2016 Canadian National SCRABBLE Championship qualification system

Preamble

• A total of 52 entrants will qualify to compete at the next Canadian National SCRABBLE Championship (CNSC).
• This event is scheduled to take place in Toronto from May 13 to 16, 2016.
• The North American lexicon (OTCWL2014) will be used.

Eligibility

• All participants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
• All participants must be NASPA members in good standing.
• All participants must meet the minimum participation requirement.
• Defending CNSC champion Adam Logan will automatically qualify for the 2016 CNSC as will the top 51 players based on the qualification standings.

Entry Fee

• Submitting an entry fee signifies a player's interest in playing in the 2016 CNSC.
• IMPORTANT! Defending champion Adam Logan and anyone who wishes to be listed in the automatic qualification standings must forward a $75 cheque payable to John Chew. A cheque must be received no later than April 13, 2016. NO EXCEPTIONS - NO EXCUSES! (Those who fail to qualify will have their cheques returned or destroyed.) Any player who has qualified by peak rating but has not indicated interest in participating in the 2016 CNSC by April 13 will be assumed to have declined and will be ineligible to participate in the tournament.

Qualification period

• As announced at the 2013 CNSC, the qualification period (QP) began immediately following the 2013 CNSC.
• The qualification period for the 2016 CNSC will end on April 13, 2016.

The following rules had been established for CNSC qualification periods.

• If the event date for the 2016 is changed from May, changes will be made to the deadlines for the QP and for payment of entry fees.
• Tournaments in progress at the end of the QP will be considered to have fallen within the QP.

Defending CNSC champion

Adam Logan receives an automatic berth as defending champion. (If he declines to participate the field will consist of the top 52 Canadian players who meet the qualification criteria and who have paid their entry fees.)

Participation requirement

Players who wish to qualify for any of the remaining 51 berths must meet a minimum participation requirement. Players will be credited for rated NASPA tournament games played and directed within the qualification period. This requirement varies by province and is based upon each player's primary residence:

• Ontario and outside Canada: 25 games played or directed
• Alberta, BC, and Quebec: 20 games played or directed
• Manitoba and Saskatchewan: 12 games played or directed
• Maritimes, Newfoundland, and Territories: 7 games played or directed
• The maximum amount of credit any one player may receive for directing is 1/2 of that player's minimum requirement.
• No credit will be given for games directed in tournaments in which the director also played.

Peak rating

There will be no special qualifying tournaments. All berths will be awarded based on peak rating (PR). A player's PR is defined as his/her highest rating that satisfies the following conditions:

• It is achieved in an open rated tournament.
• It is not achieved before the tournament in which the participation requirement has been met.
• It is achieved in the last 18 months of the qualification period.
• It may be either a TWL rating or a (NASPA) Collins rating.

If two or more players have the same PR, then the tie will be broken by each player's second highest PR eligible rating. If the players are still tied, the tie will be broken by lottery.

Current standings

Current qualification standings will be updated regularly until the close of the qualification period. If you believe you have been wrongly omitted from the list, contact John Chew and/or the Canadian Committee immediately.

Players within the top 51 may withdraw from the event without penalty until May 1. Players who withdraw from the event after May 1 will forfeit their entry fees.

Players who withdraw from the event or from the list of alternates cannot be reinstated.

Any Canadian NASPA member is welcome to show up at the CNSC venue on May 13 as a standby in case there are last-minute withdrawals or no-shows. See the rules below regarding standbys.

Alternates

Alternates are those players who paid their entry fees but were not in the top 51 players by peak rating at the April 13 deadline. They will be listed in order based on their PR standing and will replace players who have to withdraw from the CNSC. Any player may withdraw from the list of alternates but he/she cannot be reinstated later. A list of alternates will appear in “ladder form” shortly after the April 13 deadline.

Standbys

If any of the 52 players withdraw from the event on very short notice where it is impractical to contact an alternate to replace him/her, or if there is a no-show on the day the CNSC begins, a standby will be used to fill the vacancy. Hopeful players are therefore welcome to be present at starting time to act as standbys.

Standby will be put into two groups: (A) those who have met the minimum-games qualification and (B) those who have not. If a vacancy does occur, standby players will first be selected from Group A in order of PR standings with ties broken by their current NASPA ratings. If there are no remaining players in Group A and a CNSC vacancy has to be filled, players from Group B will be selected based on the order of their PRs.

All standbys must meet the event's Canadian citizenship or residency requirement and be NASPA members in good standing.

Disputes

Any dispute regarding the application or interpretation of any of the above rules and guidelines will be resolved by the Canadian Committee, whose decision will be final.