Scrabble New South Wales

NSW School Scrabble Strategy

The Scrabble NSW Committee has developed a strategy which it is hoped will promulgate junior Scrabble in New South Wales with optimum results. Elements of our School Scrabble strategy are listed below, with the rationale for each element:

Strategy: School Scrabble activities shall be split into regions
Rationale: Regions are managable by one volunteer player (the Regional co-ordinator). Regional School competitions can be organised by one or more established clubs within the region.

Strategy: Regional boundaries should coincide with newspaper distribution area where possible.
Rationale: Publicity of school scrabble activity or regional competitions would reach all potential schools in the area, when appearing in just one local paper. Local sponsors are more likely to provide assistance.

Strategy: Macquarie Dictionary is encouraged within school play.
Rationale: It is too expensive for schools to obtain obtain Chambers and Websters dictionaries. All schools would already have Macquarie Dictionary on hand. Macquarie publishing have supported the NSW School Scrabble project. Providing lists of words with no supporting meanings is not good for the education process.

Strategy: International 2 and 3-letter words are allowable in school play, and all participating schools are given a booklet containing meanings of 2s and 3s.
Rationale: With familiarity of 2s and 3s, students can more easily make the transition to regular play if they so desire. Acceptance of obscure words is also achieved sooner rather than later.

Strategy: Students are encouraged to play in teams.
Rationale: Stronger players can help weaker players grasp the fundamentals of the game. Resources are spread further with team play.

Strategy: Sets are to be sold to schools, not given
Rationale: The selling of starter kits provides the opportunity of joining the school into Scrabble NSW, with the hope they will renew from year to year. Hopefully a regular article will appear on School Scrabble to make the school want to keep renewing.

Strategy: A separate ratings system is to be established for school players
Rationale: The ratings when published on the website could provide incentive for other students and other schools to embrace School Scrabble. Ratings for senior players have always generated considerable interest, and there is every likelihood the same would apply for school players.