming one of these spots, please email info@scrabbleplayers.org.

Obligations

Players who accept an allotted spot under criterion 2 and who withdraw without a valid reason after the QP will not be permitted to qualify for the next event with WSC-like national allocations except through the QT.

Players who accept an allotted spot under criterion 3 and who withdraw without a valid reason after the QT will not be permitted to qualify for the next event with WSC-like national allocations except through the QT.

Players may appeal to the NASPA International Committee U.S. Subcommittee to have their eligibility reinstated.

Disputes

Any dispute regarding the interpretation of any of the above rules and criteria will be resolved by the NASPA International Committee U.S. Subcommittee.