Lila Kay Crotty

What a wonderful celebration we had for our 10th Annual Crescent City Cup Scrabble tournament, January 15-17 in New Orleans, Louisiana!
It was different indeed, but given the times we are living in, well, it is what it is. At 80 players, this was the smallest attendance we have ever had, ranging from 90 in 2012 to 137 to 2019. 28 registered players canceled within the last two weeks reflecting concerns about the Omicron variant. While very understandable, it was also disheartening. The flip side of the coin: these 28 players WANTED to be with us and as this pandemic subsides and better times return, we look forward to a time when all who are able will return to play! It was a fully vaccinated group of players, healthy if we judge by the lack of coughing and sneezing and the frequent temperature checks.
 It was a wildly different experience depending if you were a viewer in the comfort of your own home or a player in the confines of our hotel venue. Streaming of live games brought top-quality Collins (CSW) play right to your living room. Facebook posts brought you pictures of people playing and interviews with some of the Scrabblers. Result links brought round by round scores right to your computer or cell phone. As a director in the playing room, imagine my surprise when a family friend in Texas texted me, “Exactly the same tiles!” On the stream, Austin Shin and Chris Lipe each had racks with A E I M O R T! What is the statistical likelihood of that happening? Carl Davis in Atlanta watched all 20 games that were streamed. Hassan Wasiu Oluwagbenga texted me looking for the results links. 
We were so touched by Facebook posts from Scrabblers around North America who were unable to come, but in union with those of us here, were cooking New Orleans favorites. Our own Kate and Tim Fukawa-Connelly in New Jersey were cooking gumbo as was Matt Canik in Texas. Christ Patrick Morgan was cooking Shrimp Tchefuncte. Geoff Thevenot and Melissa Routzahn in Illinois had Zapp’s potato chips, macque choux corn, gumbo, and muffulettas! With us in spirit! 
Speaking of Tim and Kate, they were involved with the tournament through Zoom planning meetings and emails. During the length of the tournament, they were connected by Zoom, entering date to TSH, providing guidance about the stream and director calls, correcting errors made by players on reporting slips. So invaluable!
 Tim Crotty, who has been with us all nine years inputting results to TSH was home this year babysitting our two granddaughters and 11-month-old Oliver. He was able to come on Friday to help set up and then again on Monday afternoon to help break down the room, pack our cars, and move everything home. 
Christian Kay, who has been streaming with us now since 2018 provided the best coverage to date! His custom-designed C3 logo surrounded by 10 fleurs-de-lis adorned our name tags, souvenir cups, flashing necklaces, and table number signs. His CCC animated clip awed us on the stream receiving 1600 views to date. 
Our commentators were Will Anderson and Conrad Bassett-Bouchard who added their expert observations, explaining plays and options as our competitors faced each other on the stream. Games were viewed by as many as 150 watchers around the world. 
Lindsay Shin and Lila Crotty handled the onsite directing and running of the tournament with the able co-directing team of Kate and Tim Fukawa-Connelly. Austin Shin did so much work prior to the event including overhauling our spreadsheet and automating registration. He assisted with set up and tear down and concentrated on playing during the event. 
A big thank you to our friends at the Drury Inn who kept us comfortable all weekend. As omicron caused our numbers to dwindle, management at the hotel granted us use of Ballroom C at no additional cost. Along with Ballrooms A and B, we had 50% more space to accommodate our smaller group. We were able to space our tables out. They also assured me I would not be held to selling 80% if our room block should our reservations fall below the contracted number.
A shout out to NASPA who supports us each year with donations of equipment (long racks, tiles, and dictionaries) that we can give out as prizes.  An additional $300 donation was provided again to help us provide Social Media manpower.  And this year for the first time, since we qualified as a Scrabble Player’s Championship Satellite Event, we were able to award a complimentary SPC registration.  This went to the NWL Open player with the highest rating gain.  All of these contributions helped to make the CCC a fun and rewarding event for so many players.
Huge thanks to our sponsor Scopely (ScrabbleGO) for supporting our tournament to the tune of $5000. As tournament costs are constantly increasing, the donation allowed us to provide a quality tournament experience. While the majority of funds went toward expenses for streaming and commentary, we also were able to spend money on amenities for all of our players. An agreed-upon amount was added to prize funds for the Collins Divisions as Scopely&#8217;s primary audience use the CSW dictionary.
We are very much looking forward to better times and the hope of a bigger and better Crescent City Cup! 

<h3 class="p1">Prizes were awarded as follows: </h3>
Early Bird Prize: Chris Schneider (*return of Entry Fee) 
CSW Open Division (14 Players) 
  Champion: Dave Koenig, 13.5-6.5, +1280 $1,190 
  Runner-up: Austin Shin, 13-7, +695 $660 
  3rd Place: Josh Castellano, 13-7, +390 $360 
  4th Place: Dave Wiegand, 12-8, +641 Tile bag/Tiles 
  Class B, 1st Place: Puneet Sharma, 11-9, +45 $240 
  High Play: Rasheed Balogun TOWLINES, 149 mask 
  High Game: Chris Lipe 643-357 vs Dave Wiegand $10 
  High Loss: Lucas Freeman 477-490 vs Ben Schoenbrun $10 
CSW Lite Division (12 Players) 
  Champion: Laura Wolfson, 15-5, +1338 $670 
  Runner-up: Jeremy Jeffers, 14-6, +198 $420 
  3rd Place: Ifedayo Obisesan, 11-9, -13 Tile bag/Tiles 
  Class B, 1st Place: Ayotunde Adeyeri, 13-7 $160
  High Play:   Absar Mustajab READJUST, 167 
  High Game: Absar Mustajab 628-281 vs BriAnna McKissen $10 
  High Loss: Nitya Chagti 443-548 vs Ifedayo Obisesan $10 
  CSW High Rating Change: Laura Wolfson (from 1355 to 1468) $200
NWL Open Division (22 Players) 
  Champion: Kevin Fraley, 15-5, +1185 $730 
  Runner-up: Joey Mallick, 14.5-5.5, +761 $460
  3rd Place: Jackson Smylie, 13-7, +586 $270 
  4th Place: Josh Sokol, 12-8, +1115 Tile bag/Tiles 
  5th Place: Jeff Fiszbein 12-8, -306 NWL Dictionary
  Class B, 1st Place: Michael Baker, 12-8, +513 $200 
  Class B, 2nd Place: Chris Schneider, 12-8, -108 $160 
  Tuff Luck Award (donated by Helen Joffe) Billy Nakamura (losses by 1,2,18,31,46,48) $30  
  High Word: Judy Cole DIFFUSER, 98 Mask 
  High Game: Timothy Botorff 607-296 vs Jackie Camper $10 
  High Loss: Cynthia Seales 453-457 vs Ed DeGuzman $10 
NWL Lite Division (32 Players) 
  Champion: Josh Greenway, 16-4, +939 $620 
  Runner-Up: Annette Obrestad, 15-5, +787 $410 
  3rd Place: Kevin Black, 14-6, +468 $290 
  4th Place: Ferdinand Addo, 13-7, +628 $250 
  5th Place: Rishabh Murali, 13-7, +433 $210 
  6th Place: Sarah Waits, 12-8, +767 Tile bag/Tiles 
  7th Place: Brian Summers, 12-8, +520 NWL Dictionary 
  Class B, 1st Place: Elaine Livers, 11-9, +642 $210 
  Class B, 2nd Place: Aaron Dyreson, 11-9, +88 $120 
  High Word: Brian Garnett, STUBBING, 167 $10 
  High Game: Ralph Ireland 533-272 vs Aaron Dyreson $10 
  High Loss: Cheryl Kagan 429-439 vs Kevin Black $10 
  Newbies High Rating Change: Annette Obrestad (from 0 to 1556) tiles
                                                             Jeffrey Moore (from 0 to 1125) tiles 
  Newbies Welcome Prize: Brian Garnett racks 
                                                   Aaron Dyreson racks 
                                                   Caleb Dentry racks 
                                                   Richard Scheidt racks 
                                                   Cody Smith racks 
NWL High Rating Change: Michael Baker (from 1626 to 1745) free entry to Scrabble Players Championship
&nbsp;
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	The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/the-10th-annual-crescent-city-cup/">The 10th Annual Crescent City Cup</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.

What a wonderful celebration we had for our 10th Annual Crescent City Cup Scrabble tournament, January 15-17 in New Orleans, Louisiana!
It was different indeed, but given the times we are living in, well, it is what it is. At 80 players, this was the smallest attendance we have ever had, ranging from 90 in 2012 to 137 to 2019. 28 registered players canceled within the last two weeks reflecting concerns about the Omicron variant. While very understandable, it was also disheartening. The flip side of the coin: these 28 players WANTED to be with us and as this pandemic subsides and better times return, we look forward to a time when all who are able will return to play! It was a fully vaccinated group of players, healthy if we judge by the lack of coughing and sneezing and the frequent temperature checks.
 It was a wildly different experience depending if you were a viewer in the comfort of your own home or a player in the confines of our hotel venue. Streaming of live games brought top-quality Collins (CSW) play right to your living room. Facebook posts brought you pictures of people playing and interviews with some of the Scrabblers. Result links brought round by round scores right to your computer or cell phone. As a director in the playing room, imagine my surprise when a family friend in Texas texted me, “Exactly the same tiles!” On the stream, Austin Shin and Chris Lipe each had racks with A E I M O R T! What is the statistical likelihood of that happening? Carl Davis in Atlanta watched all 20 games that were streamed. Hassan Wasiu Oluwagbenga texted me looking for the results links. 
We were so touched by Facebook posts from Scrabblers around North America who were unable to come, but in union with those of us here, were cooking New Orleans favorites. Our own Kate and Tim Fukawa-Connelly in New Jersey were cooking gumbo as was Matt Canik in Texas. Christ Patrick Morgan was cooking Shrimp Tchefuncte. Geoff Thevenot and Melissa Routzahn in Illinois had Zapp’s potato chips, macque choux corn, gumbo, and muffulettas! With us in spirit! 
Speaking of Tim and Kate, they were involved with the tournament through Zoom planning meetings and emails. During the length of the tournament, they were connected by Zoom, entering date to TSH, providing guidance about the stream and director calls, correcting errors made by players on reporting slips. So invaluable!
 Tim Crotty, who has been with us all nine years inputting results to TSH was home this year babysitting our two granddaughters and 11-month-old Oliver. He was able to come on Friday to help set up and then again on Monday afternoon to help break down the room, pack our cars, and move everything home. 
Christian Kay, who has been streaming with us now since 2018 provided the best coverage to date! His custom-designed C3 logo surrounded by 10 fleurs-de-lis adorned our name tags, souvenir cups, flashing necklaces, and table number signs. His CCC animated clip awed us on the stream receiving 1600 views to date. 
Our commentators were Will Anderson and Conrad Bassett-Bouchard who added their expert observations, explaining plays and options as our competitors faced each other on the stream. Games were viewed by as many as 150 watchers around the world. 
Lindsay Shin and Lila Crotty handled the onsite directing and running of the tournament with the able co-directing team of Kate and Tim Fukawa-Connelly. Austin Shin did so much work prior to the event including overhauling our spreadsheet and automating registration. He assisted with set up and tear down and concentrated on playing during the event. 
A big thank you to our friends at the Drury Inn who kept us comfortable all weekend. As omicron caused our numbers to dwindle, management at the hotel granted us use of Ballroom C at no additional cost. Along with Ballrooms A and B, we had 50% more space to accommodate our smaller group. We were able to space our tables out. They also assured me I would not be held to selling 80% if our room block should our reservations fall below the contracted number.
A shout out to NASPA who supports us each year with donations of equipment (long racks, tiles, and dictionaries) that we can give out as prizes.  An additional $300 donation was provided again to help us provide Social Media manpower.  And this year for the first time, since we qualified as a Scrabble Player’s Championship Satellite Event, we were able to award a complimentary SPC registration.  This went to the NWL Open player with the highest rating gain.  All of these contributions helped to make the CCC a fun and rewarding event for so many players.
Huge thanks to our sponsor Scopely (ScrabbleGO) for supporting our tournament to the tune of $5000. As tournament costs are constantly increasing, the donation allowed us to provide a quality tournament experience. While the majority of funds went toward expenses for streaming and commentary, we also were able to spend money on amenities for all of our players. An agreed-upon amount was added to prize funds for the Collins Divisions as Scopely&#8217;s primary audience use the CSW dictionary.
We are very much looking forward to better times and the hope of a bigger and better Crescent City Cup! 

Prizes were awarded as follows: 
Early Bird Prize: Chris Schneider (*return of Entry Fee) 
CSW Open Division (14 Players) 
  Champion: Dave Koenig, 13.5-6.5, +1280 $1,190 
  Runner-up: Austin Shin, 13-7, +695 $660 
  3rd Place: Josh Castellano, 13-7, +390 $360 
  4th Place: Dave Wiegand, 12-8, +641 Tile bag/Tiles 
  Class B, 1st Place: Puneet Sharma, 11-9, +45 $240 
  High Play: Rasheed Balogun TOWLINES, 149 mask 
  High Game: Chris Lipe 643-357 vs Dave Wiegand $10 
  High Loss: Lucas Freeman 477-490 vs Ben Schoenbrun $10 
CSW Lite Division (12 Players) 
  Champion: Laura Wolfson, 15-5, +1338 $670 
  Runner-up: Jeremy Jeffers, 14-6, +198 $420 
  3rd Place: Ifedayo Obisesan, 11-9, -13 Tile bag/Tiles 
  Class B, 1st Place: Ayotunde Adeyeri, 13-7 $160
  High Play:   Absar Mustajab READJUST, 167 
  High Game: Absar Mustajab 628-281 vs BriAnna McKissen $10 
  High Loss: Nitya Chagti 443-548 vs Ifedayo Obisesan $10 
  CSW High Rating Change: Laura Wolfson (from 1355 to 1468) $200
NWL Open Division (22 Players) 
  Champion: Kevin Fraley, 15-5, +1185 $730 
  Runner-up: Joey Mallick, 14.5-5.5, +761 $460
  3rd Place: Jackson Smylie, 13-7, +586 $270 
  4th Place: Josh Sokol, 12-8, +1115 Tile bag/Tiles 
  5th Place: Jeff Fiszbein 12-8, -306 NWL Dictionary
  Class B, 1st Place: Michael Baker, 12-8, +513 $200 
  Class B, 2nd Place: Chris Schneider, 12-8, -108 $160 
  Tuff Luck Award (donated by Helen Joffe) Billy Nakamura (losses by 1,2,18,31,46,48) $30  
  High Word: Judy Cole DIFFUSER, 98 Mask 
  High Game: Timothy Botorff 607-296 vs Jackie Camper $10 
  High Loss: Cynthia Seales 453-457 vs Ed DeGuzman $10 
NWL Lite Division (32 Players) 
  Champion: Josh Greenway, 16-4, +939 $620 
  Runner-Up: Annette Obrestad, 15-5, +787 $410 
  3rd Place: Kevin Black, 14-6, +468 $290 
  4th Place: Ferdinand Addo, 13-7, +628 $250 
  5th Place: Rishabh Murali, 13-7, +433 $210 
  6th Place: Sarah Waits, 12-8, +767 Tile bag/Tiles 
  7th Place: Brian Summers, 12-8, +520 NWL Dictionary 
  Class B, 1st Place: Elaine Livers, 11-9, +642 $210 
  Class B, 2nd Place: Aaron Dyreson, 11-9, +88 $120 
  High Word: Brian Garnett, STUBBING, 167 $10 
  High Game: Ralph Ireland 533-272 vs Aaron Dyreson $10 
  High Loss: Cheryl Kagan 429-439 vs Kevin Black $10 
  Newbies High Rating Change: Annette Obrestad (from 0 to 1556) tiles
                                                             Jeffrey Moore (from 0 to 1125) tiles 
  Newbies Welcome Prize: Brian Garnett racks 
                                                   Aaron Dyreson racks 
                                                   Caleb Dentry racks 
                                                   Richard Scheidt racks 
                                                   Cody Smith racks 
NWL High Rating Change: Michael Baker (from 1626 to 1745) free entry to Scrabble Players Championship
&nbsp;
Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? Click this link to send us your article.

Do you want to discuss this article with the community? Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.					
	The post The 10th Annual Crescent City Cup appeared first on Scrabble.

The 10th Annual Crescent City Cup

In the &#8217;50s and &#8217;60s, my sister, May, and I had received a boxed Scrabble game by Selchow and Righter.
As children, we taught ourselves how to play the game using the rules on the box top and a World Book Dictionary as our reference. Our parents had immigrated from China and were, at the time, still learning English. 
So, naturally, it was up to my sister and me to motivate ourselves to not only learn the language but to continually expand our vocabulary enough to compete in our favorite board games.  
It took 40+ years, but our journey has finally brought us to playing Scrabble at a competitive level. By the year 2000, we found places to play our favorite game online. 
Yahoo Games Literati was the place my daughter, Lindsay, and I hung out. It was a consortium of casual players and those that would go on to blossom into national champions. Over time, we progressed to playing individual games and participated in ISC (Internet Scrabble Club) tournaments.
We have grown to enjoy many games over the years, but Scrabble has been a longstanding favorite because of our shared love of words.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Fast Forward</h4>



November 2011 saw the birth of Lea, Lindsay&#8217;s daughter, and our renewed hope for the next generation of Scrabble players.  
By that time, Lindsay and I were members of the National Scrabble Association (soon to be the North American Scrabble Association) and had been attending and then directing the local Scrabble Club since 2003.  
Of course, when it was safe for her to do so, we carted Lea in her car seat right into the club alongside Lindsay and me.  
Lea grew up to the sounds of rattling tiles and shouts of Challenge! and Bingo!



<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-201" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blur7788.png" alt="" width="526" height="395" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blur7788.png 960w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blur7788-300x225.png 300w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blur7788-768x576.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px" />
<figcaption>Baby Lea at Scrabble Club</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>



She learned her ABCs like most children and was reading before many in her age group. At age 3, she was tested for entry to Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies, an outstanding public school dedicated to nurturing our gifted children.  
Lindsay has since flourished at Metairie Academy and is getting ready to enter 4th grade.
As she grew, I watched with wonder the development of youth Scrabblers across the country. We looked on as many of these children grow from pre-teens into extraordinarily talented adult wordsmiths. 
Would our Lea enjoy a lifelong love of words as myself, my sister, and my daughter have?
How could we involve Lea in the Scrabble scene?
Is it possible to fully integrate into the competitive circuit when much of the action took place on the East Coast and in the Northeast?  



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">And then</h4>



Austin Shin, himself a child Scrabbler turned World competitor, entered into our lives.  
While Tim and I had met Austin at Nationals in Buffalo and Reno, our first encounter as a family was in January 2016 when Austin came to compete in the Crescent City Cup Scrabble tournament.



<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-203" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blur_7785.png" alt="" width="546" height="410" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blur_7785.png 640w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/blur_7785-300x225.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 546px) 100vw, 546px" />
<figcaption>Austin and Lea having beignets</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>



As Lindsay and Austin courted and eventually married, our focus on Scrabble intensified. Lindsay learned study techniques that elevated her game, and we cheered as Austin competed in international competitions.
In 2017, Lea and her sister witnessed Lindsay, Austin, and me competing in the North American Scrabble Championship in our hometown of New Orleans.  
Lindsay and Austin won their respective divisions as we were cheered on by the kids.



<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-182" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_7786.jpg" alt="" width="486" height="648" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_7786.jpg 720w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_7786-225x300.jpg 225w" sizes="(max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px" />
<figcaption>Lindsay, Austin, and kids at 2017 Nationals</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Metairie Academy Scrabble Club</h4>



In the Fall of 2019, after consulting with Cornelia Guest and others, we began teaching the 1st thru 4th graders of Metairie Academy Scrabble Club the basics of the game. Our first grader Penny and second-grader Lea were active participants.  
The semester ended with a small tourney with awards and certificates.  
The Spring semester was cut short by the Covid pandemic.



<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-205" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_7789.png" alt="" width="590" height="443" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_7789.png 1024w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_7789-300x225.png 300w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_7789-768x576.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 590px) 100vw, 590px" />
<figcaption>School Scrabblers</figcaption>
</figure>
</div>



After learning two-letter words, the class practiced anagramming with book exercises and word apps. They then applied their knowledge to actually playing on the board.
Lea continued through the summer of 2020 by learning words on Aerolith and playing on the board with mom. Eventually, she became active on Scrabble GO, playing in challenges, Arena, and individual games.  
With 2021 came Woogles.io, where the adults began playing online clubs. Lea plays daily games with me while being coached in in-game strategy by mommy Lindsay and &#8220;baba&#8221; Austin.
Lea&#8217;s love of words is shown in more than just her love of the <a href="https://playscrabble.com/">game Scrabble</a>. She is also a voracious reader. By the time she was 8 years old, Lea had finished reading all the Harry Potter books!



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Changes</h4>



Despite the pandemic being a worldwide emergency and ordeal, there have been unintended benefits.  
Pre-pandemic, our Scrabble Club included our regular locals who played with us at our regular gathering spot, Reginelli&#8217;s. But playing online, as we have been forced to do, has allowed us to include players from Mississippi, Louisiana, California, Arizona, and Toronto.  
Indeed, as the pandemic seems to be waning, we are considering meeting again in person. We are addressing how we can still include others outside our local membership.
Online playing has opened up the possibility of Lea playing against other children her age. 
Online tournaments organized by Cornelia Guest, Judy Cole, and others are made available to children across the country. Lea, who is now nine years old, is looking forward to her first competitive experience in COSY (Classic Online Scrabble for Youths) this coming weekend.  
So to answer the initial question, &#8220;How to Develop Vocabulary in Children Using Scrabble?&#8221;  
I think the answer to this might be to share your own life experience and show her your delight in wordplay and competition.



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#discussion/19/%EF%B8%8F-contribute-to-the-scrabble-blog/p1">Click this link to send us your article.</a></h6>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Do you want to discuss this article with the community? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#categories/blog-discussions">Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.</a></h6>
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	The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/how-to-develop-vocabulary-in-children-using-scrabble-play-scrabble/">How to Develop Vocabulary in Children Using Scrabble</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.

In the &#8217;50s and &#8217;60s, my sister, May, and I had received a boxed Scrabble game by Selchow and Righter.
As children, we taught ourselves how to play the game using the rules on the box top and a World Book Dictionary as our reference. Our parents had immigrated from China and were, at the time, still learning English. 
So, naturally, it was up to my sister and me to motivate ourselves to not only learn the language but to continually expand our vocabulary enough to compete in our favorite board games.  
It took 40+ years, but our journey has finally brought us to playing Scrabble at a competitive level. By the year 2000, we found places to play our favorite game online. 
Yahoo Games Literati was the place my daughter, Lindsay, and I hung out. It was a consortium of casual players and those that would go on to blossom into national champions. Over time, we progressed to playing individual games and participated in ISC (Internet Scrabble Club) tournaments.
We have grown to enjoy many games over the years, but Scrabble has been a longstanding favorite because of our shared love of words.



Fast Forward



November 2011 saw the birth of Lea, Lindsay&#8217;s daughter, and our renewed hope for the next generation of Scrabble players.  
By that time, Lindsay and I were members of the National Scrabble Association (soon to be the North American Scrabble Association) and had been attending and then directing the local Scrabble Club since 2003.  
Of course, when it was safe for her to do so, we carted Lea in her car seat right into the club alongside Lindsay and me.  
Lea grew up to the sounds of rattling tiles and shouts of Challenge! and Bingo!





Baby Lea at Scrabble Club





She learned her ABCs like most children and was reading before many in her age group. At age 3, she was tested for entry to Metairie Academy for Advanced Studies, an outstanding public school dedicated to nurturing our gifted children.  
Lindsay has since flourished at Metairie Academy and is getting ready to enter 4th grade.
As she grew, I watched with wonder the development of youth Scrabblers across the country. We looked on as many of these children grow from pre-teens into extraordinarily talented adult wordsmiths. 
Would our Lea enjoy a lifelong love of words as myself, my sister, and my daughter have?
How could we involve Lea in the Scrabble scene?
Is it possible to fully integrate into the competitive circuit when much of the action took place on the East Coast and in the Northeast?  



And then



Austin Shin, himself a child Scrabbler turned World competitor, entered into our lives.  
While Tim and I had met Austin at Nationals in Buffalo and Reno, our first encounter as a family was in January 2016 when Austin came to compete in the Crescent City Cup Scrabble tournament.





Austin and Lea having beignets





As Lindsay and Austin courted and eventually married, our focus on Scrabble intensified. Lindsay learned study techniques that elevated her game, and we cheered as Austin competed in international competitions.
In 2017, Lea and her sister witnessed Lindsay, Austin, and me competing in the North American Scrabble Championship in our hometown of New Orleans.  
Lindsay and Austin won their respective divisions as we were cheered on by the kids.





Lindsay, Austin, and kids at 2017 Nationals





Metairie Academy Scrabble Club



In the Fall of 2019, after consulting with Cornelia Guest and others, we began teaching the 1st thru 4th graders of Metairie Academy Scrabble Club the basics of the game. Our first grader Penny and second-grader Lea were active participants.  
The semester ended with a small tourney with awards and certificates.  
The Spring semester was cut short by the Covid pandemic.





School Scrabblers





After learning two-letter words, the class practiced anagramming with book exercises and word apps. They then applied their knowledge to actually playing on the board.
Lea continued through the summer of 2020 by learning words on Aerolith and playing on the board with mom. Eventually, she became active on Scrabble GO, playing in challenges, Arena, and individual games.  
With 2021 came Woogles.io, where the adults began playing online clubs. Lea plays daily games with me while being coached in in-game strategy by mommy Lindsay and &#8220;baba&#8221; Austin.
Lea&#8217;s love of words is shown in more than just her love of the game Scrabble. She is also a voracious reader. By the time she was 8 years old, Lea had finished reading all the Harry Potter books!



Changes



Despite the pandemic being a worldwide emergency and ordeal, there have been unintended benefits.  
Pre-pandemic, our Scrabble Club included our regular locals who played with us at our regular gathering spot, Reginelli&#8217;s. But playing online, as we have been forced to do, has allowed us to include players from Mississippi, Louisiana, California, Arizona, and Toronto.  
Indeed, as the pandemic seems to be waning, we are considering meeting again in person. We are addressing how we can still include others outside our local membership.
Online playing has opened up the possibility of Lea playing against other children her age. 
Online tournaments organized by Cornelia Guest, Judy Cole, and others are made available to children across the country. Lea, who is now nine years old, is looking forward to her first competitive experience in COSY (Classic Online Scrabble for Youths) this coming weekend.  
So to answer the initial question, &#8220;How to Develop Vocabulary in Children Using Scrabble?&#8221;  
I think the answer to this might be to share your own life experience and show her your delight in wordplay and competition.



Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? Click this link to send us your article.



Do you want to discuss this article with the community? Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.
					
	The post How to Develop Vocabulary in Children Using Scrabble appeared first on Scrabble.

How to Develop Vocabulary in Children Using Scrabble

There has been a tentative return to face-to-face Scrabble tourneys. The NASPA event calendar is slowly filling as we dip our toes into the water and see how we might be able to play in-person tournaments safely.
Lake George, in October, proved to us that a larger tournament could be safely held while protecting the health of our players. Vaccinations, distancing, hand sanitizer, and masks effectively prevented the spread of viruses among the 98 players plus staff.  Our congratulations to the players as well as the organizers!
The 2022 Crescent City Cup will be held January 15-17 at the Drury Inn in New Orleans.  The Martin Luther King holiday weekend allows three days of play with time to travel.  We will institute preventive measures to promote a safe event for our players.  We require proof of vaccination with each player’s event registration, and we may limit attendance at the event to allow social distancing at player tables.  We will promote the use of hand sanitizer during the event.  And if warranted, we will ask all players to wear masks.  In the State of Louisiana, the indoor mask mandate has been removed due to reducing Covid cases in the state. Our organizing team will keep a close watch on the current state of Covid in the area so we may ensure that we adhere to changing local and CDC guidelines.
Register Now&gt; <a href="https://scrb.ly/CrescentCityCupReg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://scrb.ly/CrescentCityCupReg</a>
CCC 2022 will be our 10th Annual tournament with a brief respite in 2021, during which we held a Virtual Crescent City Cup.  As always, the organizing team strives to improve from year to year in hopes of surprising and delighting our attendees with our special touches.  Upgraded branding, new and different giveaways for all players, and more elaborate tile bags.
With sponsorship from Scopely to increase our monetary prize pool, we hope this will attract players worldwide and the North American continent to provide high levels of competition.  We once again plan to stream live games to entertain a worldwide audience.  Expert commentary will help viewers understand a player&#8217;s thought process as they plan their next play.
The tournament comprises 20 games: 8 on Saturday, eight on Sunday, and four on Monday.  We offer to play in the NWL20 as well as CSW21 dictionaries. We will offer Lite and Open Divisions in each lexicon with enough players.  A player of any rating can compete in the Open Divisions.  In the NWL Lite Division, anyone with a rating of 1300 or below may play.  In the CSW Lite Division, anyone with a rating of 1600 or below may play. Monetary prizes, tile bags, and racks will be awarded in every division.
Additionally, in 2022, the CCC was designated a Scrabble Players Championship Satellite Event.  We qualify as a multi-player event hosting at least 50 players.  For every 50 players registered, we are granted a complimentary registration to the Scrabble Players Championship, which will take place July 23-27, 2022, in Baltimore.  Based on our past registrations, we hope to award two complimentary registrations.  The organizing committee will determine the criteria for awarding this special prize. 
While the CCC enjoys welcoming our local Scrabble players, most of our participants come far and wide.  In 2020, our players came from 31 different US states and 3 Canadian provinces.  We typically host one or two visitors from overseas as well.  We hope to increase this last number and welcome more international players.
We look forward to once again greeting old friends and new ones with warm smiles and big bear hugs after almost two years of isolation and distancing.  Sharing the game we love, the challenging racks, the amazing finds, tension, and excitement of head-to-head competition – these are the things we have missed during the pandemic.  These human aspects of in-person playing add a dimension that has been missing in all of our virtual games.
New Orleans, a historic city, nestled in the crescent of the Mississippi River, offers a host of evening entertainment options.  In the morning hours, a lunch break, and during dinnertime, you have time to explore our cuisine, architecture, history, and music to learn what inspires the spirit of New Orleans. So, enjoy the city, enjoy old friends and new, and enjoy the camaraderie and competition.  Come and play!
Register Now&gt; <a href="https://scrb.ly/CrescentCityCupReg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://scrb.ly/CrescentCityCupReg</a>
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	The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/crescent-city-cup-time-to-register/">Crescent City Cup – Time to Register!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.

There has been a tentative return to face-to-face Scrabble tourneys. The NASPA event calendar is slowly filling as we dip our toes into the water and see how we might be able to play in-person tournaments safely.
Lake George, in October, proved to us that a larger tournament could be safely held while protecting the health of our players. Vaccinations, distancing, hand sanitizer, and masks effectively prevented the spread of viruses among the 98 players plus staff.  Our congratulations to the players as well as the organizers!
The 2022 Crescent City Cup will be held January 15-17 at the Drury Inn in New Orleans.  The Martin Luther King holiday weekend allows three days of play with time to travel.  We will institute preventive measures to promote a safe event for our players.  We require proof of vaccination with each player’s event registration, and we may limit attendance at the event to allow social distancing at player tables.  We will promote the use of hand sanitizer during the event.  And if warranted, we will ask all players to wear masks.  In the State of Louisiana, the indoor mask mandate has been removed due to reducing Covid cases in the state. Our organizing team will keep a close watch on the current state of Covid in the area so we may ensure that we adhere to changing local and CDC guidelines.
Register Now&gt; https://scrb.ly/CrescentCityCupReg
CCC 2022 will be our 10th Annual tournament with a brief respite in 2021, during which we held a Virtual Crescent City Cup.  As always, the organizing team strives to improve from year to year in hopes of surprising and delighting our attendees with our special touches.  Upgraded branding, new and different giveaways for all players, and more elaborate tile bags.
With sponsorship from Scopely to increase our monetary prize pool, we hope this will attract players worldwide and the North American continent to provide high levels of competition.  We once again plan to stream live games to entertain a worldwide audience.  Expert commentary will help viewers understand a player&#8217;s thought process as they plan their next play.
The tournament comprises 20 games: 8 on Saturday, eight on Sunday, and four on Monday.  We offer to play in the NWL20 as well as CSW21 dictionaries. We will offer Lite and Open Divisions in each lexicon with enough players.  A player of any rating can compete in the Open Divisions.  In the NWL Lite Division, anyone with a rating of 1300 or below may play.  In the CSW Lite Division, anyone with a rating of 1600 or below may play. Monetary prizes, tile bags, and racks will be awarded in every division.
Additionally, in 2022, the CCC was designated a Scrabble Players Championship Satellite Event.  We qualify as a multi-player event hosting at least 50 players.  For every 50 players registered, we are granted a complimentary registration to the Scrabble Players Championship, which will take place July 23-27, 2022, in Baltimore.  Based on our past registrations, we hope to award two complimentary registrations.  The organizing committee will determine the criteria for awarding this special prize. 
While the CCC enjoys welcoming our local Scrabble players, most of our participants come far and wide.  In 2020, our players came from 31 different US states and 3 Canadian provinces.  We typically host one or two visitors from overseas as well.  We hope to increase this last number and welcome more international players.
We look forward to once again greeting old friends and new ones with warm smiles and big bear hugs after almost two years of isolation and distancing.  Sharing the game we love, the challenging racks, the amazing finds, tension, and excitement of head-to-head competition – these are the things we have missed during the pandemic.  These human aspects of in-person playing add a dimension that has been missing in all of our virtual games.
New Orleans, a historic city, nestled in the crescent of the Mississippi River, offers a host of evening entertainment options.  In the morning hours, a lunch break, and during dinnertime, you have time to explore our cuisine, architecture, history, and music to learn what inspires the spirit of New Orleans. So, enjoy the city, enjoy old friends and new, and enjoy the camaraderie and competition.  Come and play!
Register Now&gt; https://scrb.ly/CrescentCityCupReg
					
	The post Crescent City Cup – Time to Register! appeared first on Scrabble.

Crescent City Cup – Time to Register!

During the Covid pandemic, the online gaming milieu has proven to be ideal for Scrabblers to play their favorite game.  We have in the last year isolated ourselves to protect our families and loved ones from the dangerous virus.  As vaccines increase and the number of infections and deaths has subsided, we are finally looking towards the future and returning to in-person Scrabble at the Crescent City Cup.



Wait?!  Who plays Scrabble in person?  No one, during the last year, unless it was family members in the same household.  But before March 2020, there was a vibrant club scene saw clubs all over the continent meeting weekly in restaurants, community centers, and other venues.  Players enjoyed facing off across a board with timers. Matching their wits against one another, shaking the tile bag, shuffling tiles on their racks, and laying down their best, high-scoring words.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Tournament Play</h4>



In addition to club play, some of these same Scrabblers met on weekends in multiple events across the continent to play tournament Scrabble, complete with entry fees, directors, ratings, and prizes.  Tournament play has been active for decades. There have grown acquaintances and relationships among groups of people enjoying the face-to-face competition and related travel and dining from that competitive social scene.  Meals together would often include rehashing the day’s games with stories of great plays and epic mistakes.  What IF I had only seen the seven-letter word?  The camaraderie of like-minded players striving for the best word solutions combined with good food and good company has created lifelong friendships among many in the <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community">Scrabble community</a>.  And, yes, many of us got to MEET in person, the players we had competed against on our computers.



Among face-to-face competitions, the big daddy or big momma (if you wish) of all tournaments on the continent is the North American Scrabble Championship.  Once a year, the largest gathering of Scrabblers would assemble for five days of extreme concentration, tile slinging, exhilaration, and frustration, culminating in the crowning of a North American Champion.  The pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 AND 2021 championships. It is our great hope that 2022 will see the return of this gathering of players.



Aside from the big championship, there are many, many tournaments usually scheduled in various states/Canadian provinces throughout the year.  On any particular weekend, you could find as many as five tournaments happening in different cities.  They are small tournaments with a few players, large tourneys with 100+ players, and every variation.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Crescent City</h4>



This brings us to the main topic of this blog: The Crescent City Cup!  What IS the Crescent City Cup?  Why it’s an in-person Scrabble tournament, of course!  But where IS the Crescent City?  A map of our area will show you.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large">
<figure id="attachment_277" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-277" style="width: 1024px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-277" src="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/shutterstock_3280578-1024x774.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="774" srcset="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/shutterstock_3280578-1024x774.jpg 1024w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/shutterstock_3280578-300x227.jpg 300w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/shutterstock_3280578-768x580.jpg 768w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/shutterstock_3280578-1536x1160.jpg 1536w, https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/shutterstock_3280578-2048x1547.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-277" class="wp-caption-text">New Orleans</figcaption></figure>
</figure>
&nbsp;



The City of New Orleans, Louisiana, developed along a curve in the Mississippi River and was nicknamed “The Crescent City.”



Thus the top prize in this tournament is the Crescent City Cup!



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">The Crescent City Cup</h4>



Among the best tournaments in North America, we think this one stands out in the minds of those who have attended and continue to attend year after year.  The city itself should take most of the credit.  The Crescent City has a comprehensive offering of attractions, including a smorgasbord of fine restaurants, historic buildings, jazz music, and Big Ass Beers.  What more could one ask for? 



The Crescent City Cup was first held in New Orleans in 2012, the brainchild of Kate and Tim Fukawa-Connelly.  Kate reached out to Lila Crotty at the local Scrabble Club, and the idea became a reality. Our first tourney was held on Bourbon Street!  A partnership was forged with Kate and Lila organizing, Tim Fukawa-Connelly directing, and Tim Crotty running the computer. Ninety players gathered that first year and had a blast eating and drinking, oh, and playing Scrabble too!  Jesse Day was crowned our first NWL champion, and Dave Wiegand was our first CSW champion.  Yes, from the beginning, we had a division for those who chose to play in the North American dictionary and another division for those playing in the world Collins dictionary.



Over the next several years, we changed our location several times, always striving to give our players a convenient but affordable location close to tourist destinations and restaurants.  Our tournament grew to almost 140 players by 2019, but snowstorms that year resulted in a few cancellations.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">2018</h5>



By 2018, we added to our team Lindsay and Austin Shin and our streamer Christian Kay.  They organized a cadre of Scrabblers from around the world to comment on live games.  You could see into the minds of our top players, look at their racks and hear some explanation of strategy used in deciding on best plays.  This opened up our local tournament to worldwide viewership.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">2021</h5>



2021 was our 10th Annual Crescent City Cup, but alas, it was not to be.  Not to be deterred, we planned instead to hold a virtual event open to players all over the world.  Again, live streaming brought these games to your living room and allowed players to learn from the play of expert players vying for top honors.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">2022</h5>



And now we are faced with the challenge of bringing the Crescent City Cup back to an in-person competition for 2022.  We are talking to our venue to determine what is allowed as New Orleans opens up to meetings and conventions.  Will we require all players to be vaccinated? Will we need masks?  More importantly, will the hotel let us extra space so we may be socially distanced?  Will our players be comfortable traveling by airplane?  Will we somehow accommodate the virtual friends who we met in the competition this past January?  The planning is now underway.  All these questions will be answered, and we hope many of you will decide to be with us in January 2022!



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#discussion/19/%EF%B8%8F-contribute-to-the-scrabble-blog/p1">Click this link to send us your article.</a></h6>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Do you want to discuss this article with the community? <a href="https://playscrabble.com/community-forums#categories/blog-discussions">Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.</a></h6>



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	The post <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com/crescent-city-cup-come-one-come-all/">Crescent City Cup – Come One, Come All!</a> appeared first on <a href="https://scrabbleblog.wpengine.com">Scrabble</a>.

During the Covid pandemic, the online gaming milieu has proven to be ideal for Scrabblers to play their favorite game.  We have in the last year isolated ourselves to protect our families and loved ones from the dangerous virus.  As vaccines increase and the number of infections and deaths has subsided, we are finally looking towards the future and returning to in-person Scrabble at the Crescent City Cup.



Wait?!  Who plays Scrabble in person?  No one, during the last year, unless it was family members in the same household.  But before March 2020, there was a vibrant club scene saw clubs all over the continent meeting weekly in restaurants, community centers, and other venues.  Players enjoyed facing off across a board with timers. Matching their wits against one another, shaking the tile bag, shuffling tiles on their racks, and laying down their best, high-scoring words.



Tournament Play



In addition to club play, some of these same Scrabblers met on weekends in multiple events across the continent to play tournament Scrabble, complete with entry fees, directors, ratings, and prizes.  Tournament play has been active for decades. There have grown acquaintances and relationships among groups of people enjoying the face-to-face competition and related travel and dining from that competitive social scene.  Meals together would often include rehashing the day’s games with stories of great plays and epic mistakes.  What IF I had only seen the seven-letter word?  The camaraderie of like-minded players striving for the best word solutions combined with good food and good company has created lifelong friendships among many in the Scrabble community.  And, yes, many of us got to MEET in person, the players we had competed against on our computers.



Among face-to-face competitions, the big daddy or big momma (if you wish) of all tournaments on the continent is the North American Scrabble Championship.  Once a year, the largest gathering of Scrabblers would assemble for five days of extreme concentration, tile slinging, exhilaration, and frustration, culminating in the crowning of a North American Champion.  The pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of the 2020 AND 2021 championships. It is our great hope that 2022 will see the return of this gathering of players.



Aside from the big championship, there are many, many tournaments usually scheduled in various states/Canadian provinces throughout the year.  On any particular weekend, you could find as many as five tournaments happening in different cities.  They are small tournaments with a few players, large tourneys with 100+ players, and every variation.



The Crescent City



This brings us to the main topic of this blog: The Crescent City Cup!  What IS the Crescent City Cup?  Why it’s an in-person Scrabble tournament, of course!  But where IS the Crescent City?  A map of our area will show you.




New Orleans

&nbsp;



The City of New Orleans, Louisiana, developed along a curve in the Mississippi River and was nicknamed “The Crescent City.”



Thus the top prize in this tournament is the Crescent City Cup!



The Crescent City Cup



Among the best tournaments in North America, we think this one stands out in the minds of those who have attended and continue to attend year after year.  The city itself should take most of the credit.  The Crescent City has a comprehensive offering of attractions, including a smorgasbord of fine restaurants, historic buildings, jazz music, and Big Ass Beers.  What more could one ask for? 



The Crescent City Cup was first held in New Orleans in 2012, the brainchild of Kate and Tim Fukawa-Connelly.  Kate reached out to Lila Crotty at the local Scrabble Club, and the idea became a reality. Our first tourney was held on Bourbon Street!  A partnership was forged with Kate and Lila organizing, Tim Fukawa-Connelly directing, and Tim Crotty running the computer. Ninety players gathered that first year and had a blast eating and drinking, oh, and playing Scrabble too!  Jesse Day was crowned our first NWL champion, and Dave Wiegand was our first CSW champion.  Yes, from the beginning, we had a division for those who chose to play in the North American dictionary and another division for those playing in the world Collins dictionary.



Over the next several years, we changed our location several times, always striving to give our players a convenient but affordable location close to tourist destinations and restaurants.  Our tournament grew to almost 140 players by 2019, but snowstorms that year resulted in a few cancellations.



2018



By 2018, we added to our team Lindsay and Austin Shin and our streamer Christian Kay.  They organized a cadre of Scrabblers from around the world to comment on live games.  You could see into the minds of our top players, look at their racks and hear some explanation of strategy used in deciding on best plays.  This opened up our local tournament to worldwide viewership.



2021



2021 was our 10th Annual Crescent City Cup, but alas, it was not to be.  Not to be deterred, we planned instead to hold a virtual event open to players all over the world.  Again, live streaming brought these games to your living room and allowed players to learn from the play of expert players vying for top honors.



2022



And now we are faced with the challenge of bringing the Crescent City Cup back to an in-person competition for 2022.  We are talking to our venue to determine what is allowed as New Orleans opens up to meetings and conventions.  Will we require all players to be vaccinated? Will we need masks?  More importantly, will the hotel let us extra space so we may be socially distanced?  Will our players be comfortable traveling by airplane?  Will we somehow accommodate the virtual friends who we met in the competition this past January?  The planning is now underway.  All these questions will be answered, and we hope many of you will decide to be with us in January 2022!



Would you like to contribute to the Scrabble Blog? Click this link to send us your article.



Do you want to discuss this article with the community? Visit the forum with this link to start a conversation.



&nbsp;
					
	The post Crescent City Cup – Come One, Come All! appeared first on Scrabble.