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May 9, 2008

Schoolmates play for Scrabble glory in Providence

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Trent Sonnenfeldt listens to teammate Alexander Ku as he makes a suggestion during the
National School Scrabble tournament today. The duo ise from Emerson Middle School in Palo Alto, Calif., and scored an impressive 521 points in the first round.

PROVIDENCE -- Darcy Davis, a diminutive Cranston seventh grader who can solve a Rubik's Cube in an eye blink, didn't look fazed this afternoon by the championship Scrabble team from Texas.

She furiously figured out word combos with fellow Park View Elementary School teammate Rebecca Rose. She sat at table 20 at the Rhode Island Convention Center where 200 fifth through eighth graders from 23 states began the two-day National School Scrabble Championship.

The competition over the popular crossword board game -- now sold by Pawtucket-based Hasbro -- will crown a winning team tomorrow.

Darcy and Rebecca spoke Scrabblese -- whispers, nods and head shakes -- as they squared off against two Trinity Bend Christian School boys. Words such as C-R-E-A-T-I-N-G and S-I-E-G-E suddenly multiplied on the Scrabble board. In the end, this round went to the Texas team, which posted what a Park View coach said was a high score.

Yes, they said they still play on a board, even when Scrabble or similar/knock-off games are on Facebook.com and other Internet locales. Other competitors said Internet versions only supplement the board game because competing means two players working together shoulder to shoulder.

And the competition has gone high tech in one vital area. When a team challenges another's reputed word, the ruling no longer falls to a lady with granny glasses who flips open a dusty dictionary. Each team walked up to a laptop computer, one of several stationed around the convention center ball room, typed in the disputed word, and braced for the news.

A message in green letters appeared on screen when a word was OK. A message in red meant the word was bogus.

While the event is closed to the public, you can, too, can see the play, round by round, and move by move. Click here for the entry page to the rounds, then continuing clicking to see each team's move -- displayed on an online version of a Scrabble board.

You can also take a look at who the teams are, and connect to their standings.

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney

Posted by Mike McKinney  at 4:39 PM | Permalink

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