Revision as of 11:15, 5 August 2017

This page outlines the criteria that are proposed to be used to select the players who will represent the United States at the 2017 WESPA Championship (WESPAC17) to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, November 8-12, 2017.

The qualifying period is now over, and as of August 1st, 2017, 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 and must play a minimum of 31 rated CSW tournament games during the Qualifying Period (QP) The 31 game minimum does not apply to players who qualify via the Qualification Tournament (QT).

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 WESPAC17 (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 who intend to claim a spot on the team as one of the top 10 finishers at the 2015 WESPAC or who intend to qualify on the basis of peak rating must register and commit to play by the end of the Qualification Period (see below). Any player who qualifies by peak rating or top ten finish, registers for the process, and withdraws after the end of the Qualification Period will be ineligible to qualify for the U.S. team at the next WESPAC or equivalent event based on peak rating. Players wishing to register should contact info@scrabbleplayers.org. The deadline for registering for the qualification tournament will be announced after the date for that tournament is set. All players in the qualifying tournament must agree to attend the WESPAC if they qualify.

Any player who qualifies via the qualifying tournament and withdraws after the completion of the qualifying tournament will be ineligible to qualify for the U.S. team at the next WESPAC or equivalent event based on peak rating.

Any player who is ineligible to qualify for the U.S. team based on peak rating due to dropping out after a deadline may appeal to the International Committee U.S. Subcommittee to have their eligibility reinstated.

Qualified players

The following players have qualified to represent the U.S.A. at the 2017 WESPAC:

Qualified via top ten overall finish at 2015 WESPAC

• Dave Wiegand
• Evans Clinchy

Qualified via peak rating:

• Jennifer Lee
• Paula Catanese
• Ben Schoenbrun
• Steve Polatnick
• Jesse Day
• Kate Fukawa-Connelly
• Dave Koenig
• Sandy Nang (withdrew)

Qualified to claim unfilled spots:

• Dan Milton
• Ben Withers
• Brent Weil
• Cheryl Melvin
• Suthiriphan Assarat
• Tobey Roland

Congratulations to all of the players who have qualified.

Additional Spots

There were 9 unfilled spots for the US team at the end of the qualifying period. Players could register up to July 1 for those spots.

These players registered for the additional 9 spots by July 1, and qualified:

• Dan Milton
• Ben Withers
• Brent Weil

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

• Cheryl Melvin
• Suthiraphan Assarat
• Tobey Roland

There are now 3 remaining spots for the US Team. If you are interested in claiming one of these spots, please email info@scrabbleplayers.org

Qualification period (QP)

The qualification period began on December 1, 2015 and ends on May 31, 2017 at 12 pm (midnight) Pacific Time. The qualification tournament will be held sometime in the summer thereafter.

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

Available spots

The United States has 18 spots at WESPAC17, not including any players earning WESPA invitations.

Criteria (in order)

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

Any spots awarded by WESPA (for example, for being a finalist at the previous SCT, or for being champion of the WYSC) do not count against the United States' allotment.

2. Top-ten finish in the 2015 WESPA Championship

Any American finishing in the overall top ten in the 2015 WESPAC will be invited to represent the U.S. in the 2017 WESPAC, provided they maintain NASPA membership and play the minimum number of tournament games in QP. If any of these players decline to play, then additional spots will be determined by peak rating.

3. Peak NASPA CSW rating (PR)

The 12 to 14 available slots (after allocating 4 spots for the Qualification Tournament, and the spots awarded under criteria 1 and 2) will be determined by peak NASPA CSW (Collins Scrabble Words) rating during the QP. A player must have played at least 31 fully rated (CSW) NASPA games 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. Any bonus points will count as a part of a person’s PR. Ratings following tournaments which 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.

4. Qualification tournament (QT)

Four 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 2017 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 fifth-place finisher at the QT will be the primary alternate for the US team at WESPAC.

5. Unclaimed Spots

Any positions which 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 will be deemed claimable once the appropriate deadline to register for that position has passed. I.e., the spots in the U.S. allocation less four spots reserved for the QT will be claimed at the end of the QP; and five spots (four spots plus the position of First Alternate who will be awarded a previously unclaimed spot, should one exist) will be claimable at the end of the QT.

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.

Qualification standings

Qualification standings will be posted here as soon as they are available.

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 fifth-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.