IDIOTS GALORE

At a recent tournament in QLD, I had an idiot (RC) facing me for game three. She said at the beginning of the game, “I will keep an eye on you because you are a cheat”. It goes without saying that the super nut received an adequate response to her slanderous garbage.

I was told by several other friendly players that the woman in question was a mental case, but that did not stop me wondering for the remainder of the day.    

FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE AGM OF ASPA(VIC) ON 22/11/2015

For those who could not figure out why ASPA (Vic) paid $1567 in legal fees as per their financial statement of 2015:

(1) In 2008 a committee of ASPA (Vic) took a wrong disciplinary decision against Mohammed Hegazi. Members of that committee included, among others, Carol Johnsen, Marj Miller, Norma Fisher and Trevor Halsall.

(2) In 2011 an internal review by Carol Johnsen and Norma Fisher not only refused to annul the wrong disciplinary decision of 2008, but also denied other uninvolved members of the committee the chance of participation in the review process.  

(3) In 2012 an ASPA (Vic) delegation comprised of Carol Johnsen, Marj miller and Trevor halsall vs Mohammed Hegazi and Harry Malcolm attended a meeting at the Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria, Department of Justice. The delegation refused to annul the wrong disciplinary decision of 2008. The basic argument raised by Trevor Halsall at the meeting was that Mohammed Hegazi had cheated at scrabble tournaments. Such argument was later proven false. Its sole perpetrator (KR) was proven a liar by the tournament director (Geoff Wright).

(4) In 2015 a magistrate issued an order nullifying the disciplinary decision of 2008, based on an agreement by ASPA(Vic) that such decision was wrong.

(5) Had the dispute been settled the same way at the Dispute Settlement Centre in 2012, the cost to all parties would have been $00,000.00

(6) The incompetent parties are still seeking positions on a new Committee. I wish ASPA (Vic) a merry Christmas and a happy 2016 new year.

SIMPLY AMAZING

I had the honour of facing the chief of the National Rule’s custodians in a recent tournament. I was both amazed and amused when he committed a couple of ‘rule crimes’, namely:

(a)            While replenishing his rack, he held tiles in one hand and stuck the other hand into the bag in order to collect the remainder of the needed tiles.

(b)           Playing another variation on the theme of how to hold the bag, he held the bag at arm's length, below the level of the table, while looking away from the bag.

There has been a myth propagated by his Victorian rules’ counterpart, that I am always willy nilly accusing other people of cheating , if not cheating myself. So in order to dispel this myth, I hasten to add that the guy had no intention whatsoever to cheat. I am only wondering why he does not practice what he preaches, by following the letter of the rules. I thought he might have been trying to tease me. So, I responded at the time by holding the bag above my head while replenishing my rack. That’ll learn ya!

MORE ABOUT SCRABBLE RULES AND RULES OFFICERS

I did elaborate on the funny “hold” rule (National Rule 10.2) and how it should be eliminated without much ado. I also discussed handling the tile bag (National Rule 5.1) and how the height of its rim should be related to the eyes of the player, rather than to the table top, since tables are not all born with equal heights. The silly wording of this rule is creating problems and needless acrimony between players. I have been repeating myself in vain for almost a decade. ASPA’s so called “rules officers” have done nothing about it. 

WESPA’s equivalent rule (3.9.1) is much better. The resulting festering problem is the tendency of some players to disobey the vague rule by exposing the tiles inside the bag to their eyes. It is naive to assume that such players are not seeking an undeserved advantage. It is not enough for a player to flatly deny wrong doing when lowering the bag, they should also obey rules in order to prove their claimed honesty beyond doubt.

There are ways to address this problem. Ideally, the bag should be held vertically such that the rim is always above eye level. If a player is physically unable to lift the bag up in such specified position, they should get the approval of their opponent to lay the bag on the table such that the opening of the bag would be facing away from them, in such a manner that does not expose the tiles inside the bag. Looking away from the bag is not sufficient, let alone being difficult to enforce.

I have also touched on the stillborn five-second rule (rule 10. 2. a). I wonder how many players are aware of its very existence, let alone apply it.

Now, I am going to explain why counting the score should be done outside play time. Some might argue about the suggested extra push of a button that might presumably lengthen the total time of a game. My reply is: Put the suggested method to a trial test and compare. I believe many players would be more inclined to see the merit of a method that ensures scoring accuracy. An added important benefit is the relaxed atmosphere created by eliminating the need to count the score in a hurry.

Under the current rule (rule 6.1), a player would count the score of his play in his own time. He* would calculate the score, declare it and operate his opponent’s clock. The poor opponent, baffled by the addition of the score of four or five newly created words, might quickly accept the declared score in order to save time, or if he had doubts about the accuracy of the declared figure, would go over the counting again in a hurry, in his own time. I am suggesting modifying this rule for the sake of accuracy and fairness. Under the present rules, many addition errors could pass undetected. The suggested change to the rules is simple:

To end his turn, a player would push the stop button (“neutralise” the clock), without wasting any time on hasty calculation. The two players would then both calculate the score and agree on an undisputed final figure to be entered simultaneously on their score sheets, together with the agreed cumulative score . Having finished with this, the player would start his opponent’s clock. Both players would then proceed with the game in a markedly relaxed manner. Challenges would be settled during this out-of-play time.

This method would result in accurate scoring. It would eliminate any scoring disputes, especially those latent claimed errors that crop up after many moves. This suggested method would also eliminate the need to recalculate the scores of very close games. 

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* Even though I am not a misogynist, as once informed by the lady from the Volga, I really don’t like the phrase “he/she”. Use of the masculine gender to mean both genders has always been accepted until the onset of feminist linguistic mania.
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P.S.:

The suggested clock usage method has been successfully trialled at the Greensborough Club, Victoria. One seasoned club player (DH) was particularly satisfied with the new method. She only used clocks in six tournaments between 2007 and 2015. Therefore, the comparison is worthwhile, since she is not “conditioned” to the old method.

I will continue trialling the new method with more tournament players until many more opinion results are obtained. Ideally, the suggested method should be trialled in some tournaments on a national level, followed by a questionnaire, in order to obtain statistically significant opinion results. That is of course if “rules officers” would take their job seriously.

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM DAVID MORE

LABRADOR SCRABBLE CLUB

INVITES YOU TO OUR COMPETITION ON

SUNDAY 11^th OCTOBER 2015

GOOD PRIZES:-          1^ST  PRIZE   $100.00

 (FOR EACH DIVISION)             2^ND PRIZE     $50.00

                                         3^RD PRIZE     $25.00

       High Game  $20.00

High Word   $20.00

TWO OR THREE DIVISIONS DEPENDING ON NUMBERS

  

START TIME: 9:00 AM

ENTRY FEE: $15:00

            VENUE:  Labrador Senior Citizens Centre

                    370 Marine Parade, Labrador

             (Entry from Broad Street)

REGISTRATION:  Ends 8:00 pm Saturday 10^th October 2015

                                          Please register early, maximum 60 players

                                                                                     David: (07) 5531 1767

                                  Martin: martinw_512@hotmail.com

                                  Emergency on the day: 0415 572 017

            Public Transport: 704 Bus from Helensvale to Grand Hotel.

            Driving from Brisbane: Exit 62 (Helensvale South).

Please bring your boards and clocks.

N.B.: NO AIRCONDITIONING, CEILING FANS ONLY

TOURNAMENT SCRABBLE RULES MADE SIMPLE

 RULES MADE SIMPLE FOR DUMMIES

 Is he making a sarcastic hint to his Victorian opponent?

a)    Bag handling (Rule 5.1).The poor wording of this rule states, “You must hold the tile bag above the level of the table and so that no tiles in the bag can be seen”. Nonetheless, the poor wording still automatically puts the closed rim of the vertical bag above eye level, unless you were a giant or tables were extremely low. If a player has any medical problem, they should discuss an alternative method with the TD. This task should not be left to players. Otherwise, unpleasant scenes are likely to develop in the case of persistent habitual offenders. The ultimate aim of this rule is to keep the tiles inside the bag unexposed. Averting eyes from exposed tiles is a cosmetic measure. It is not an effective solution.

examine the correct positioning of the red bag

(b) Tile handling (Rule 5.2) 

The rule states, “ You must show an empty hand both before drawing tiles, and after you have placed the drawn tiles onto the rack or table. You may not put your hand back into the tile bag whilst you still have tiles in that hand. All drawn tiles must be placed on the rack or the table before drawing any more.” This means an open palm must be shown before and after drawing tiles. Tiles drawn must be placed on the rack or table before proceeding to draw any more tiles. Some players tend to keep tiles in one hand and proceed to get more tiles with the other. This is forbidden by the rule.

The bag is too heavy for some much older players 

(c) Challenges (Rule 10.3)

      Both players must walk together to the checking station. This rule can be varied only if warranted by health reasons or maybe by mutual agreement, but certainly not casually by certain Victorian players who make you wonder why you always tend to be running out of time when you play them at your usual pace.

Adherence to the above rules makes tournament play more pleasant. It takes the doubt out of the game. I would like to enjoy every tournament game the same way I enjoy being beaten by skillful honest players, rather than win a game against habitual rules’ offenders.

UNPAID AD

The announcement below appeared on the Tournament Calendar on 19 Sept 2015. Please contact David or Martin if you intend to play. Both would appreciate your early advice as it helps with proper organisation. Martin puts much effort in the preparation of the draws. Late entries would be very upsetting. So, don’t expect to be able to play if you just drop in on the day without prior notice, at least one day before the tournament. The pleasant venue accommodates a maximum of 60 players.

2015 TOURNAMENT CALENDAR

Qld

Sun Oct 11

Labrador 2

Labrador Senior Citizens Centre 370 Marine Pde

David More

(07) 5531 1767 martinw_512@hotmail.com  On the day: 0415 572 017

The above announcement replaces the announcement below, which appeared on the Tournament Calendar for several months before. We apologise for any inconvenience:

2015 TOURNAMENT CALENDAR

Qld

Sun Oct 11

October Fundraiser

TBA

Olga Visser

(07) 3801 1362 visser@optushome.com.au  On the day: 0401 884 511

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Dear Scrabble players ex Cape Town,

As we approach Rosh Hashanah (which begins at sundown on Sunday, September 13th), we are reminded that we should love our foes on the other side of the fence.

ABOUT SCRABBLE RULES

On Aug 5, 2015 Mohammed Hegazi  wrote:

Hello John,

I am responding to your request about WESPA rules. They are relevant to me because our rules officers copy them.

(1) 3.10.5 Holds and 3.10.6 Courtesy Draws

When a player puts his played tiles on the board, declares his score and operates his opponent’s clock, he should have no exceptional rights, claims or privileges whatsoever. The time ticking is his opponent’s. He should refrain from replenishing his rack until his play is accepted. The time ticking is not his. Therefore, he should have no claims during that time. His opponent has the right to continue to contemplate challenging for any length of time. It is the opponent’s own time being wasted. The opponent might even tile track before making a challenge. It is his time being wasted. Tiles drawn prematurely should be treated as excess overdrawn tiles, if the opponent mounts a successful challenge.

If people would like to simplify rules, I believe WESPA rules 3.10.5 and 3.10.6 can be deleted without any further ado.

Too many unnecessary rules are not a good thing.

(2) Ending the game

I believe this part of the rules is utter nonsense. Neutralising the clock on going out is wrong, since the game is not finished because the player at the receiving end still has the option of challenging the last play of the opponent. Therefore, it would be more sensible if the player going out would operate his/her opponent's clock, as usual, after declaring the score and the notion of going out. The opponent would then neutralise the clock in his own time and either challenge or declare the end of the game. If the challenge is successful, the challenged player takes his/her tiles off the board and the game continues. This last scenario emphasises the notion that GOING OUT IS NOT THE END OF THE GAME. THUS THE CLOCK SHOULD NOT BE NEUTRALISED ON GOING OUT. The player at the receiving end might be able to successfully challenge, then hook a bingo and win the game! So, going out is not necessarily the end of the game as initially thought by rules engineers. It is a virtue to admit being wrong and to correct the initial rule error, instead of correcting a mistake with another mistake.

I hope I am not being too critical. 

Thank you John,

Mohammed

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On Aug 6, 2015 John Hamilton  wrote:

Hi Mohammed,

Thanks for your input. I appreciate that simplified rules are desirable but the primary function of the rules is to create a set of guidelines that provide an even contest. It is important to do this as simply as possible but I don't agree with the notion of "

Regarding the holding/drawing tiles rule;

The majority of the Scrabble playing committee disagrees with your belief that "he should have no exceptional rights, claims or privileges" and that "The time ticking is his opponents." When my opponent is considering their move, I have a right to be considering my (potential) options with a full rack. My opponent has the same rights on my time. I know you fundamentally disagree with this but this view is held by the vast majority of players and something that is not going to change anytime soon.

The hold rule is there to allow someone a little bit of leeway when they are considering whether or not they want to challenge. This is especially true with 5 point challenge but also relevant for single challenge e.g. my opponents phoney word may give me a place to play a triple triple.

As for your second point, I'm on the fence. I both agree and disagree. I've submitted your idea to the committee and will get back to you after it's been discussed

JohnH

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On Aug 6, 2015 Mohammed Hegazi  wrote:

Well John, bad rules are either stillborn or awaiting their natural death in due course.

COUNTING THE MINUTES

People might have different ideas about how long a scrabble game should take. But once a figure satisfactory for the majority of players has been reached, everybody should abide by it. That figure is 25 minutes per player per game.

As expected, the one sensible group I know of, that abides by this simple logic, is ASPA (SA). Deviants postulate all sorts of unreasonable arguments to justify their unwarranted deviation from the norm.

One common argument is the desire to accommodate one extra game. Therefore, it becomes necessary to reduce the figure from 25 to 22 minutes. Well, why don’t you shorten the lunch break, instead of tampering with commonly accepted rules?

It is the same mentality that invented the stillborn ridiculous “five second” and “hold” rules, but that is another story.

ASPA (ACT)

Another change of leadership took place in Canberra. John Hamilton voluntarily stepped aside in order to clear the way for a fresh candidate.

John is a young levelheaded person.  He took the right decision at the right time, when he could get a deserved heartfelt thank you for his effort. If John had elected to continue for another year, he would have continued unopposed.

I wish all ASPA committees would follow this wise example. Unluckily, this is not the case with a few. In one case, they had to be dragged into courts in order to have their incompetence exposed. Even then, they would not voluntarily step down in order to clear the way for others. They would rather continue to play musical chairs for many more years or decades. The president may become secretary, then would evolve as ordinary member, while the secretary may become president and the vice would wait for a turn as president. Thus, the main four committee members behind the demise of that particular association may continue to drag it down, assisted by their friends. Would any one of this gang of four refrain from nomination next November? NOH…NAH, even NUH for a challenge. Many other members want a role in the salvation process, while many more are shying away from participating in what might be misconstrued as an unwarranted power struggle.

EXPIRY DATES

One of ASPA’s  state committees have already held their Annual General Meeting of 2015. Below is an excerpt from the President’s Report:

“The Committee has also been looking at succession planning and "X" has indicated that she would be willing to take over the role of President in the future once she has retired (from her bread-and-butter job). By that time I will be happy to relinquish my role as president as it is important for a change of leadership.”

The above statement, by a competent relatively young president, emphasises the importance of voluntary devolution of power. Such commendable action is necessary for the introduction of new ideas and renewal of energy. It wards off stagnation, especially if the age of the incumbent is past their ability to be useful or innovative.

Compare this to some other states, where the presidents cling to their presumed power for extended terms. When some of them sense the possibility of another younger person coming forward, they go out of their way seeking another extension of their stay. Instead of paving the way for another fresh candidate, they feign illness to milk sympathy from the membership, while soliciting proxy votes.

When will some people realise that all humans have their brains stamped with a date seal stating their “best before” date?

THE SOLUTION: NEW REFINED SCRABBLE ASSOCIATION

We all invested many years playing Scrabble. We put up with much commercial exploitation in the form of periodic additions and deletions to approved vocabulary. Vocabulary itself deteriorated with the addition of foreign words, abbreviations, acronyms and colloquial nonsense.

The last straw was the introduction of a new three-year dictionary change cycle, instead of the five-year cycle, which we unwillingly tolerated. It is obvious that the change is commercially motivated.

The solution is simple. We need to register a new incorporated association, something like “Proper English Scrabble Association Inc.”. All we need is a minimum of six founding members, to be picked from among players who are sick of the current state of affairs. I can look after the registration process.

The aim is to adopt a new dictionary, to be permanent for at least 5 or 10 years. An initial idea is to adopt a scrabble form of the Oxford or Cambridge dictionaries.

We need to produce our own adjudication programme for quick checking purposes. For this reason, we require at least one enthusiastic member with the required technological skill. We also need to examine and avoid copyright issues.

Should you be interested please email me, as an initial contact. Your identity would remain confidential, if you wish:

mohammedhegazi@gmail.com

If the idea appeals to sufficient numbers, we would have our initial general meeting shortly after. We can then say goodbye to incompetence.

OLGA FROM THE VOLGA

Olga from the Volga

Strong rumours are spreading fast within the QLD scrabble community and elsewhere. There are claims that a very stubborn strain of the flu virus is being dispensed from a health food store in Brisbane. The new flu has been nicknamed “Olga from the Volga”. It is thought that the viral infection is also reinforced by bacterial support.

If these claims are correct, and I tend to believe they are, I would strongly recommend what my family doctor prescribed for me, after a two-week suffering period:

Aspen Pharma's "Moxiclav Duo Forte 875/125", 
(or Sandoz equivalent: "Curam Duo Forte 875mg/125mg").
It is a combination of amoxycillin and clavulanic acid.

This is a course of a strong antibiotic in the form of ten tablets to be taken twice a day for 5 days, followed by another precautionary repeat of the same course.

I am half-way through the first course. The initial improvement is very promising. 

So, please take the matter seriously, if you happen to cop the dangerous "Olga from the Volga", or came too close to its principal distributer during a scrabble tournament.

THE SCRABBLE ASYLUM, Far North

David More is an enigmatic simple pleasant person, if you don’t rub him the wrong way. He shares a two bedroom apartment with a cat. There is no love lost between me and the cat, but that doesn’t prevent David from insisting on having me as his guest, rather than let me stay in a nearby motel.

David organised a pleasant and quite successful tournament at Labrador on 26/04/2015, which I attended. It attracted 56 players, which was a record attendance for a non-major event, unmatched in QLD for a very long time. Check the list of 2014 tournament attendance below.

Encouraged by the surprising success of his tournament, David thought of organising another Labrador tournament later in 2015, in order to help the committee of ASPA (QLD) boost their overall attendance for 2015. When he applied for approval by the grudging committee, he was told that there was no room for another tournament in 2015, because QLD can only run a maximum of one tournament a fortnight, even though past track record of several of those tournaments shows attendance of only half a dozen players.

My question to the sages who took the strange decision is: Why not change one of the dubious fund raisers on the Calendar to another Labrador tournament, and collect the larger proceeds as funds raised? Look at the Calendar below and see for yourself how those fund raisers, concocted in a hurry, are still lacking organisation and suitable venues:

QLD 2014 TOURNAMENT ATTENDANCE

            TOURNAMENT                                            ATTENDANCE

QLD    12.01.2014 Logan Clovers                              46                                           

QLD    01.02.2014 Townsville Feb                              6                                           

QLD    08.02.2014 Alzheimer's FR Saturday       28                   

QLD    09.02.2014 Alzheimer's FR Sunday          36                                           

QLD    23.02.2014 Feb Frolic                                      17

QLD    08.03.2014 Redland Bay                               50                                           

QLD    23.03.2014 XYSTI                                             12                                           

QLD    05.04.2014 Bremer Waters                          26                                           

QLD    17.05.2014 Matchplay                                     34                                           

QLD    03.06.2014 Autumnal RRs                              6                                           

QLD    08.06.2014 Woomba Wound Wobins      22                                           

QLD    22.06.2014 Southport Winter                     52                                           

QLD    28.06.2014 TSV EOFY SAT                             6                                           

QLD    29.06.2014 TSV EOFY SUN                            6                                           

QLD    06.07.2014 Coominya                                    52                                           

QLD    08.07.2014 JULY RR RUNCORN               10                                           

QLD    03.08.2014 WYSC Fundraiser                    34                                           

QLD    09.08.2014 Townsville Saturday                13                                           

QLD    10.08.2014 Townsville Sunday                    12                                           

QLD    31.08.2014 Queensland Championships 46                                           

QLD    21.09.2014 Toowoomba                                 26                               

QLD    05.10.2014 Trans Tasman Fundraiser     22                                           

QLD    25.10.2014 Redcliffe Saturday                    48                                           

QLD    26.10.2014 Redcliffe Sunday                       46                               

QLD    30.11.2014 Southport                                     48                   

QLD    30.11.2014 TVL November                              6                               

QLD    27.12.2014 Last Chance                                 30

____________________________________________

TOTAL ATTENDANCE                                                               670                    

2015 TOURNAMENT CALENDAR

State	Date	Tournament & conditions	Venue	Contact	Phone & e-mail
Qld	Sun Jun 14	Palmwoods	Palmwoods Hotel	Wayne Willis	041 557 2017 kippa1955@bigpond.com
Qld	Sun Jun 28	Southport Winter	Southport RSL Club Cnr Scarborough/Lawson Sts	Sandra Woolard	swoolard@bigpond.net.au 0418 610 414
Qld	Sat Jul 4 10:50 for 11 am start	Townsville at least 5 games	'The Dalgety' 106 Denham St	Julie Brice Helen Hynes	juliebrice@bigpond.com scrabbledhel@yahoo.com.au On the day: 0409 748 323
Qld	Tue July 7	Wintering	Queen Alexandra Home 347 Old Cleveland Rd Coorparoo	Martin Waterworth	(07) 3357 3308 martinw_512@hotmail.com  On the day: 0438 457 566
Qld	Sun Jul 12	Tangara	35 Sussex St West End	Roberta Tait	0431 640 874 taitroberta@hotmail.com
Qld	Saturday Jul 18	July Jaunt MAX 18 players	Runcorn	Karen Richards	(07) 3151 0495 karendrichards@gmail.com
Qld	Sunday July 26	Coominya	Lowood Showground Hall	Matthew Forno	0417 446 556 matthewforno@hotmail.com
Qld	Sun Aug 16	August Fundraiser	TBA	Olga Visser	(07) 3801 1362 visser@optushome.com.au  On the day: 0401 884 511
Qld	Sat/Sun Aug 29/30	Queensland Championships & One-day Sunday	Kedron Wavell Services Club 375 Hamilton Rd Chermside	Wayne Willis	041 557 2017 kippa1955@bigpond.com
Qld	Sun Sep 13	Toowoomba	North Toowoomba Bowls Club Elworthy St	Jane Brown	jb.edits@bigpond.net.au (07) 4635 5013 On the day: 0448 789 129
Qld	Wed Sep 16	FoSsiLs F2F	Runcorn	Karen Richards	(07) 3151 0495 karendrichards@gmail.com
Qld	Sun Sep 27	September Fundraiser	TBA	Olga Visser	(07) 3801 1362 visser@optushome.com.au  On the day: 0401 884 511
Qld	Sun Oct 11	October Fundraiser	TBA	Olga Visser	(07) 3801 1362 visser@optushome.com.au  On the day: 0401 884 511
Qld	Sun Oct 25	Redcliffe Max 52 players	Redcliffe Bridge Club Rooms 2A Irene St	Wayne Willis	041 557 2017 kippa1955@bigpond.com
Qld	Sun Nov 15	November Fundraiser	TBA	Olga Visser	(07) 3801 1362 visser@optushome.com.au  On the day: 0401 884 511
Qld	Sun Nov 29	Southport	Southport RSL Club Cnr Scarborough/Lawson Sts	Sandra Woolard	swoolard@bigpond.net.au 0418 610 414
Qld	Sun Dec 13	December Fundraiser	TBA	Olga Visser	(07) 3801 1362 visser@optushome.com.au  On the day: 0401 884 511
Qld	Sun Dec 27	Last Chance	Queen Alexandra Home 347 Old Cleveland Rd Coorparoo	Olga Visser	(07) 3801 1362 visser@optushome.com.au  On the day: 0401 884 511