Mission Statement: 

NASPA (North American SCRABBLE Players Association) is a community of tournament, club, and avid home players of the SCRABBLE® Brand Crossword Game. They foster a safe environment for people of all skill levels to play their favorite game, improve their abilities and above all, meet people who share a similar love of the game.

Learn more about NASPA:

http://www.scrabbleplayers.org/w/Learn_More

Become a Member of NASPA (North American SCRABBLE Players Association):

Link 1: Learn about NASPA Membership

Link 2: Apply for NASPA Membership

Benefits of Membership:

You get the right to participate in official tournaments, access to member-only sections of the NASPA website, access to the NASPA Store where you can buy a printed NASPA Word List and tournament equipment, the right to volunteer for or stand for election to our committees, and the right to have your club and tournament accomplishments officially recognized.

How many members does NASPA have?

NASPA typically has 2000-2500 active paid members who compete in in-person SCRABBLE tournaments all over North America and beyond. NASPA also sponsors local SCRABBLE clubs, where another 10,000 players compete. 

A brief timeline of NASPA:

• The National SCRABBLE Association was created in 1978 by the game’s then-owner, Selchow & Righter.
• The National SCRABBLE Association (NSA) promoted school, recreational, and adult tournament Scrabble from the late 1980s until 2009 with financial support from Hasbro.
• In 2000, Joe Edley became the first player to win three North American  SCRABBLE Championships (1980, 1992, 2000).
• From 2004-06, the North American SCRABBLE Championship finals were aired on ESPN and ESPN2. 
• In December of 2008, Hasbro announced that it would no longer finance the National SCRABBLE Association. They agreed to sanction a player-financed association to continue the association’s activities.
• In July of 2009, the new nonprofit North American SCRABBLE Players Association (NASPA) formed and began overseeing tournaments. NASPA is funded by membership dues and tournament participation fees and is assisted by the volunteerism of many committee members.
• In 2013, Nigel Richards became the first player to win the North American SCRABBLE Championship five times.

In 2020, NASPA and Scopely teamed up to live broadcast the NASPA Tournament of Champions, presented by Scrabble GO. (Link to YouTube playlist)

History

After Hasbro stopped funding adult tournament Scrabble and clubs in 2009, NASPA was formed.

As part of its ongoing development, the National Scrabble Association (also known as the NSA) organized a conference of 16 leaders in the Scrabble playing community. Among these 16 leaders were prominent Scrabble players, club and tournament directors, and others from all over the continent.

As a result of that meeting, a new professional Scrabble organization in North America was founded with Hasbro’s blessing. 

Several committees were formed during the meeting to facilitate the transition to the new organization. After an email vote, the North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA) was chosen as the new organization’s name. 

On July 1, 2009, elite Scrabble players from all over the continent gathered to play in three NASPA tournament games across three different cities. From that date forward, NASPA became the only holder of the Scrabble trademark in North America and was permitted to use it at adult clubs and tournaments.

As of June 2013, NASPA had more than 2,500 dues-paid members.