For event coverage, see: list of all winners, Early Bird tsh results, Main Event tsh results, Pairs tsh results, Main Event detailed standings and prizewinners, Speed report, Speed tsh results.
See also: who’s registered, past winners, past Toronto tournaments, Toronto Scrabble Club, NASPA Tournaments.
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2009 Michael Wise Memorial SCRABBLE® Tournament
(Toronto’s 30th Annual SCRABBLE® Players Tournament)
<URL:http://tournament.torontoscrabbleclub.com/200909>
In support of the Michael Wise Memorial Fund at Princess Margaret Hospital
Friday, September 11th,
Saturday, September 12th
&
Sunday, September 13th, 2009
The Toronto SCRABBLE® Club (National Scrabble Association Club #3) hosts its 30th annual tournament this fall, an open SCRABBLE® Brand Crossword Game tournament. The event will be codirected by John Chew and John Robertson and other staff TBA.
Our regular location, Earl Bales CC is closed for renovations. The city of Toronto has kindly booked us a nearby alternate facility with plenty of tables and chairs, but it has a few shortcomings: it is not wheelchair-accessible, and the room is not large. If you are a player who cannot negotiate a flight of stairs to get to and from the playing room but wish to play in this event, please contact us as soon as possible and we will see if we can set up a small alternate playing space on the ground level; we apologize for the inconvenience. Also, we will restrict registration to the first 80 people who commit to playing, pending a careful measurement of the room to see how many people will actually fit.
By popular demand, the Leah Katz Memorial Early Bird will be a single-division Open this year.
Canadian entry fees are up ten dollars per person in the main event and five dollars per person in the early bird. This is partly to pass on the added expense of the NASPA participation fee, a US$0.50/person/game fee that pays our share of keeping the organization running; it will also go toward special plans for the 30th anniversary of our tournament.
As this is a World Championship year, if we get four or more players (indicated as division S in the roster) expressing a preference for playing under WSC rules, they will do so in a division of their own, rated both by NASPA and WESPA (if possible), with their entry fees (less participation/rating fees) being fully returned in prizes. If they prefer to combine the EB and ME into a 3-day 20-round tournament, they may do so too.
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Leah Katz Memorial Early Bird Friday, September 11th 12 games is not enough! |
Unrated Pairs Event Friday, September 11th More fun with a partner! |
Unrated Speed Tournament Saturday, September 12th Three minutes is enough! |
Michael Wise Memorial Main Event Saturday, September 12th In a spirit of friendly rivalry |
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| Check In: | 8:30 A.M. | 6:45 P.M. | 6:45 P.M. | 8:30 A.M. Saturday | ||||||||||||||||
| First Game: | 9:15 A.M. | 7:00 P.M. | 7:00 P.M. | 9:15 A.M. Saturday, 9:00 A.M. Sunday | ||||||||||||||||
| Entry Fee: US$ for US residents only |
CA$35/US$32 | CA$15/US$15 | CA$15/US$15 |
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| Prizes: | 70% of EF−PF | 70% of EF−PF | 70% of EF−PF | 55–60% of EF−PF, including 30% to first place in each division ($360/$330/$300/$270 based on 20-player divisions); $100 to top unrated player. | ||||||||||||||||
| Format: | One division, 8 rounds. | T.B.A. based on registration and according to average rating of partners, 3 rounds. | T.B.A. based on registration, 15 rounds. See poslfit.com for speed rules. | Four divisions split at 1700, 1300, 1000 using most recent available NASPA ratings. Players within 100 points may play up at their request unless division numbers become odd. EB results may be used to move players up, as long as other players are not unwillingly moved down as a result. 7 rounds Saturday, 5 rounds Sunday. Modified Swiss pairings by John Chew. | ||||||||||||||||
| Food: | Refreshments, opt-in pizza. | Refreshments. | Refreshments. | Refreshments and opt-in pizza Saturday, Lunch Sunday. | ||||||||||||||||
| Location: | All events will be held in the Silver Blade Room on the second floor of the Herbert H. Carnegie Centennial Centre (Arena) 580 Finch Avenue West (500 metres west of Bathurst St., on the north side), Toronto ON. If you are driving, please note that due to major construction on Finch Avenue, the centre cannot be approached from the west; you must come via Bathurst. Enter through the blue doors on the left (west) side of the building if the main glass doors are locked. Lost or late? Call John Chew at (416) 876–7675. | |||||||||||||||||||
Friday
| 08:30–09:00 | Early Bird Registration |
| 09:00–09:15 | Early Bird Announcements | |
| 09:15–13:15 | Early Bird Games 1–4 | |
| 13:15–14:00 | Lunch break | |
| 14:00–18:00 | Early Bird Games 5–8 | |
| 18:00–18:30 | Early Bird Awards Ceremony | |
| 18:50–19:00 | Pairs Registration | |
| 19:00–21:55 | Pairs Games 1–3 | |
| 21:55–22:00 | Pairs Awards | |
Saturday
| 08:30–09:00 | Registration |
| 09:00–09:15 | Main Event Announcements | |
| 09:15–12:45 | Main Event Games 1–3 | |
| 12:45–13:45 | Lunch break | |
| 13:45–18:15 | Main Event Games 4–7 | |
| 18:55–19:00 | Speed Registration | |
| 19:00–21:55 | Speed Games 1–15 | |
| 21:55–22:00 | Speed Awards | |
Sunday
| 09:00–12:15 | Main Event Games 8–10 |
| 12:15–13:00 | Lunch (provided) | |
| 13:00–13:15 | Announcements of Upcoming Tournaments | |
| 13:15–15:30 | Main Event Games 11–12 | |
| 15:30–16:00 | Main Event Awards Ceremony |
If you’re travelling from out of town and would like to stay with a local player, please contact billetting coordinator Vivienne Muhling at (416) 603–0625 (phone or fax) or vivienne.muhling@gmail.com. (Please indicate smoking preference, parking requirements, special food needs and arrival and departure times.)
We also have a list of downtown and uptown hotels that past players have recommended.
Please note that games start on Sunday morning before the subway starts running, and allow extra time to travel on surface routes if you’ll be using public transit.
As per the United States’ Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, American citizens travelling to Canada by air must now present one of the following two forms of identification (driver's licenses are no longer acceptable, though it is possible that friendly officials may just issue warnings):
The nearest U.S. airport is Buffalo International Airport (BUF). Shuttle buses operate to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) at a cost of about USD 80.00 one-way; there are also usually a reasonable number of players driving to the tournament from Buffalo who may have room for passengers. Domestic flights to BUF may be sufficiently cheaper than flights to YYZ that there might even be a small cost savings in taking this route. The tournament site is 112 miles from BUF (or 12 miles from YYZ), almost all of it along Interstate or the Ontario equivalent 400-series highways.
Send your entry fees (see above for calculation) to John Chew, 9 Fulton Avenue, Toronto ON M4K 1X6 by Wednesday, September 9th, 2008. Entries after that date (including walk-ins) will be accepted on a space-available basis, paid in cash. You may also pay John in person at the Toronto Scrabble Club most Wednesday evenings, or by INTERAC Email. Please include your name, telephone number, address, valid NASPA membership number (unless this is your first tournament) and preferred division. If you would like confirmation of your registration, please also include your e-mail address. You may choose your division according to your current rating; you will not be required to change divisions should your rating change after registration. For more information, please contact John Chew at +1 416 876 7675 or jjchew@math.utoronto.ca.