Latest revision as of 15:33, 18 July 2011

This page outlines the criteria that will be used to select the players who will represent the United States at the 2011 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 2011, they will be ineligible to compete for the U.S. at any Causeway Challenges held between 2011 and 2013 and the 2013 World Scrabble Championship.

Registering for the qualification process

In order to claim a spot on the team, interested players must register for the qualification process by June 23, 2011 at 11:59 PST. Players wishing to register can do so by contacting Sam Kantimathi or Brian Bowman.

Players who intend to claim a spot on the team as one of the top three finishers from the 2009 WSC, or who intend to qualify on the basis of peak rating must register and commit to play by June 23, 2011 at 11:59 PST. On June 24, the players who qualify by peak rating will be announced. Any player who qualifies by peak rating and withdraws after June 23 will be ineligible to play on the U.S. team at the 2013 World Scrabble Championship.

Players who intend to earn a spot through the qualifying tournament must register for the tournament by July 10, 2011. 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 2013 World Scrabble Championship.

Qualified players

The following players have qualified to represent the USA at the 2011 World Scrabble Championship.

Qualified via 2009 WSC Performance:

1. Dave Wiegand

2. Nathan Benedict

Note: Jason Katz-Brown qualified on the basis of his 2009 WSC performance, but declined to play. Therefore, a 10th slot was determined by peak rating

Peak rating:

1. Brian Cappelletto

2. Joel Sherman

3. Geoff Thevenot

4. John O'Laughlin

5. Brian Bowman

6. David Koenig

7. Laurie Cohen

8. Chris Cree

9. Sam Rosin

10. Marty Gabriel

Qualification tournament:

1. Mark Kenas

2. Chris Lipe

3. Jim Kramer

Should any of the above players withdraw, the alternate will be Bradley Whitmarsh, who finished fourth at the QT.

Registered player list

The following players have registered for the qualification process:

• Peter Armstrong
• Nathan Benedict
• Brian Bowman
• Brian Cappelletto
• Amit Chakrabarti
• Evans Clinchy
• Laurie Cohen
• Chris Cree
• Jesse Day
• Marty Gabriel
• Jason Idalski
• Sam Kantimathi
• Jason Keller
• David Koenig
• Jim Kramer
• Robert Linn
• Chris Lipe
• Rod MacNeil
• Jeremiah Mead
• John O’Laughlin
• Sammy Okosagah
• Steve Polatnick
• Dan Pratt
• Sam Rosin
• Joel Sherman
• Geoff Thevenot
• Bradley Whitmarsh
• Dave Wiegand
• Ben Withers

Qualification period (QP)

The qualification period begins on January 1, 2010 and will end on May 31, 2011. A qualification tournament (QT) will be held in Northeast Ohio on July 15-17, 2011.

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

Available spots

The United States will be represented by fifteen players in 2011.

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 finishers from the 2009 World SCRABBLE Championship

Three spots will be reserved for the top three American finishers at the 2009 WSC. If any of these players decline to play, then additional spots will be determined by peak rating.

Note: The top three American finishers at the 2009 WSC were Dave Wiegand, Nathan Benedict and Jason Katz-Brown.

3. Peak NASPA TWL or NASPA SOWPODS rating (PR)

Nine spots 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 for a player's NASPA TWL rating to count as a valid peak rating, the player must have played 50 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 50 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.

If a PR includes bonus points earned from the second half of a tourney 17-32 rounds long (or from the final third of a tourney 33-48 rounds long), then those specific bonus points will be subtracted from the player's final rating that tourney before reaching the PR for that tourney only. Subsequent tourneys will again include the bonus points from the previous events.

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.

4. Qualification tournament (QT)

Three spots (and one alternate) will be determined by a 20-game qualification tournament that will be held from July 15-17 in Northeast Ohio (the Cleveland/Akron area). Details about the tournament can be found on the NASPA tournament calendar here 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.

(Update: The QT has been completed, and the results can be found here.)

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.

Qualification Standings

Please see the automatically generated qualification list, updated weekly.

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.