Blue Mountains Inaugural Tournament - March 29th 2003


Report from co-organiser Tony Hunt

88 players made the trip to Springwood for our inaugural tournament, including 4 local first-timers and one first-timer, Peter Thorpe, making the trip down from Orange.

The day got off to a bit of a shaky start but the fact that we played 8 games with a 40 minute lunch break and had the day wrapt up by 6 p.m. was a credit to Wilma's efficient direction. This was the first time that either Elizabeth, Pam, Simone or I had been involved in the organization of a tourney, so it was a "learning experience". Once the entrants list had been updated, the computer problems fixed, and the few that braved the public transport system had been accounted for, the tournament progressed smoothly.

My updates posted to the CASPA list were not delivered. This meant that the entrants list could not be verified for mistakes and omissions. It also meant that some people thought that we were playing 22 minute games, and not 20 minute games. No one seemed to mind much, although I stayed away from Jean Balmer and Graeme Lock Lee for a while. I will deal with this issue of the CASPA list in a separate email, as there are some pointers that I would like to share that might be of assistance to future tournament organisers.

The strong support (we were expecting between 65 and 80) meant that we had to move pews in the church to make room for the players. For some players it appeared to present a bit of a dilemma - "can we still play 'those' words?". It was agreed that if it was in the list, it was playable, despite being on hallowed ground, but we asked that verbal swearing and cussing be refrained from (not that this ever happens at Scrabble Tournaments - after all, its not the footy). From what I could tell, this was being respected - although I was seated at the other end of the hall.

For the first 2 rounds we awarded a prize for the weirdest word in each round, as judged by my wife, Melinda, who doesn't play in tournaments and didn't know the players names, so we figured she could judge impartially. This was scrapped after round 2 as it was becoming clear that there was a bias towards the masters players, who eat sleep and breathe lexemes of the eclectic kind.

So we decided to award two prizes for words that related to the Blue Mountains. A wide range of words were submitted, some of which had very tenuous links to the Mountans. For instance, TWIT was submitted, with the reasoning "you'd be a twit not to live here", and another "HUSSIES" with the reasoning that they once knew Three Sisters who were all hussies. Well, it was all too hard, so, much to George Khamis' disappointment, we took the easy way out and awarded the prizes to the players who played BLUE and MOUNTAIN (Ann Fiddler and Denise Smith).

In the middle of Game 1 we had a visit from a Blue Mountains Gazette reporter who took some pics and conducted an impromptu interview with me whilst I was trying to work out how to claw my way back from being 60 points behind in a game with Pat Schuberg. It was nice to see the event recorded by the press, particularly as I had my digital camera with me but was so busy that I didn't have time to take any photos. I didn't even have time to ask my wife to take any, but she was too busy with hunger and thirst relief. Pat beat me decisively.

Bob Jackman was the star of the day, being the only player to achieve 8 straight wins, despite my best efforts to prevent it. When presented with the rack ABEGTT? I foolishly hooked on to an S to make BAGETTES* knowing that it needed a U. With that rack, and a floating S what should I have played? (answer below). Bob graciously gave a speech thanking Elizabeth for all her hard work, not only for being the engine driving the tournament, but also for the efforts in getting the Blue Mountains club off the ground. Back to the game, Bob went on to defeat me 489-330 with my lesson being - make sure you know your words before playing them against BJ (and avoid reading the signs in Vietnamese hot bread shops).

Bradley Ragen deserves a special mention being the only junior present. At the end of game 8 I heard him say "I won't come to another tournament again!", then Ihe qualified it with "until I've learnt some words". Great to see that determination!

Peta Cauvin also put in a fine effort for her first tournament with 5 wins, with margins being the only thing separating her from 3rd place. She emerged from the tournament with an initial rating of 810. Similarly, Peter Thorpe, from Orange, was able to put those practice games with Mal Ramsdale and Tony Kalayzich to good use and clinch 3rd place with 5 wins.

Big movers were Tony Kalayzich, up 80 points, and hopefully saying goodbye to Recreation forever, and Jean Noonan, up a handy 62 points - a great achievement in any division, but especially Masters against a strong field. Jean must have played fantastically on the day, but when I was sitting next to her whilst she was playing Bob Jackman, I couldn't help noticing that she was attempting to get away with the non-word NAUTIES* (I assume that 2 allowable anagrams of this word were unplayable - answers below - you should all be able to find them!).

In my game against John Barker I went first. The tiles, as I pulled them from the bag were: SEOGNIB. What was the one allowable bingo I had? (see below).

Thanks to all who helped and offered help - I see that Elizabeth has mentioned a few names in a recent posting so I won't repeat here. I'd just like to add it was great to hear words of encouragement and thanks, just as it was great to have help from people from other clubs.

Please refer to Bob Jackman's posting for complete list of Results and Ratings.

We hope to do it again next year.

Results after game  8
MARCH 24, 2003 -- MASTERS

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1 Bob Jackman          8     941
  2 Rod Talbot           6     403
  3 Joan Rosenthal       5     421
  4 John Barker          5     353
  5 Jean Noonan          5       5
  6 Ivor Zetler          5     -83
  7 Tony Hunt            5     -94
  8 Moana Nepia          5    -105
  9 Peter Shaw           4     430
 10 Alison Pollard       4      30
 11 Betty Foreman        4      17
 12 Jan Serisier         4       0
 13 Hanne Marks          4    -230
 14 Graeme Lock Lee      4    -346
 15 Pat Schuberg         4    -449
 16 Chris May            3.5   412
 17 Betty Coleman        3    -216
 18 Trish Windhurst      3    -512
 19 Jeff Chelton         2     -16
 20 Rene Chelton         2    -177
 21 Audrey Newman        1.5  -303
 22 Cristine Small       1    -481
HIGH GAME: Chris May         517
HIGH WORD: Bob Jackman       104
            "SOAKINGS"

 Results after game  8
MARCH 24, 2003 -- ADVANCED

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1 Gary Pollard         7     619
  2 Jean Balmer          6     370
  3 Rex Shakespeare      5.5   162
  4 Elizabeth Ho         5     283
  5 Cheryl Michler       5     247
  6 Liz Jackman          5     225
  7 Judy Hay             5      14
  8 Judy McGuinness      4.5    32
  9 Richard Birch        4     250
 10 Raya Wilkinson       4     131
 11 Hari Nanayakkara     4     -19
 12 Denise Smith         4    -116
 13 Margaret Andrews     4    -225
 14 Ann Fiddler          4    -290
 15 Michael Adler        3      72
 16 Edith Lowbeer        3    -124
 17 Joan Buchanan        3    -133
 18 Natalie Tadday       3    -199
 19 Ian Close            3    -233
 20 Ram Mohe             3    -342
 21 Donna MacDonald      2    -449
 22 Jenny Templeton      1    -275
HIGH GAME: Richard Birch     491
HIGH WORD: Ram Mohe              110
            "FORWARDS"

 Results after game  8
MARCH 24, 2003 -- INTERMEDIATE

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1 Peggy Womersley      6     518
  2 Alan Gauci           6     415
  3 Bev Purkis           6     384
  4 Sunny Wright         5     178
  5 Sandra Elliott       5     151
  6 Sharon Sorensen      5     114
  7 George Khamis        5      81
  8 Nanette Reynolds     5      26
  9 Dolores Barbon       4     183
 10 Jan Tomlin           4      53
 11 Malcolm Ramsdale     4     -59
 12 Heather Sorensen     4    -107
 12 Jacquelin Hochmuth   4    -107
 14 Pam Bennett          4    -301
 15 Daphne Bezuidenhout  3      39
 16 Esther Rolfe         3     -78
 17 Veena Mohe           3    -132
 18 Svend Grunnet        3    -147
 19 Merle Young          3    -312
 20 Claire Dove          3    -338
 21 Mary Mackie          2    -298
 22 Ivana Duria          1    -263
HIGH GAME: Dolores Barbon    517
HIGH WORD: Heather Sorensen       91
            "BEARING"

 Results after game  8
MARCH 24, 2003 -- RECREATION

Rank Player            Wins     Mar
---------------------------------
  1 Tony Kalayzich       7     567
  2 David Ragen          6     246
  3 Chris Phillips       5     221
  4 Peta Cauvin          5     208
  5 Peter Thorpe         5     163
  6 Janine Whittaker     5     131
  7 Colleen Hood         5     127
  8 Diana Hilly          5     113
  9 Karmel Patterson     5      28
 10 Margaret Coulter     4     127
 11 Audrey Barrett       4      13
 12 Mark Smith           4     -48
 13 Merriss Adler        4     -68
 14 Silvana Newman       4    -125
 15 Arie Holla           4    -140
 16 Bev Pye              4    -153
 17 Anne Mortel          3     330
 18 Maree Heynen         3      39
 19 Simone Windon        3      21
 20 Mary Moore           2    -345
 21 Diana Field          1    -437
 22 Bradley Ragen        0   -1018
HIGH GAME: Anne Mortel       503
HIGH WORD: Anne Mortel           101
            "TRICKIER"

Stats for Tournament : MARCH 24, 2003

+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| state     Name           | National  | State   |   Wins    | Rating Points |
|                          | Old  New  | Old New | Exp  Act  | Old Change New|
+--------------------------+-----------+---------+-----------+---------------+
+Section: *MASTERS                     +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Bob Jackman          |    8    4 |   3   2 |  6.3  8.0 | 1811 +28 1839 |
| NSW Rod Talbot           |    9   10 |   4   5 |  6.2  6.0 | 1806  -3 1803 |
| NSW John Barker          |   31   34 |   9   9 |  5.9  5.0 | 1671 -16 1655 |
| NSW Joan Rosenthal       |   15   15 |   7   7 |  5.3  5.0 | 1761  -5 1756 |
| NSW Tony Hunt            |   72   57 |  20  14 |  3.2  5.0 | 1535 +37 1572 |
| NSW Moana Nepia          |  109   96 |  27  22 |  3.7  5.0 | 1465 +27 1492 |
| NSW Jean Noonan          |  171  126 |  47  35 |  2.4  5.0 | 1377 +62 1439 |
| NSW Ivor Zetler          |   62   59 |  16  15 |  4.6  5.0 | 1563  +8 1571 |
| NSW Peter Shaw           |   57   62 |  14  16 |  4.4  4.0 | 1573  -7 1566 |
| NSW Jan Serisier         |  136  123 |  36  34 |  3.2  4.0 | 1426 +17 1443 |
| NSW Betty Foreman        |  152  133 |  41  36 |  2.7  4.0 | 1404 +26 1430 |
| NSW Alison Pollard       |   77   66 |  21  17 |  3.2  4.0 | 1528 +17 1545 |
| NSW Hanne Marks          |   70   79 |  18  20 |  4.8  4.0 | 1538 -15 1523 |
| NSW Pat Schuberg         |  187  155 |  51  44 |  1.9  4.0 | 1360 +44 1404 |
| NSW Graeme Lock Lee      |   60   67 |  15  18 |  5.2  4.0 | 1568 -25 1543 |
| NSW Chris May            |   23   31 |   8   8 |  6.1  3.5 | 1717 -50 1667 |
| NSW Betty Coleman        |  178  179 |  48  49 |  3.0  3.0 | 1366  +1 1367 |
| NSW Trish Windhurst      |  146  142 |  38  38 |  2.8  3.0 | 1415  +4 1419 |
| NSW Jeff Chelton         |  148  153 |  39  42 |  2.4  2.0 | 1413  -8 1405 |
| NSW Rene Chelton         |  170  178 |  46  48 |  2.5  2.0 | 1377  -9 1368 |
| NSW Audrey Newman        |  122  152 |  34  41 |  3.5  1.5 | 1449 -39 1410 |
| NSW Cristine Small       |   64  103 |  17  25 |  4.8  1.0 | 1556 -75 1481 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *ADVANCED                    +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Gary Pollard         |  235  181 |  62  50 |  4.7  7.0 | 1314 +50 1364 |
| NSW Jean Balmer          |  274  252 |  68  63 |  4.3  6.0 | 1250 +35 1285 |
| NSW Rex Shakespeare      |  306  284 |  79  72 |  3.5  5.5 | 1198 +39 1237 |
| NSW Elizabeth Ho         |  226  224 |  59  57 |  5.1  5.0 | 1325  -3 1322 |
| NSW Liz Jackman          |  279  262 |  70  66 |  3.8  5.0 | 1243 +24 1267 |
| NSW Cheryl Michler       |  233  223 |  61  56 |  4.6  5.0 | 1317  +8 1325 |
| NSW Judy Hay             |  249  237 |  64  59 |  4.6  5.0 | 1299  +9 1308 |
| NSW Judy McGuinness      |  267  267 |  67  67 |  4.4  4.5 | 1260  +2 1262 |
| NSW Richard Birch        |  312  302 |  80  79 |  3.2  4.0 | 1188 +15 1203 |
| NSW Raya Wilkinson       |  225  234 |  58  58 |  4.8  4.0 | 1325 -14 1311 |
| NSW Hari Nanayakkara     |  278  276 |  69  69 |  3.7  4.0 | 1244  +5 1249 |
| NSW Margaret Andrews     |  280  278 |  71  70 |  3.7  4.0 | 1240  +6 1246 |
| NSW Denise Smith         |  313  301 |  81  78 |  3.0  4.0 | 1184 +20 1204 |
| NSW Ann Fiddler          |  369  340 |  93  89 |  2.2  4.0 | 1107 +35 1142 |
| NSW Michael Adler :act   |  291  292 |  74  75 |  3.0  3.0 | 1221     1221 |
| NSW Natalie Tadday       |  330  329 |  85  85 |  2.9  3.0 | 1159  +2 1161 |
| NSW Edith Lowbeer        |  344  339 |  89  88 |  2.5  3.0 | 1136 +10 1146 |
| NSW Ram Mohe             |  216  250 |  55  62 |  5.4  3.0 | 1336 -49 1287 |
| NSW Ian Close            |  224  253 |  57  64 |  5.2  3.0 | 1325 -42 1283 |
| NSW Joan Buchanan        |  338  336 |  87  87 |  2.6  3.0 | 1142  +8 1150 |
| NSW Donna MacDonald      |  227  271 |  60  68 |  5.2  2.0 | 1321 -65 1256 |
| NSW Jenny Templeton      |  221  283 |  56  71 |  5.5  1.0 | 1327 -90 1237 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *INTERMEDIATE                +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Bev Purkis           |  398  387 |  97  96 |  5.3  6.0 | 1074 +13 1087 |
| NSW Alan Gauci           |  469  445 | 113 106 |  4.4  6.0 |  992 +33 1025 |
| NSW Peggy Womersley      |  413  402 | 100  99 |  5.3  6.0 | 1054 +15 1069 |
| NSW Sunny Wright         |  552  517 | 131 120 |  3.2  5.0 |  905 +35  940 |
| NSW Nanette Reynolds     |  448  442 | 108 105 |  4.6  5.0 | 1021  +8 1029 |
| NSW Sharon Sorensen      |  497  479 | 117 116 |  4.4  5.0 |  967 +12  979 |
| NSW Sandra Elliott       |  444  449 | 106 108 |  5.3  5.0 | 1027  -7 1020 |
| NSW George Khamis        |  462  456 | 112 110 |  4.5  5.0 | 1005  +9 1014 |
| NSW Dolores Barbon       |  405  440 |  99 103 |  5.5  4.0 | 1060 -29 1031 |
| NSW Mal Ramsdale         |  607  587 | 148 142 |  3.3  4.0 |  859 +20  879 |
| NSW Jan Tomlin           |  619  609 | 151 149 |  3.5  4.0 |  847 +10  857 |
| NSW Heather Sorensen :ac |  525  526 | 124 125 |  4.1  4.0 |  931  -2  929 |
| NSW Jacquelin Hochmuth   |  643  606 | 159 148 |  2.5  4.0 |  830 +30  860 |
| NSW Pam Bennett          |  610  586 | 150 141 |  2.9  4.0 |  857 +22  879 |
| NSW Daphne Bezuidenhout  |  416  463 | 101 113 |  5.4  3.0 | 1049 -48 1001 |
| NSW Esther Rolfe         |  557  572 | 132 136 |  3.5  3.0 |  899 -10  889 |
| NSW Veena Mohe           |  536  554 | 127 131 |  3.9  3.0 |  918 -17  901 |
| QLD Svend Grunnet        |  653  644 |  93  93 |  2.5  3.0 |  820  +9  829 |
| NSW Claire Dove          |  602  616 | 146 151 |  3.3  3.0 |  861  -7  854 |
| NSW Merle Young          |  676  675 | 169 171 |  2.8  3.0 |  802  +3  805 |
| VIC Mary Mackie          |  549  592 | 180 185 |  3.8  2.0 |  907 -37  870 |
| NSW Ivana Duria          |  560  628 | 134 154 |  3.8  1.0 |  896 -56  840 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+
+Section: *RECREATION                  +         +           +               +
+--------------------------------------+---------+-----------+---------------+
| NSW Tony Kalayzich       |  769  662 | 199 165 |  3.8  7.0 |  732 +80  812 |
| NSW David Ragen          |  778  730 | 201 189 |  4.3  6.0 |  724 +33  757 |
|*NSW Peter Thorpe         |    0  706 |   0 178 |  5.0  5.0 |  779      779 |
| NSW Chris Phillips       |  711  725 | 178 186 |  5.5  5.0 |  771  -9  762 |
| NSW Diana Hilly          |  764  767 | 197 202 |  5.0  5.0 |  733  +2  735 |
| NSW Karmel Patterson     |  896  883 | 229 227 |  4.6  5.0 |  637 +12  649 |
| NSW Colleen Hood         |  776  748 | 200 195 |  4.1  5.0 |  728 +17  745 |
|*NSW Peta Cauvin          |    0  668 |   0 167 |  5.0  5.0 |  810      810 |
| NSW Janine Whittaker     |  693  687 | 174 174 |  4.9  5.0 |  790  +3  793 |
| NSW Margaret Coulter     |  683  712 | 171 180 |  5.1  4.0 |  796 -21  775 |
| NSW Audrey Barrett       | 1035  995 | 278 266 |  2.3  4.0 |  538 +34  572 |
| NSW Silvana Newman       |  822  829 | 210 215 |  4.3  4.0 |  696  -6  690 |
|*NSW Mark Smith           |    0  969 |   0 256 |  4.0  4.0 |  587  +1  588 |
| NSW Arie Holla           |  928  916 | 239 234 |  3.5  4.0 |  613  +9  622 |
| NSW Merriss Adler :act   | 1022 1018 | 274 275 |  3.8  4.0 |  547  +5  552 |
| NSW Bev Pye              | 1187 1041 | 338 283 |  2.8  4.0 |  500 +37  537 |
| NSW Anne Mortel          |  995 1001 | 265 270 |  3.2  3.0 |  568  -4  564 |
| NSW Maree Heynen         |  866  919 | 220 235 |  5.2  3.0 |  664 -44  620 |
|*NSW Simone Windon        |    0 1058 |   0 291 |  3.0  3.0 |  524      524 |
|*NSW Mary Moore           |    0 1199 |   0 345 |  2.9  2.0 |  500 -57  443 |
| NSW Diana Field          | 1188 1198 | 339 344 |  2.8  1.0 |  500 -36  464 |
|*NSW Bradley Ragen        |    0 1145 |   0 322 |  2.9  0.4 |  500      500 |
+-------------------------------------+---------+-----------+----------------+