Youth Scrabble Players Need Your Help!

Text provided by the staff.

You may never have heard of School Scrabble. You may not know that libraries as well as schools host Scrabble clubs. And you may not know that the Woburn Public Library has a Scrabble club, and has three teams—that’s six students—hoping to compete in the National School Scrabble Tournament in Orlando, Florida this spring.

The Woburn Public Library hosts School Scrabble, which differs from the common Scrabble game in that students compete in teams of two. On average we have 10-14 students every Monday afternoon learning new words, developing team strategies, and playing with words (math, too, in scoring).

Last year, we had one team, Kristen and Alex Brodeur, who attended and did well in national competition, coming in 61st of 97 teams from all around the country.

This year, we have three teams ready to go to the tournament, which will be held on April 15 and 16 in Orlando. Kristen and Alex Brodeur are determined to improve their standing. Kennedy sixth-graders Kevin Dukas and Michael Cerullo have a sharp and defensive game to offer their national foes. Max Marshall, a fifth-grader at the Wyman School, has teamed up with Burlington sixth grader Adil Sageer. They intend to play their best, and have fun doing it!

The National Scrabble Association runs the School Scrabble Tournament. Tournament organizers Ben Greenwood, a Lexington, MA native, and Sherrie St. John, of Manchester by the Sea, work closely with Jane Ratsey Williams and John Williams, as well as a host of adult Scrabble stars, to make this event a memorable and exciting one for students in grades 5-8 from around the U.S. Bags of goodies await each student and coach, and there are special activities planned. But all that pales in comparison to the tournament itself. Students play head-to-head in teams of two, using their specialized knowledge of two-letter words, odd three-letter words, Q words without U, and a number of weird words in an attempt to get their opponents to challenge, and (hopefully) lose a turn when the word challenged is valid. After each round, players compare wins and losses, disasters and triumphs, and stampede the officials when the rankings are posted. Coaches discuss scores and rankings, work on last-minute strategies, and encourage their players, win or lose. Anxious, excited parents watch on the sidelines, and cheer their children on. (Quietly, of course—there’s a tournament in progress!) The culmination of two days’ play over seven games is the last game: the top two teams play for the championship, while everyone else watches via TV in an auditorium. Scrabble officials provide a color commentary of the game, while the crowd comments, cheers, or simply watches in awe as seemingly impossible words are played in amazing configurations. The winners are cheered, but really, when all is said and done, every student is a winner, because the School Scrabble Tournament is the experience of a lifetime.

Airfares and lodging are at all-time highs. Both of these factors mean that the trip to the Nationals is an expensive proposition for the students and their families. We are asking that people consider sponsoring the teams through a cash donation. All donations will be recognized in the local media; donations of $100 or more will also be recognized on the students’ team jerseys. Funds collected will be kept in an account specifically to assist in defraying travel and lodging costs for students who qualify for the National School Scrabble Tournament.  We thank everyone in advance for their support of this unique form of youth literacy.

The Scrabble Club would like to extend a special thank you to the Friends of the Woburn Public Library for their support. The Friends have funded our twice annual Scrabble tournaments for the past six years so we can offer prizes to participants. Having games and other prizes to play for makes our local tournaments exciting!

The public is welcome to drop by and check out the Scrabble program on Monday afternoons in the library’s Study Hall from 3:30—4:30 p.m. For more information, please contact Children’s Librarian and Scrabble coach Cynthia Fordham at 781-937-0405.

To read more about the Scrabble stars,