FIFTH WORLD YOUTH SCRABBLE CHAMPIONSHIP – for those born 1/1/1993 or later

Wednesday 8th to Friday 10th December, Manila, The Philippines (hosted by NASCAP) 

LOCATION: Accommodation details are:

1) Great Eastern Hotel, Quezon Avenue, Quezon City (WYSC will be held in their Ballroom) 
- Accommodation is PhP 1,800.00/room/night (double sharing) or US$40.00; no breakfast, or US$ 20.00 per person/night (additional beds available in a double room for approx US$10 per night) 
- Hotel meals are PhP 198.00 (US$4)

- Other meals are less than PhP 100.00 or US$2 in McDonalds or Jollibee or Max Restaurants besides the Hotel 
- Transport by bus is PhP 500.00 or US$10 per person (Clark - Manila and vice versa) 
Transport by taxi is PhP 500.00 or US$10 per group of 4 (Manila - NAIA, vice versa) 

GETTING THERE: Fly into either Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Manila or Clark International Airport (transport will be arranged from the airport to the venue for all participants and chaperons).

Various airlines fly from Singapore (most convenient if you are playing Causeway Challenge first) or Kuala Lumpur – Tiger, Jetstar, Air Asia (from KL), Philippines Airlines, Malaysian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Cebu Pacific etc. 

QUOTAS: Below are quotas for this year. The maximum free entries from any one country have been limited to 10 for this year.  Philippines get an additional 5 places for hosting WYSC. Non-WESPA countries are limited to 2 free entries.

If your country is not mentioned, but would like to reserve spots, contact me.  The OFFICIAL quotas given are free-entry places only.  National Associations should advise proposed numbers by 31st August, and the names of players approximately end September 2010. 

EXTRAS:  We want as many extra players as possible, as long as they can play adequately (eg know all 2-letter words, average over 300 per game).  “Extras” pay an entry fee of US$100, in addition to the normal accommodation costs. This is a major source of funding for WYSC - we cannot continue to run this event without such entry fees.  If you do not qualify to represent your country through their official selection process, you may also apply direct to the WESPA Youth Committee - email me with details of your experience, and you may be granted an extra, ie US$100, place. (Full details of the “extras” policy are shown below) 

RELATED EVENTS:

There are two events before WYSC which are highly recommended for young players.  Both are internationally-rated by WESPA. 

1. Princess Cup, Bangkok, Thailand: Saturday and Sunday 27 and 28th November – excellent prize-money (winner gets US$4000), for players born 1/1/1993 or later. There will also be a side-tournament for adults, using Collins dictionary.  This is a great opportunity to hone your skills against some of Thailand’s best, as they prepare for Causeway and WYSC! (details below) 

2. Causeway Challenge (adults plus youth) – Open Division (WESPA rating under 1600) and Masters (over 1600) 45 games Wednesday 1st to Sunday 5th December, Johor Bahru Malaysia (flying into Singapore is easiest)

Entry fees are US$120 and US$60 for Masters and Open respectively. For details see www.causewayscrabble.com.  The hotel package is the same as last year. Full meal package is RM1375 (~US$435) for single and RM975 each (~US$310) for double, while room only is RM220 (~US$70) per night for single and RM135 (~US$43) per night per person for double. 

Cheap flights are available between Thailand and Singapore, eg Air Asia, Tiger, Jetstar. 

In the two days between Causeway challenge and WYSC, ie 6th and 7th December, NASCAP will hold various activities - a coaching session for those new to tournament play, a free local tour, and some fun activities eg trivia. 

During WYSC, there will be the usual side-tournament for adults, 8th to 10th December. 

After WYSC, 11th December, NASCAP is planning an internationally-rated tournament, suitable for adults plus youth. 

In the interests of developing the skills of young players, I suggest you include as many as possible of these additional events.  International experience against a variety of players at different levels is one of the best ways to challenge them, as well as making new friends from all over the world. 

Karen Richards, Chair Youth Subcommittee,

WESPA (World English-language Scrabble Players Association)  

karendrichards@gmail.com

and

Robin Rubina, President NASCAP

nascap2002@yahoo.com 

 

PRINCESS CUP, THAILAND

Dear All players,

We are pleased to invite you to participate in the 22nd CyberDict International Youth Princess Cup 2010, which will be held

from November 27-28, 2010 at spectacular venue “Central Plaza Chaengwattana Shopping Complex”, Bangkok, with the winner's prize of this year is up to USD 4,000.

We wish to see all of the youth players around the world to show their prowess in vocabulary and strategy. So let's join us and make another history of our beloved board game.

Please find details of the tournament below. Should there be any queries or further information needed, please do not hesitate to contact us. We would greatly appreciate the presence of you and your friends at our event.

Best regards,

Amnuay P.

Chairman of Thailand Crossword Game Association

-------------------------------------------

GENERAL DETAILS  22nd CyberDict Crossword Game International Youth Princess Cup 2010

Date: November 27-28, 2010

Venue: 1st Floor, Central Plaza Chaengwattana Shopping Complex, Bangkok Division (away from the centre of Bangkok)

- International Youth Division, open to all players whose ages are under 18 years old or equivalent.

Players must be aged 17 or under, AS AT 31ST DECEMBER 2010 (ie, born 1st January 1993, or later).

Passports will be checked, and any players over this age will be excluded.

- Special Open Division, open to all without restrictions (Sowpods Dictionary)

Prize of International Youth Division:

- Champion: USD 4,000 + Gift Set

- 2ndplace-getter : 40,000 Baht + Gift Set

- 3rd place-getter : 20,000 Baht + Gift Set

- 4th place-getter : 10,000 Baht + Gift Set

- 5th place-getter : 5,000 Baht + Gift Set

Prize of Special Open Division

- Champion: 30,000 Baht + Gift Set

::::::: NOTE ::::::: - Everyone who receives the total prize money of over 1,000 Baht during the tournament is subject to paying a 5% withholding tax.

Entry Fee: International Youth Division - USD50 for those who has confirmed and sent in their application forms by October 26 , 2010.

** Those who send in their application forms between Oct26 – Nov21, 2010, must pay another additional fee of USD10.

*** The application fee already includes coffee break and can be paid upon Bangkok arrival.

Special Open Division – USD20 for those who has confirmed and sent in their application forms by October 26, 2010.

** Those who send in their application forms between Oct26 – Nov21, 2010, must pay another additional fee of USD10.

Words Source: SOWPODS (CSW).

List of all 2 & 3-letter words and their inflected forms provided for each player to look at during the game. Single Challenge applied.

Challenge Rule: Free challenge, a player does not lose his turn when he challenges the acceptable word(s). Self-checking method, a player and his/her opponent will take a look at challenged word(s) at computer provided.

Game Timing: Each player is allowed 25 MINUTES per game.

Maximum Difference: In each game, a player is allowed to win/lose not more than a maximum point spread of +/- 350. If there is any player win/lose more than maximum point spread of +/- 350, (s)he should record in Master score card and tally sheet with only +/- 350 point spread.

Format: - 15 games in total.

- Game 1-14 will be based on Swiss pairing system with maximal 3 repeat pairing permitted.

- Game 15 will be based on King-of-the-Hill pairing system with unlimited repeats. Then after game 15, the top two players play the final.

- The two finalists go to final with special rule: They have to play two games. If one of them wins both games, then that player will be the winner. But if they tie with a win and a loss, the third game will be played. The winner, in this case, is the one who scores the most when combining scores from three games.

Remark: The Gibson's rule will be applied, in case, there is a player who has won enough games to guarantee 1st place or a seat in the finals, no matter how many games s/he loses thereafter.

Accommodation:

==The TK.Palace Hotel (4 stars hotel) offers the rate of 1,400 Baht/ night (~US$44) for a single room and 1,600 Baht / night (~US$50, or US$25 each) for a twin or double room. 

The TK.Palace Hotel is located at

54/7 Chaengwattana Rd.,Soi 15,

Laksi, Bangkok 10210

Tel:(662)574-1588

Note: The above room rates are inclusive of 10% service charge and 7%VAT

:::::Remark::::: The reservation can be done through us. (contact Mr.Nawapadol)

Schedule:

Saturday, November 27, 8.30-19.30, at 1st floor, Central Plaza Chaengwattana/Grand Opening Ceremony / Round 1-8

Sunday, November 28, 8.30-19.30, at 1st floor, Central Plaza Chaengwattana/Round 9-15 / Final Playoff / Closing Ceremony

For Application and Inquiry, contact Mr.Nawapadol by Email: info@thaicrossword.com

or Telephone (662) 6819971-3 or Fax (662) 6819974

How to apply  Send us your info about the below topics as well as your recent 1-inch photograph (2 copies) at the above-mentioned address. (you may send them via snail mail, email or fax -the easiest is to attach photographs with your email).

-- Player’s Name:

-- Age:

-- Nationality:

-- Address:

-- Telephone Number: (please indicate your city's code)

-- Email:

-- Past records in any tournament:

-- Player’s parent or legal guardian who will escort the player  

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“EXTRA” PLAYERS FOR WYSC 2010 - For 2010, WESPA is trialling a system of open entry to WYSC, alongside the nominated teams from each country. 

The reasons for doing this are:

1. Some young players do not have a national Scrabble organisation, through which to qualify
2. Some players may miss out on formal qualification for a variety of reasons

1. Money and distance prevent them play the required minimum number of tournament games (eg Indonesia and Philippines, consisting of hundreds of islands, or countries like Australia or Russia where players could live over 1000kms from the nearest city)

2. Important exams may be scheduled on the same day as a qualifying tournament
3. They may start competing too late in the year to meet any necessary criteria.

3. This avoids potential citizenship situations like the Nigel Richards/ WSC dilemma, where a player does not clearly qualify for either his country of birth or country of residence

4. WYSC has no source of funding.  We rely on entry fees received from “extra” entrants to cover administrative costs, which usually run up to $2000 or more. Some costs have been borne by myself in the past, when there was insufficient revenue from extra players. We desperately need the additional funds which the paid entries provide. This allows all sponsorship money to be preserved for prize-money only.
5. We (WESPA Youth Committee) decided in 2009 that the best way to promote Youth Scrabble was to have a large and visible presence at WYSC – hence we need to eventually attract hundreds of entries.

 

How this differs from previous years, and why: Each country has been entitled to select up to 3 additional players above their quota, who they felt were worthy.  Some countries have been very good at doing this, and have sent a number of extra players over the years, whereas others have denied entry to “extra” players who were not only worthy competitors, but would have contributed much-needed funds to help run this event. From hereon, WESPA will be taking control of these extra players (unless a country prefers to do it for us, without restraint, eg Thailand have always been very good at choosing suitable additional players, and we believe will continue to do so, without denying entry to any players who should be there).

WEPSA have the right to organise this event in the way that best benefits the cause of Youth Scrabble, and best furthers our aim to see more young players competing worldwide. 

How it will work, for 2010 only: Each country has been allocated a quota based on their number of young players, the standard of those players, the numbers who have competed in past WYSC events, and whether they are WESPA members. national associations should be well-advanced in selecting their official team.  Early selection allows for cheaper airfares, organising fundraising activities for team members, and scheduling additional training for teams. 

Anyone who misses out on selection for their national team may then (up until 30th September) apply for special entry, direct to the organizers (ie WESPA Youth Committee, in conjunction with the host country, who may have space restrictions).  They will email me direct, pleading their case (experience, including past tournament results/ratings, and why they didn’t qualify through normal means).  I will check with their National Association, if such exists.  Questions I will ask their national association include whether they are members of that association, and whether there is any good reason for rejecting their application (eg they have been banned for cheating, or have behaved badly towards other team members or the association). 

How they will be treated: Extra players organise and pay for their own airfares and accommodation, as well as pay the additional entry fee (equivalent to US$100, payable at the event). Their national association is not be responsible for their supervision or any administrative work involved in their inclusion (unless they make individual arrangements with their association to do so).  In the souvenir program, and on the website, their country will be acknowledged, but it will be clear that they are “extra” players – they will be listed below the main teams on the program, and those from the official team will have eg “Team Australia” after their names - versus the extras, who will just have eg “Australia” after their name. 

What this mean for National Associations: For 2010 only, we are asking you to open your doors to allow as many extras as wish to compete, to do so, either via your organisation, or by encouraging them to approach us directly with their request (in which case, we will organise with you for them to join your association, so that you can maintain contact, and encourage them to become more active in future tournaments in their home country)

You are expected to take no responsibility for these players – it is up to their parents or teachers to provide supervision and organise their attendance (transport, accommodation, tournament entry etc)

On the positive side, we agree to include the results of any of these “extra” players in our considerations of your future quotas.  For instance, your “extra” may have been a late-starter, who missed the qualification period, but is well-experienced on ISC, and who finishes ahead of one of your official team members.  In that case, we can consider the finishing position of the “extra” in lieu of your lowest-finishing official team member when allocating next year’s quotas. 

What we expect to happen in future years: We will in future consider a two-tiered structure (similar to Causeway, where the top group are selectively invited, the best players from each country, and the remaining sections are Open Entry, ie anyone can play)

This will achieve three things:

1. We can restrict the top section to approximately 100 players, which is sufficiently large to allow for fast computation of results, and ensures everyone a reasonable chance to play others at their own level, hence providing a more accurate end-result (mathematically, anything over 128 players takes too long to allow the best players to reach the top of the field)
2. It will maintain the integrity and exclusivity of the Main event, allowing National Associations to continue to press for a very high standard from their young players, with strict qualifying procedures, and thus putting WYSC on a par with other major world Scrabble international events such as Causeway Challenge (Premier Section) and World Scrabble Championship
3. It will allow us to establish more realistic and equitable quotas for all countries, such that in future there will be a definite and limited number of entrants in the main event.  We hope to eventually raise substantial sponsorship (similar to how Mattel sponsor WSC).  Suppose a large company agrees to pay some of the costs of accommodation or transport, for selected team members from each country - this requires us to maintain a clear distinction between those who are chosen to compete (say, limited to 100) and those who pay to compete.

 

For this year only, both “extras” and official teams compete in the same section.  If the number of “extras” this year exceeds 25, we will consider having two divisions in subsequent years, to maintain the standard and integrity of WYSC. Therefore, it is in the interests of all countries to encourage as many extra (self-funded) entries as possible this year, and assist WESPA to increase the overall number of players by accepting open entries in addition to team entries (as long as they have some experience in tournament play, can score correctly, etc).