You are viewing a condensed mobile version of this NASPA webpage.
Switch to full version.
NASPA certifies directors as being qualified to direct sanctioned tournaments and clubs. The NSA stopped doing so on 2009-07-01.
NASPA offers several different categories of certification for its officials. The criteria for certification are set jointly by the Tournament Committee and the Club/Director Committee.
Title | Test1 | Appr2 | Age | Brief Description3 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Tournament/Club Director | yes | yes | 21+ | May direct tournaments and clubs. |
Club Director | May direct clubs. | |||
Tournament Coordinator | May organize and have sanctioned tournaments, and hire directors to work at them. | |||
Apprentice Director | no | May direct a tournament or club under the supervision of a mentor director. | ||
Young Adult Apprentice Director | 18–20 | |||
Youth Apprentice Director | <18 | |||
Assistant Director | no | any | May act online on behalf for a director without full Internet access. |
1You must pass a test to obtain this certification, unless grandfathered.
2You must finish an apprenticeship under a mentor director to obtain this certification, unless grandfathered.
3Click on the certification title for a more detailed description.
If you were an active tournament or club director certified by the NSA as of when NASPA was established, you are granted the grandfathered status of Tournament/Club Director. The NSA’s records of director certification were incomplete: if you believe that you qualify for grandfathering but have not been certified, please contact Mary Rhoades.
The criteria for maintaining certified director status and for restoring a lapsed certification are also set by the Tournament Committee and the Club/Director Committee:
It is important for all NASPA directors to remember they are also NASPA's public representatives. NASPA is Hasbro's official organization to promote competitive club and tournament SCRABBLE play.
Accordingly, directors should only promote competitive SCRABBLE play through NASPA and no other organization. In exchange for these services, directors have been granted exclusive territorial rights for their clubs and tournaments by NASPA.
The first responsibility of NASPA directors is to represent NASPA in a professional, fair, welcoming and encouraging manner.
The second responsibility of a NASPA director is to perform the duties of a director in order to provide more, not fewer, opportunities for all players to participate, which is why entreating anyone to renounce his or her NASPA membership is unacceptable as it decreases the opportunities available to them to participate in competitive SCRABBLE.
While directors may belong to multiple organizations and play in events for multiple organizations, they may not become a club or tournament director of another organization, recruit members for an organization other than NASPA or entreat players to renounce their membership in NASPA.
Any director who does not abide by the policies can have his/her director's certification revoked by NASPA.
NASPA has no qualms with its directors...
(a) running or assisting with School SCRABBLE events because School SCRABBLE is the bailiwick of the NSA, and NASPA has a working relationship with the NSA.
(b) running or assisting with WESPA tourneys because NASPA has a working relationship with WESPA.
(c) running or assisting with any SCRABBLE-related fund-raisers for literacy or charities. (Note: anyone organizing such an event should contact the NSA for permission to use SCRABBLE's trademarked name. Also the NSA will happily provide materials and advertise the event on its list of casual club events. Email Theresa Bubb for information about this.)
(d) running or assisting with non-SCRABBLE events because, well,...they're non-SCRABBLE events.
Here are some resources for directors to help them do their job. If you need something that isn’t listed below, please let us know and we’ll add it.
There is an online group (naspa-tcd) where sanctioned directors discuss questions and issues with other directors, including hearing what they have to say about all facets of organizing and running sanctioned NASPA clubs and tournaments. We encourage you to join it.
See also the Player Resources page for scoresheets and other player-related forms and links.
All tournament players, whether a newbie or someone with a rating who hasn't joined NASPA yet, must join NASPA in order to play in your tournament. Here are some scenarios that might apply to your tournament:
1. You are gathering entries for your tournament and you look on cross-tables to see if they are members. Cross-tables says "check with NASPA". You check on the NASPA member database, accessible by clicking on "Member Search" on the sidebar. If they have a member number in the NASPA database, they are good to go. Occasionally a membership does not show up on Cross-tables right away but will already be listed on the NASPA database.
2. You are gathering entries for your tournament and you agree to let someone join NASPA at the door. If you know ahead of time that one or more people are going to do this, go to Member Services and click on the “Add New Member” button in the Director section. Fill out all the membership information and then choose “Payment with your next tournament’ participation fee” payment method. Your players’ memberships will be activated right away, and a charge will be placed on your account with NASPA, so that it will be totalled with your participation fee after your tournament.
3. You are checking in players the day of the tournament and you have a walk-in who is not a member.
Check to make sure that all of your players are listed on the NASPA site as members. Rating data will not be accepted if any players are not members. Ask nonmembers to fill out printed membership forms, then activate their memberships as in case 2 above. If you have players who say they have recently mailed membership checks to NASPA, do not pay that portion of the amount shown owing; it will be removed from your director account when their checks clear. If their checks do not clear, you will be liable for their membership fees and will not be able to run a tournament until we receive full payment.
By “director account” that simply means there will be a list of directors and what they owe for the new members and your “account balance” will go away once you have paid. This does not go on your credit card when you submit your results.
You also have the option of authorizing the membership monies to be charged to your credit card, which you might do to help a club member join NASPA when you do not have an upcoming tournament.
4. A tournament entrant says he has joined NASPA. Ask what his membership number is. If it starts with AA followed by 6 digits, you're fairly sure he joined NASPA and not the NSA. Occasionally people join the NSA thinking that it will entitle them to play in NASPA-rated tournaments.
We are continuing to compile a director list and a Club roster. If you are a director who has not yet submitted information about yourself and/or your club, please download our director questionnaire and submit it to Mary Rhoades.
Copyright © 2024 NASPA All rights reserved. SCRABBLE is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc. in the USA and Canada, and of Mattel, Inc. elsewhere. NASPA and its activities are neither endorsed by nor affiliated with Hasbro or Mattel. For more information about NASPA or for comments or issues with this page, please email us.