International Quiz Bowl Tournaments, LLC. is pleased to announce that we will be hosting the inaugural Collegiate Scrabble Championship in Lexington, Kentucky on Saturday and Sunday, March 22 & 23.
The Collegiate Scrabble Championship (CSC) is a two-day, fifteen-round tournament. Registration will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m., with eight rounds of play on that day. Play will resume on Sunday at 9 a.m., with seven rounds of play.
Action will start with an early bird tournament on March 21 that is open to both college and non-college students.
Collegiate Scrabble Championship Tournament Information
The CSC is open exclusively to current college students, including post-secondary degree seekers, as defined below.
The CSC will be held at the Fairfield Inn Lexington North at 2100 Hackney Place, Lexington, KY, 40511.
The tournament will use a modified Swiss pairs format for 13 rounds, followed by two rounds of king of the hill. The Gibsonization rule will be in place, based on number of games plus 1000 points per game remaining.
The entry fee for the CSC is $106 per player, which includes sales tax. There is a commuter fee of $34 per player (which includes sales tax) for any players that do not stay at the Fairfield Inn Lexington North.
80% of entry fees after sales tax and hosting costs will go into the prize pool for the CSC.
The field for the CSC will initially be capped at 60 competitors, but it will be expanded as interest, space, and staffing allows.
A list of registered players for the CSC can be found here.
Early Bird Tournament Information
There will be a five-round early bird tournament held on March 21 at 1 p.m. Eastern. This event is open to all interested players, regardless of enrollment status.
The early bird will use a modified Swiss pairs format for four rounds, followed by a round of king of the hill. The Gibsonization rule will be in place, based on number of games plus 1000 points per game remaining.
The entry fee for the early bird is $31.80 per player, which includes sales tax.
All entry fees after sales tax and room costs will go into the prize pool for the early bird.
Like the CSC, the early bird field will be limited to 60 players.
A list of registered players for the early bird can be found here.
Tournament rules & lexicon
Both the early bird and the CSC will use the latest NWL lexicon. As of September 2024, that ist he NWL2023 lexicon.
The tournament will be held using the NASPA Official Tournament Rules.
Entry fees
All entry fees must be paid by March 15. Please contact Fred Morlan at fred@iqbtnasat.com regarding payment flexibility if necessary.
NASPA Membership & Ratings
All competitors must be registered members of NASPA Games. Membership is $30 a year. Payment can either be made directly to NASPA Games or collected by the tournament director before the start of the event in question.
Both the early bird and the main event will be NASPA-rated. NASPA requires two players in a division to be rated for rating points to be awarded.
CSC Eligibility
The CSC is only open to current college students. Eligibility is determined using the following rules and definitions.
- A competition year is defined as beginning August 1 of a year and concludes on the subsequent July 31.
- A postsecondary degree is an associate’s, bachelor’s, doctorate, or master’s degree.
- An accredited school is one that offers classes towards earning a postsecondary degree.
- A class is a course taken for credit at an accredited school. Classes include practical experiences such as internships or work placement programs. Classes may be taken online. A class is defined as being worth 3.0 credit hours at a college with a “traditional,” two semester per academic year schedule.
An eligible college student is defined as:
- Having graduated from high school or have completed a GED.
- Taking three classes over the competition year from an accredited school.
An undergraduate student is defined as:
- Meeting the above criteria for a college student, and:
- Having not graduated with a postsecondary degree (excluding associate’s degrees taking fewer than four years to earn) before the competition year.
- Having completed no more than ten semesters of post-high school education.
Students who have taken the required number of classes and graduated after the fall semester are eligible to compete in the spring semester.
Students enrolled in a co-op or other experiential course but are under the necessary number of credit hours to be eligible and that meet all the other eligibility requirements may request an exemption to be granted eligibility by email Fred Morlan at fred@iqbtnasat.com.
Study tips
This tournament is meant to partially attract new competitive Scrabble players. If you are in this group, the following resources will be of use to you.
- Zyzzyva – Software with word look-up, cardbox, and quizzing features.
- Wordwalls – A web application that has new quizzes each day, as well as other study tools.
- Play Scrabble – A web-based platform that allows you to play Scrabble remotely, as well as a couple of daily puzzles.
- Woogles – another web platform for playing against other people or computer opponents. There is also a Puzzle mode.
- Mack Meller’s YouTube page – Mack is the #1 player in North America as of September 2024, and won the 2024 Scrabble Players Championship. He has two particularly helpful playlists regarding studying: How to Get Better at Scrabble Without Memorizing Tons of Words, and Word Study.
- Will Anderson’s YouTube page – Will won the 2017 Scrabble Players Championship. His YouTube breaks down high profile games and the strategy used in them, as well as some theory with his “Better Know a Letter” series.
- NASPA Club Roster – A list of all NASPA-affiliated Scrabble clubs that meet on a regular basis.
Hotel information
Rooms are available at the Fairfield Inn Lexington North with a group rate of $129/night/room. Notify the front desk of the Scrabble rate when making your reservation over the phone, or request a booking link from Fred Morlan via email at fred@iqbtnasat.com.
The Fairfield Inn Lexington North’s rooms and suites feature a flat panel TV, mini-refrigerator, coffee maker and complimentary Wi-Fi. Sleep comfortably on ultra-plush bedding, with soft linens & fluffy pillows. After a relaxing night of sleep, enjoy a complimentary breakfast to start your day.
Check-in time of 3:00PM or later. Anyone arriving prior to 3:00PM will be accommodated as soon as possible, but should be advised that there may be a wait. Check-out time is at 12:00PM. Arrangements can be made for baggage storage with our front desk staff.
Sponsorship
IQBT is searching for sponsors for the CSC, including those who are interested in contributing to the prize pool for the CSC. If you are interested in sponsoring the CSC, please contact Fred Morlan at fred@iqbtnasat.com.
Additional information
Players that have additional questions may contact Fred Morlan at fred@iqbtnasat.com.
Scrabble is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc. IQBT makes no claims to any Scrabble-related trademark or other intellectual property.