Home/Pairs Tournament Results
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Cape Cod Color
29-31 October 1999
The games began only a bit late this morning and out of 56
contestants, only one didn't make it due to illness. So, we ended up
with a bye in the recreational division.
Joel Horn (E) played his entire first game with a total of 8 vowels
placed on the board by him. Needless to say, he lost!
The Radisson Inn Hyannis has a lovely, well-lit playing room right
off the pool area (love those negative ions). It is spacious but a
bit subterranean for my taste. I think that fact that it is well over
60 degrees outside has me wishing this was an outdoor tournament!
Round 2 started off interestingly. A longtime married couple called
me over to adjudicate a difference before their game began. They were
to play each other. Seems she wanted to use her analog clock and he
wanted to use his digital clock. I made the ruling (that the digital
took preference), but wondered why this question had never come up
before! They've been playing SCRABBLE for years!
I spent most of rounds 3 and 4 searching for John Venditti. He
smartly was taking his opponents outside to play atop a picnic
blanket in the sunshine. I envied them the sun and air.
We kept pretty much on time, which meant that there was enough time
to take a decent lunch hour: 90 minutes for some. Between bites of
brick oven pizza (yum), I checked on the scorecard math so far: very
good!
Round 5 is now under way and the room is almost completely silent
save for the sound of tinkling tiles. Rod MacNeil lost by 169 points
and he isn't the least bit upset. As he told it to me, he had a lead
on Joey Mallick even after Joey's first bingo of OLEASTER (77). But
it was the ensuing three bingos: BUSTLED (75), FAITHING (88), and
ATROPINE (76) that Joey laid down, one after another, that lost Rod
the game. Rod explains that for having the X and one S, he thinks he
did well to lose by only 169 (532-363). A monster win for Joey.
We had a misadjudication this round. A word judge ruled the play
POMELO unacceptable. The recreational division player did NOT request
a second opinion. Two plays or so later, just as a bingo was being
put down in that game, the word judge pointed out his error to me. He
had found it in the dictionary after plays had been made on the
board. I read the Tournament Rules and happened upon Rule XH--
Inaccurate Adujudication--and decided to award the injured player 24
points for her play plus 25 points for the bad ruling. This 49 was added to her cum after the
game was over. The E in POMELO had been played by her to open up the
board and her opponent bingoed off it and she lost the game by 15
points. This hurt her greatly. I assured her that we all need to be
reminded what the "second opinion" rule is all about......
Most tournaments I play in on the East Coast use a 7-game Saturday
format and I decided to try the 8-game format (which means only four
games tomorrow and time for all to get home for trick or treaters),
like tournaments out West. No one complained, but I could tell it was
tiring. All the divisions had an increase in addition errors for this
8th round.
After dinner, many of us congregated in the playing room to
participate in and vote on the costume contest. We had so much fun!
There was a SCRABBLE pair in cute shirts and one had SCRABBLE boxers
over his jeans! Another man came dressed in drag (since he didn't
shave his moustache, he wore a feathered mask over his face to cover
the decidedly unfeminine mustache!
There was a Prehistoric SCRABBLE gal with a bag of shale rock tiles
from days gone by. There was a samauri complete with headpiece. Two
players dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Butts, complete with MASSIVE
pillows in their butts.... And, then the winner was a witch dressed
up as a card: Marjorie Jones. She made a giant Hallmark takeoff card
that she carried over ther shoulders like a cape. I'll put up a web
page of photos before too long!
Some more notes:
During round 11 I spotted some nice plays in the expert division. In
a game between John Morse and Judy Horn I saw an opening bingo of
STANINE (66) by John. Two plays later he did a complete parallel play
of DILUTER (72) atop STANINE. Since I didn't see the game as it was
played, I'm not sure how the DS worked, but it did.
At the next table a virtual bingo-fest was going on. Elaine Patterson
played BARNIEST (62) and DIMNESs (92) and Joey Mallick played HORIZON
(76), MISRULEd (68), and DEGRADE (77). After 11 plays, they were
447-390. The game finished, 467-407 in Elaine's favor.
Next door in the Intermediate division, Don Finkey responded to his
opponent's opening play by laying down LINEARLY through the A. He got
65 points and drew a challenge. The word is good.
In the "good sport" department, Marjorie Bash earned another badge
for her sash. In a game against Concepta Siembab, Concepta put down a
bingo and announced 45. Marjorie said, "Is that all you count?"
Concepta, realizing her error, corrected the score to be 95 and won
the game by 45 points. Marjorie may have lost the game, but she won
so much more.
A highlight of the awards ceremony came when Marjorie Jones and her
witch puppet awarded the Best Halloween word prizes. Her puppet,
complete with hands was a hoot and a perfect accompaniment to
Marjorie's quick one-liners!
Big thanks to the tournament's superb word judges: David Lovler,
Wendy Wolfberg, Joanie Moniz, and Ron Gauthier.
Thanks to Gregg Foster and Steven Alexander (who helped with the
tournament pairings).
p.s. I typed in words from the challenge slips during down time
between rounds. My favorite phoneys: BEDFLEAS, WHEATIES, and RUNTLETS.
All words adjudicated with the OWL (ospd)
(acceptable = yes, not acceptable = no)
Round 1:
yes: SWIVE, ZERK, OXIDATE, FRUGS, AVANT, NITCHIeS
no: OUTRULED, HOEN, QUIPED, JINI, GORER, OB, AZIFY
Round 2:
yes: RETSINA/PILIS, SENDABlE, DEMItTED, DADAS
no: RETOOLER, REsALER, ORI, MAL, UNGNAWED, RICOTTA/BENDI, EDEN,
UNSHINED, DELT, EXCOM, AO, TANQS, ZEN, REBOLT, HIENiES, STA/FELINES,
SHS, JUIs/VAWs, TULL
Round 3:
yes: REORIENT, VIRGAS, VANED, PIC, UTS, LICENSEE, CHAPT
no: REN, NYET, SAFTIED, OUTMEND, SKABIES, YALIE, TOWNER, FILLYS,
AEROLAS, ORIENTERS, MASTERER, DOUSINGS, VIOLANT, JEFFE, XUS, JAME
Round 4:
yes: COnNOTE, DAUTIES, NOTA, STOOLED, TINKLED, MANICS, BUR, LEAS
no: NOTAS, RANTEN, GLIT, JEUS/HICKIES, POE, AUDITER, AIRE
Round 5:
yes: FAYS, WHOOF/DAW, CINDERY, SUNDREsS, JILLIONS, GROUTIER,
TOPIS/JUNTOS, ZONK
no: BRUNG/BICE, AIRSKEET, EMNITY, UTE/EMU, SOUCHIER, DEPLaNER,
DETERERS, JOISTERING, ULE, AF, JEAR, FROSTERS, YAD/DREG.
bad ruling: POMELO ruled unacceptable, but it was acceptable.
Round 6:
yes: WALY, ALAND, ROUT, HEELER/HONOREE, NAN, AEROLITE, IAMB
no: TE, PO/ROE/JOE, PRESAVE, PREDONE, CLODDERS, WHEATIES, BON, ERRY,
AGOR, BEETY, DHOURI, RELOOSEN, RUNTLET, HEEP/PEONY, ABIASES, ZAMIN,
TIX
Round 7:
yes: MAGE, BAsTILE, RERAISE, POWS, EYER, TRANKs/DOINGs, EYNE
no: REER, UNBLOWN, TAnIC, UNWIPED, PICT, UZI, SLUTTED, FAM, TANTERS
Round 8:
yes: WONS, CARNIES/PEEN, ETERNALS, TIS
no: TIMLIER, SPENTED, ADE, YED/BAND, UR
Round 9:
yes: LEV, MArLINES, OLEASTER, KEENS, IMIDE, PARTINGS, BONEY/GORY, UNSeALS
no: YOWLY, LOOMERs, TORRIED, RESTEAM, ZOAS, AXINE, AIRE, RETEASED,
BOLDInG, AXILES, BEDFLEAS, ESNE, GOS, LORAINS
Round 10:
yes: JOLTY, BENDY, WINGER, ENNUIS, LEgATING
no: IDOLATE, ROBOUST/TRICOTS, AVENAGE, EXITE, HALFS, YOS, ABLED, HAR
Round 11:
yes: EYRE, DEVA, ARSINES/SQUILL, VOES, MEEtErS, MURKS, WEBBIER,
unDOINGS, BRASSED, OUTWORKED, LINEARLY, PALLID, FEME
no: VENTRIC/CHORAL, MASSiNGS, DIPSY, UNEASED/MOGGS
Round 12:
yes: RINSERS, PRERINSE, TENTIEr/ADJOINT, MOG, bONDINGS, YEASTING,
GADI, DECOYING, oUTGOES/SPOOFS, ETHANES, HOPER, MIRZA, UMM
no: OFTs/sNORTER, ENTERROR, JIF, DAAL, AGELINES, LUCY, INGROWS,
LININGS/JULIPS, YUH, WIZZARD, JIAOS, OB, TAGLESS, HU
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