Committees

The operations of NASPA are managed by a number of committees.

In December 2008, Hasbro and the NSA invited a group of players to form the NSA Steering Committee (SC), to brainstorm ideas for divesting the NSA of responsibility for organized SCRABBLE play while keeping it going under some user-paid system. In January and February, the SC corresponded frequently online and came up with the basic plan for what would become NASPA. As several deadlines approached, the focus of the SC shifted from planning to implementation. Members volunteered for working subcommittees corresponding to their areas of interest and expertise, reporting to SC cochairs Chris Cree and John Chew. In March, as the new organization was legally incorporated this structure was formalized, with the SC working subcommittees becoming NASPA working committees, and the SC cochairs becoming NASPA copresidents. The NSA Steering Committee continues to exist as a trusted group of advisors to the NASPA executive, and will continue to be consulted concerning the future of the association.

Main committees

Committee	Description	Yahoo! Group
Steering Committee	Group of players and directors appointed by the NSA to manage the establishment of NASPA. It advises the NASPA executive concerning the transition from the NSA to NASPA and the future of NASPA.	webpage email
Advisory Board	Transferred from the NSA to NASPA, acts as a disciplinary and general advisory body.	webpage email

Working Committees

The following committees conduct much of NASPA’s ongoing business, and report (in most cases weekly) to the NASPA executive.

Committee	Description	Yahoo! Group
Budget Committee	Drafts the association’s annual budget	webpage email
Canadian Committee	Responsible for matters affecting only Canadian players	webpage email
Championship Committee	Organizes major SCRABBLE championships	webpage email
Club Committee	Deals with officially sanctioned SCRABBLE clubs	webpage email
History Committee	Records the history of NASPA and organized SCRABBLE activities in the United States and Canada	webpage email
Marketing Committee	Promotes the association and its activities	webpage email
Membership Committee	Deals with the needs of NASPA members	webpage email
Newsletter Committee	Will be responsible for the association’s newsletter and its print and online editions	webpage email
Tournament Committee	Deals with officially sanctioned SCRABBLE tournaments	webpage email
Web Committee	Deals with the development and maintenance of the association’s online presence	webpage email

NSA committees

The following committees report to the NSA as of now, but will be transferred to NASPA during 2009:

Committee	Link	Function	Contact
Dictionary Committee		Revises the game lexicon to reflect the evolution of the language	naspa-dc@yahoogroups.com
Pairings Committee		Evaluates and certifies pairing algorithms for tournament use	naspa-pc@yahoogroups.com
Ratings and Recognition Committee		Revises the rating system to improve its accuracy, and finds other ways to recognize outstanding players
Rules Committee		Formulates the club and tournament game rules
Technology Committee		Evaluates and certifies equipment used by players and directors	naspa-tc@yahoogroups.com

See also

List of all committee members.