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This page outlines the criteria that will be used to select the players who qualify to represent the United States at the 2019 WESPA Championship (WESPAC2019).
WESPAC2019 is an event with national allocations resembling those of the World SCRABBLE Championship (WSC). It will be held in Goa, India, from October 21-26, 2019. (We expect there will also be a Last Chance Qualifier on October 20, 2019 in Goa that will select additional players.)
The United States has been allotted 18 spots for the WESPAC2019. This document sets out how the 18 qualifiers will be chosen.
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 also attempts to represent another nation at WESPAC2019 (with or without withdrawing from the U.S. registration), they will be ineligible to compete for the U.S. at the next such championship.
Players wishing to register for the qualification process can do so by contacting info@scrabbleplayers.org.
The application deadline for qualifying by peak rating is 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on May 31, 2019.
The deadline for registering for the Qualifying Tournament will be determined later.
The qualification period began on December 1, 2017 and ends on May 31, 2019. The qualification tournament(s), if held, will be held sometime thereafter.
Note: Tournaments that are in progress at the beginning or end of the QP will be considered to fall within the QP.
All players wishing to qualify by peak rating must play a minimum of 31 rated CSW tournament games during the Qualifying Period.
Spots awarded by WESPA (for example, for being a finalist at the previous WESPAC). These spots do not count against the U.S. allotment. WESPA is not expected to award any spots to U.S. players for WESPAC2019.
Any eligible U.S. players who finished in the top quarter of the 119 person field in WESPAC 2017 while representing the United States.
Players already awarded WESPA byes are not considered part of Canada’s allotment and do not count against the maximum number of spots to be awarded.
These spots must be accepted before May 31, 2019.
Any spots not claimed under this provision will be awarded based on peak rating.
Qualified under this criterion:
The 12 to 14 available slots (after allocating 4 spots for the Qualification Tournament, and the spots awarded under criteria 1 and 2) will be determined by peak NASPA CSW (Collins Scrabble Words) rating during the QP. A player must have played at least 31 fully rated (CSW) NASPA games before their post-tournament rating will count as a peak rating. The final rating from any fully rated tournament once this participation requirement is met may be used as a PR. Any bonus points will count as a part of a person’s PR. Ratings following tournaments which are not fully rated (i.e., LCTs) will not count as a peak rating, but any such games played will count as 1/3 of a game towards fulfilling the participation requirement.
Four spots will be determined by a qualification tournament. Location, date and format will be announced later. To be eligible for the QT, players must meet the eligibility requirements for representing the US at the 2017 WESPAC as enumerated above. The 31-game participation requirement does not apply to players who wish to qualify via the QT. Players who sign up for the QT will be automatically registered for the qualifying process, and must commit to play the WESPAC if they earn a spot. Additionally, the fifth-place finisher at the QT will be the primary alternate for the US team at WESPAC.
Any positions which remain open once the list of people interested and eligible to qualify based on PR is exhausted will be allocated based on peak NASPA rating (either CSW or TWL) in the qualification period, with a minimum 4 game participation requirement in the lexicon used to determine the peak rating. A position will be deemed claimable once the appropriate deadline to register for that position has passed. I.e., the spots in the U.S. allocation less five spots reserved for the QT and two reserved for the NASC will be claimed at the end of the QP; and five spots (four spots plus the position of First Alternate who will be awarded a previously unclaimed spot, should one exist) will be claimable at the end of the QT.
Qualification standings will be posted here as soon as they are available.
The first spot opened by withdrawal of a player after the completion of the Qualifying Tournament will be filled first by the Primary Alternate (i.e., the fifth-place finisher in the Qualifying Tournament). Any additional spots opened by withdrawal of a player after the completion of the Qualifying Tournament, or any spots opened by the withdrawal of a player before the Primary Alternate is selected will be filled by PR.
Players who accept an allotted spot under criteria 2 and who withdraw without a valid reason after the QP will not be permitted to qualify for the next event with WSC-like national allocations except through the QT.
Players who accept an allotted spot under criteria 3 and who withdraw without a valid reason after the QT will not be permitted to qualify for the next event with WSC-like national allocations except through the QT.
Players may appeal to the NASPA International Committee U.S. Subcommittee to have their eligibility reinstated.
Any dispute regarding the interpretation of any of the above rules and criteria will be resolved by the NASPA International Committee U.S. Subcommittee.
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