Latest revision as of 22:29, 16 July 2018

This page outlines the criteria that will be used to select the players who will represent the United States at the 2013 World SCRABBLE Championship (WSC).

Eligibility

All players wishing to qualify must be NASPA members in good standing.

United States citizens and permanent residents are eligible.

Players may not register for the qualification process if they have already registered to qualify for another nation. If a player registers to play for the U.S. and then withdraws to attempt to represent another nation at WSC 2013, they will be ineligible to compete for the U.S. at the 2015 World Scrabble Championship.

Registering for the qualification process

(Note: the dates of the qualification period and qualifying tournament may be moved up to account for the early dates of the 2013 National Scrabble Championship)

Players who intend to claim a spot on the team as one of the top 10 finishers at the 2011 WSC or who intend to qualify on the basis of peak rating must register and commit to play by May 1, 2013 at 11:59 PST.  On May 2, the players who qualify by peak rating will be announced.  Any player who qualifies by peak rating or top ten finish and withdraws after May 1 will be ineligible to play on the U.S. team at the 2015 World Scrabble Championship.

The deadline for registering for the qualification tournament will be announced after the date for the tournament is set.  All players in the qualifying tournament must agree to attend the WSC if they qualify.  Any player who qualifies via the qualifying tournament and withdraws after the completion of the tournament will be ineligible to play on the U.S. team at the 2015 World Scrabble Championship.

Qualified players

The following players have qualified to represent the USA at the 2013 World Scrabble Championship.

Qualified via top ten overall finish at 2011 WSC

Dave Wiegand

Qualified via peak rating

1. Nathan Benedict, AZ
2. John O'Laughlin, MA
3. Chris Cree, TX
4. Brian Bowman, KY
5. Jesse Day, CA
6. David Koenig, MD
7. Marty Gabriel, IL
8. Conrad Bassett-Bouchard, CA
9. Chris Lipe, NY

Qualified via Qualification tournament

(This section was completed following the completion of the QT)

1. Jim Kramer
2. Jason Keller
3. Evans Clinchy
4. Steve Polatnick (1st alternate, accepted place on team)

Qualified but Withdrew

1. Sam Kantimathi, CA (AB appeal decided 2013-09-24)
2. Geoff Thevenot, TX (2013-08-28)

Registered player list

The following players have registered for the qualification process:

• Peter Armstrong
• Conrad Bassett-Bouchard
• Brian Bowman
• Amit Chakrabarti
• Evans Clinchy
• Laurie Cohen
• Chris Cree
• Jesse Day
• Cesar Del Solar
• Marty Gabriel
• Sam Kantimathi
• Jason Keller
• David Koenig
• Jim Kramer
• Robert Linn
• Chris Lipe
• John O'Laughlin
• Sam Rosin
• Geoff Thevenot
• Dave Wiegand
• Bradley Whitmarsh
• Ben Withers

Qualification period (QP)

The qualification period begins on September 22, 2011 and ended on May 1, 2013.   A qualification tournament (QT) was held from June 14-16 in Princeton, NJ.

Note: Tournaments that are in progress at the beginning or end of the QP were considered to fall within the QP.

Available spots

The United States will be represented by fourteen players in 2013.

Criteria (in order)

1. World English-language Scrabble Players' Association  (WESPA)  bye(s)

Any spots awarded by WESPA (for example, for being a finalist at the previous WSC, or for being champion of the WYSC) do not count against the United States' allotment.

2. Top ten overall finishers from the 2011 World SCRABBLE Championship

Any American finishing in the overall top ten in WSC2011 will be invited to represent the US in WSC2013, provided they maintain NASPA membership and play the minimum number of tournament games in QP. If any of these players decline to play, then additional spots will be determined by peak rating.

3. Qualification tournament (QT)

Three spots (and one alternate) will be determined by a 20-game qualification tournament that will be held in Princeton, NJ on June 14-16.  Details about the tournament will be announced later.  To be eligible for the QT, players must have played 20 games fully-rated by NASPA (TWL or SOWPODS) during the QP.  Players who sign up for the QT will be automatically registered for the qualifying process, and must commit to play the WSC if they earn a spot.

QT tie-breakers (if tied on wins and spread)

If two or more players are tied then that tie will be broken based on PR and PR tie breaker procedures will be in effect.

4. Peak NASPA TWL or NASPA SOWPODS rating + 50 points (PR)

The remainder of slots  (depending on the number of Americans in the top ten, and the overall team allocation) will be determined by peak rating during the QP. 

A player’s PR is the highest tournament rating that is achieved after the player has fulfilled the participation requirements (see below).  

A player may use either their NASPA TWL rating or their NASPA SOWPODS rating as a peak rating.  In order to give greater weight to ratings that are achieved in the lexicon of the World Championship, 50 points will be added to a player's peak rating in the NASPA SOWPODS system.  For example, a peak rating of 1900 in the NASPA SOWPODS system will be considered equivalent to a peak rating of 1950 in the NASPA TWL system.

In order for a player's NASPA TWL rating to count as a valid peak rating, the player must have played 65 total games in the NASPA TWL and NASPA SOWPODS rating systems. Additionally, the player must have played 30 games in the NASPA TWL rating system, including two tournaments of at least 5 games each.

In order for a player's NASPA SOWPODS rating to count as a valid peak rating, the player must have played 65 total games in the NASPA TWL and NASPA SOWPODS rating systems. Additionally, the player must have played 30 games in the NASPA SOWPODS rating system, including two tournaments of at least 5 games each.

Players with peak ratings in both rating systems will use the higher of the two peaks as their PR.

Only ratings achieved at the conclusion of fully rated tournaments will be considered a PR. [Historical note: soon after this QS ran, the NASPA Tournament Committee created a new category of capped open-rated tournaments (COTs) which are one-third rated due to limited attendance. If this qualification system is used as the basis for a future QS, please consult with the Web Committee about any coding changes necessary to correctly handle COTs.]

(Update: 11-30-12: A NASPA member has pointed out an inconsistency in the handling of bonus points in tournaments of different lengths. To fix this inconsistency, bonus points will no longer be subtracted from players' peak ratings, regardless of the length of the tournament at which the peak rating was earned.)

PR tie-breakers

1. Highest NASPA SOWPODS peak rating.
2. Highest number of NASPA SOWPODS games played.
3. Second highest rating achieved after playing at least 50 games in the QP.
4. Highest rating achieved after any fully rated tournament in the QP.
5. Drawing of lots.

Qualification Standings

Qualification standings were updated regularly, and are now final.

Alternates

1. Players who accept an allotted spot and withdraw before the QT will be replaced based on PR.
2. One alternate spot for the U.S. team will be awarded based on the standings of the QT.
3. Any further alternate spots will be awarded based on PR.