Balmain Tournament 10th March 2002


Report from Hanne Marks, President & Organiser, Balmain Club

Hello, Folks! Hello, Folks !!

Does anyone know of any Scrabble Tournament anywhere, any time, that went off without any hitches whatsoever ??

The members of the BUGS committee and other club members - all of whom I once again thank profusely for their dedicated and enthusiastic assistance and participation - walked on a dark and stormy morning into an even darker if not stormier auditorium upstairs at the Balmain Leagues Club last Sunday and started setting up. As the early bird players started arriving, several of them saw fit to draw to our attention the undoubted fact that the room was very dark, in case we hadn't noticed - possibly they thought our collective eyesight was failing ? In fact, several employees of the Club had already been notified, several times, by several people, and had indeed tried, severally and singularly unsuccessfully, to rectify the matter; the eventual "solution" involved the bodily removal, by several burly Club employees, of several tables to better-lit situations - the result was a trifle squishy and somewhat overcrowded ambience: however, visibility was much improved, and to the best of my knowledge there were no further complaints on that score ....

It would appear, according to a most unscientific poll, and based on rumour and hearsay, that many players, early hitches notwithstanding, much preferred our new venue, the Tigers, to the Town Hall: obviously, access to (clean and) elegant loos, and an admittedly much improved acoustic situation far outweighed the loss of the sumptuous between-games fare traditionally and proudly provided by club members, and replaced by boring bickies - de gustibus non est disputandum - but the most appreciated benefit of the move was indisputably that "setting up" no longer involved hard-labour table-setting-upping slog at unearthly hours either of the preceding evening and/or the morning itself - alas - we Lovers of Balmain Town Hall are, I suspect, heavily outnumbered ....

At very short notice, we learned that one player was absent due to unwellness; another player, who arrived without prior notification, was severely lectured and instructed never to do that again before being gratefully praised for replacing the former player: they were both in Recreation, so it was an easy matter to adjust the draws ....until a third player arrived whose registration had been mysteriously overlooked, ignored, lost - mea culpa, I'm afraid ...so our indomitable TD, the unsinkable Wilma Vialle, really had her hands full for a while rectifying that small matter :with her usual good humour, Wilma worked quickly and efficiently, assuring that the day was a great success, a fact commented on by many satisfied Scrabblers. Thank you, Wilma.

At the Allowable Words Machine for most of the day sat Chris May: due to other commitments,(being unable to arrive until after the first game, and despite and in the face of heavy persuasion/pressure from Rod Talbot and myself to forego the first game and play seven,)he preferred to donate his time as his contribution to the Tournament - any excuse to learn new words ???

His choice of "Best Word of the Day" was John Holgate's RHABDOM -( "a fourfold rod in the compound eye of an arthropod" sez Chambers, in case you were wondering ....), while, at the other end of the spectrum, common words challenged by Masters included ATONE, COURTIER, and ANOINTER. Chris's personal selection of Interesting Bingos Challenged includes TONIEST, ETHERIAL, SEPTARIA, SNAILIER....TOYLESS, TENEBRAE, BARBETTE and OVERTART. He noted and was pleased to see that nobody needed an adjudication because someone wasn't writing their words .....Thank you, Chris.

One event that went unnoticed at the time and that deserves an honourable mention: When the ever-faithful Diana Field played her 8th game, she was playing her 1000th game in a rated tournament in Australia: congratulations, Diana! And sorry I didn't see it till just now, after the event .....

We were delighted to welcome two newcomers: Charnwit Sukhumrattanaporn from Thailand participating in his first Aussie Tournament - but definitely not his last! (Get that assignment handed in, so you can come and play in Wyong, Charnwit ...) And Jacquelin Hochmuth in her first tournament ever: she very creditably won 3 games, and, "once she recovers from her exhaustion", may very well come back for more.... don't we all ??

To business:
In RECREATION, winning 7 games, Jan Tomlin came first; winning 6 games each, Frank Hunt came second, and Sue Tuckett, third.

In INTERMEDIATE, 3 people won 6 games, and there were very few points' difference in the margins to determine that Ann Fiddler came first, Donna MacDonald, second and Peggy Womersley, third.

In Advanced, greeted with loud cheers of approbation and approval, having won 7 games and achieved the Highest Rating Gain - an impressive 73 points - Liz Jackman came first. With 6 games each, Maureen Hilder came second and Val Ryan, third.

Derek and Folks ... take note ... Paul Cleary won eight out of eight games. With an average of 507. And an average margin of 162. To quote Bob: "They will probably both be records for 2002". His high game scored 595. His high word, EUGENIAS, scored 140. He played at least two other triple triples, one of which was PLATELET .... Scary, innit ?? So - Paul Cleary definitely - very definitely! came first. With 6 games each, John Holgate and Joan Rosenthal came second and third respectively - and, incidentally, Charnwit, with 5 games, came fourth - which achievement augurs well for his future in NSW Scrabble.

It was fun. Isn't that the main thing ? Greetings and salutations. Hanne Marks

Results after game  8
MARCH 10, 2002 -- MASTERS

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Paul Cleary          8    1297
  2  John Holgate         6     390
  3  Joan Rosenthal       6     196
  4  Charnwit Sukhumratt  5     411
  5  Audrey Newman        5     -45
  6  Graeme Lock Lee      4     193
  7  John Barker          4     191
  8  Rod Talbot           4     188
  9  Sue Gergelifi        4     -80
 10  Peter Shaw           4    -162
 11  Ivor Zetler          4    -174
 12  Jan Serisier         4    -200
 13  Betty Coleman        4    -318
 14  Trish Windhurst      3     -62
 15  Hanne Marks          3    -105
 16  Betty Foreman        3    -312
 17  Ian Close            3    -619
 18  Jean McGiffen        2    -138
 19  Norma Tracey         2    -248
 20  Sam Greenberg        2    -403
HIGH GAME: Paul Cleary       595
HIGH WORD: Paul Cleary       140
            "EUGENIAS"

Results after game  8
MARCH 10, 2002 -- ADVANCED

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Liz Jackman          7     456
  2  Maureen Hilder       6     313
  3  Val Ryan             6     270
  4  Gordon Meggs         5     231
  5  Cheryl Michler       5     156
  6  Judy McGuinness      5      95
  7  Ram Mohe             5     -16
  8  Judy Hay             4     209
  9  Margaret Andrews     4     155
 10  Margaret Berliner    4     136
 11  Moana Nepia          4     111
 12  Colleen Howie        4      78
 13  Jenny Templeton      4     -76
 14  Richard Birch        4    -231
 15  Raya Wilkinson       3     100
 16  Hari Nanayakkara     3     -63
 17  Nonie English        3    -149
 18  Pat Schuberg         2    -294
 19  Fay Van Oyen         2    -584
 20  June Stephenson      0    -897
HIGH GAME: Hari Nanayakkara  511
HIGH WORD: Cheryl Michler        103
            "REMIXED"

Results after game  8
MARCH 10, 2002 -- INTERMEDIATE

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Peggy Womersley      6     312
  1  Ann Fiddler          6     312
  3  Donna Macdonald      6     157
  4  Jean Balmer          5     342
  5  Janet Chambers       5     334
  6  Denise Smith         5     278
  7  Esther Rolfe         5     126
  8  Maureen Wilkins      5     123
  9  Daphne Bezuidenhout  4     100
 10  Edith Lowbeer        4     -11
 11  Rex Shakespeare      4     -17
 12  George Khamis        4    -165
 13  Basil Sands          4    -228
 14  Alan Gauci           3     -37
 15  Jann Pincott         3    -112
 16  Bev Purkis           3    -134
 17  Sunny Wright         3    -161
 18  Merle young          3    -489
 19  Greg Nicol           2    -330
 20  Diana Hilly          0    -400
HIGH GAME: Denise Smith      485
HIGH WORD: Ann Fiddler           104
            "QUOITERS"

Results after game  8
MARCH 10, 2002 -- RECREATION

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1  Jan Tomlin           7     454
  2  Frank Hunt           6     365
  3  Sue Tuckett          6     307
  4  Krystyna Batten      6     194
  5  Joy Morris           5     -56
  6  Claire Dove          5    -179
  7  Veena Mohe           4     143
  8  Pearl Gillott        4     120
  9  June Dillon          4      78
 10  Yvonne Edwards       4     -17
 11  Teresa Traynor       4    -146
 12  Marlene Nicoletti    4    -195
 13  Diana Field          4    -365
 14  Silvana Newman       3     136
 15  Jo Anne Deady        3      23
 16  Maria Kaye           3    -173
 16  Arie Holla           3    -173
 18  Jacquelin Hochmuth   3    -192
 19  Maree Heynen         2    -316
 20  A Bye                0      -8
HIGH GAME: Jan Tomlin        439
HIGH WORD: Marlene Nicoletti     111
            "REQUEST"

Stats for Tournament : MARCH 10, 2002

+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| state     Name           | National  | State   |   Wins    | Rating =
Points |
|                          | Old  New  | Old New | Exp  Act  | Old =
Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
+Section: *MASTERS                     +         +           +           =
    +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| NSW Paul Cleary          |    3    2 |   1   1 |  6.4  8.0 | 1888 +26 =
1914 |
| NSW Joan Rosenthal       |   30   28 |   9   9 |  4.6  6.0 | 1676 +30 =
1706 |
| NSW John Holgate         |    5    5 |   3   3 |  5.7  6.0 | 1834  +5 =
1839 |
|*NSW Charnwit Sukhumratt  |    0   18 |   0   7 |  5.0  5.0 | 1756     =
1756 |
| NSW Audrey Newman        |  113   84 |  31  21 |  2.4  5.0 | 1470 +60 =
1530 |
| NSW John Barker          |   55   52 |  13  12 |  3.7  4.0 | 1608  +8 =
1616 |
| NSW Rod Talbot           |    9   17 |   4   6 |  5.9  4.0 | 1795 -38 =
1757 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee      |   59   61 |  14  14 |  4.0  4.0 | 1589  -1 =
1588 |
| NSW Sue Gergelifi        |  149  129 |  42  38 |  2.2  4.0 | 1418 +35 =
1453 |
| NSW Jan Serisier         |  139  121 |  38  36 |  2.7  4.0 | 1434 +25 =
1459 |
| NSW Ivor Zetler          |  101   99 |  26  26 |  3.6  4.0 | 1492  +8 =
1500 |
| NSW Betty Coleman        |   82   78 |  19  19 |  3.5  4.0 | 1534 +10 =
1544 |
| NSW Peter Shaw           |   77   83 |  18  20 |  4.5  4.0 | 1541 -11 =
1530 |
| NSW Trish Windhurst      |   97  105 |  24  29 |  3.6  3.0 | 1500 -10 =
1490 |
| NSW Hanne Marks          |   91   98 |  22  25 |  3.7  3.0 | 1514 -13 =
1501 |
| NSW Betty Foreman        |  108  114 |  29  32 |  3.4  3.0 | 1476  -7 =
1469 |
| NSW Ian Close            |   89   96 |  21  24 |  4.0  3.0 | 1521 -19 =
1502 |
| NSW Jean McGiffen        |   36   62 |  10  15 |  5.4  2.0 | 1654 -67 =
1587 |
| NSW Sam Greenberg        |  143  154 |  41  44 |  2.6  2.0 | 1425 -12 =
1413 |
| NSW Norma Tracey         |  162  176 |  46  49 |  3.1  2.0 | 1402 -22 =
1380 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+------------=
----+
+Section: *ADVANCED                    +         +           +           =
    +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| NSW Liz Jackman          |  267  214 |  64  57 |  4.0  7.0 | 1259 +73 =
1332 |
| NSW Maureen Hilder       |  241  221 |  59  58 |  4.7  6.0 | 1292 +29 =
1321 |
| NSW Val Ryan             |  268  243 |  65  61 |  4.4  6.0 | 1258 +33 =
1291 |
| NSW Gordon Meggs         |  286  271 |  72  67 |  3.7  5.0 | 1223 +26 =
1249 |
| NSW Judy McGuinness      |  349  314 |  85  79 |  2.2  5.0 | 1118 +65 =
1183 |
| NSW Cheryl Michler       |  173  180 |  49  50 |  5.8  5.0 | 1386 -13 =
1373 |
| NSW Ram Mohe             |  341  301 |  84  76 |  2.3  5.0 | 1137 +63 =
1200 |
| NSW Moana Nepia          |  231  250 |  58  63 |  5.0  4.0 | 1303 -19 =
1284 |
| NSW Margaret Andrews     |  315  306 |  77  77 |  3.3  4.0 | 1179 +16 =
1195 |
| NSW Margaret Berliner    |  264  270 |  63  66 |  4.7  4.0 | 1263 -13 =
1250 |
| NSW Judy Hay             |  183  211 |  50  56 |  5.5  4.0 | 1364 -28 =
1336 |
| NSW Colleen Howie        |  360  342 |  87  85 |  2.4  4.0 | 1105 +31 =
1136 |
| NSW Jenny Templeton      |  243  257 |  60  64 |  4.8  4.0 | 1290 -15 =
1275 |
| NSW Richard Birch        |  279  277 |  70  70 |  3.8  4.0 | 1229  +5 =
1234 |
| NSW Hari Nanayakkara     |  259  276 |  62  69 |  4.8  3.0 | 1270 -34 =
1236 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson       |  191  232 |  52  60 |  5.6  3.0 | 1357 -52 =
1305 |
| NSW Nonie English        |  335  335 |  82  83 |  2.5  3.0 | 1143 +10 =
1153 |
| NSW Pat Schuberg         |  270  292 |  67  74 |  3.9  2.0 | 1251 -38 =
1213 |
| NSW Fay Van Oyen         |  332  344 |  80  86 |  3.1  2.0 | 1154 -22 =
1132 |
| NSW June Stephenson      |  309  351 |  76  87 |  3.3  0.0 | 1185 -65 =
1120 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+------------=
----+
+Section: *INTERMEDIATE                +         +           +           =
    +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| NSW Ann Fiddler          |  439  417 | 105  97 |  4.3  6.0 | 1004 +34 =
1038 |
| NSW Donna MacDonald      |  418  399 |  97  94 |  4.7  6.0 | 1034 +26 =
1060 |
| NSW Peggy Womersley      |  398  368 |  93  89 |  4.7  6.0 | 1062 +25 =
1087 |
| NSW Janet Chambers       |  474  452 | 112 108 |  3.8  5.0 |  963 +25  =
988 |
| NSW Jean Balmer          |  383  374 |  90  91 |  4.8  5.0 | 1077  +5 =
1082 |
| NSW Denise Smith         |  361  370 |  88  90 |  5.5  5.0 | 1096 -10 =
1086 |
| NSW Esther Rolfe         |  433  433 | 102 104 |  4.7  5.0 | 1011  +6 =
1017 |
| NSW Maureen Wilkins      |  533  500 | 127 119 |  3.2  5.0 |  907 +35  =
942 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout  |  505  497 | 119 118 |  3.4  4.0 |  934 +11  =
945 |
| NSW Edith Lowbeer        |  366  402 |  89  95 |  5.5  4.0 | 1089 -31 =
1058 |
| NSW Rex Shakespeare      |  451  453 | 108 109 |  4.1  4.0 |  990  -3  =
987 |
| NSW George Khamis        |  497  486 | 116 116 |  3.5  4.0 |  943 +10  =
953 |
| NSW Basil Sands          |  575  541 | 143 130 |  2.4  4.0 |  871 +32  =
903 |
| NSW Bev Purkis           |  401  431 |  94 102 |  4.9  3.0 | 1056 -37 =
1019 |
| NSW Alan Gauci           |  587  588 | 146 146 |  3.1  3.0 |  859  -1  =
858 |
| NSW Sunny Wright         |  449  473 | 107 113 |  4.2  3.0 |  991 -24  =
967 |
| NSW Jann Pincott         |  541  547 | 130 133 |  3.2  3.0 |  903  -4  =
899 |
| NSW Merle Young          |  583  578 | 145 144 |  2.8  3.0 |  865  +4  =
869 |
| NSW Greg Nicol           |  521  563 | 123 138 |  3.7  2.0 |  918 -33  =
885 |
| NSW Diana Hilly          |  561  636 | 137 162 |  3.5  0.0 |  886 -70  =
816 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+------------=
----+
+Section: *RECREATION                  +         +           +           =
    +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+-----------=
----+
| NSW Jan Tomlin           |  698  650 | 177 165 |  4.8  7.0 |  754 +48  =
802 |
| NSW Frank Hunt           |  775  714 | 192 181 |  3.8  6.0 |  692 +46  =
738 |
| NSW Sue Tuckett          |  643  613 | 163 152 |  4.7  6.0 |  808 +27  =
835 |
| NSW Krystyna Batten      |  612  597 | 151 147 |  5.5  6.0 |  838 +13  =
851 |
| NSW Claire Dove          |  613  621 | 152 155 |  5.6  5.0 |  836  -9  =
827 |
| NSW Joy Morris           |  899  844 | 236 221 |  3.0  5.0 |  589 +41  =
630 |
| NSW June Dillon          |  840  827 | 219 214 |  3.3  4.0 |  634 +13  =
647 |
| NSW Veena Mohe           |  633  676 | 161 170 |  6.1  4.0 |  819 -41  =
778 |
| NSW Pearl Gillott        |  621  657 | 155 167 |  5.4  4.0 |  825 -28  =
797 |
| NSW Teresa Traynor       |  826  832 | 213 217 |  4.1  4.0 |  645  -2  =
643 |
| NSW Yvonne Edwards       |  801  803 | 203 205 |  4.3  4.0 |  675  -6  =
669 |
| NSW Marlene Nicoletti    | 1049  935 | 284 246 |  2.2  4.0 |  500 +64  =
564 |
| NSW Diana Field          | 1011  984 | 272 264 |  3.2  4.0 |  507 +15  =
522 |
| NSW Silvana Newman       |  787  809 | 198 208 |  4.2  3.0 |  686 -23  =
663 |
| NSW Jo Anne Deady        |  755  789 | 185 198 |  4.2  3.0 |  707 -23  =
684 |
| NSW Arie Holla           |  860  902 | 227 237 |  4.5  3.0 |  618 -30  =
588 |
|*NSW Jacquelin Hochmuth   |    0 1084 |   0 296 |  3.6  3.0 |  500      =
500 |
| NSW Maria Kaye           |  846  859 | 221 228 |  3.6  3.0 |  629 -11  =
618 |
| NSW Maree Heynen         |  964 1014 | 253 275 |  3.6  2.0 |  538 -31  =
507 |
| --- A Bye                | 1136 1138 |   2   2 |  0.2  0.0 |   -6  -3  =
 -9 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+------------=