sports // 18

Sport/Schmort: Competitive Scrabble

» ‘Sport’ is a seven-point word

   

Natalie Serafini
m Assistant Editor

Pe Massistant

Fé @theotherpress.ca

Mc people would likely
say that sitting, staring

at tiles with letters printed on
them, and attempting to create
words with said lettered tiles
couldn't possibly be a sport; if
you can perch ona chair, drink
tea, and perusea dictionary, you
likely aren’t engaged in athletic
activity. Nonetheless, here at
the Other Press, and especially
in Sport/Schmort, we don’t take
simple, uncomplicated answers
at face value. Does Scrabble
have the tough stuff sports
are made of, or should we be
reaching for the thesaurus to
find synonyms for “schmort”?
Hasbro Gaming describes
Scrabble’s story of origin as “a
classic example of American
innovation and perseverance.”
An unemployed architect from
New York, Alfred Mosher Butts,
decided to invent a board game
and came up with the lexicon
game in 1938. Creating the
game’s point system involved
the arduous analysis of the front
cover of the New York Times
to calculate the frequency of
letters. Butts shopped the game
around until he found entre-
preneur James Brunot, who

: supported the game’s devel-
: opment. Gradually, the game
: became the one that’s known
: and loved by so many today.

Each player is faced with

seven wooden letter tiles on

: each turn, selected at random

: froma bag. Players alternate

: turns in creating words, joining
: them to words that have already :
: been placed on the board and
: creating a crossword-puzzle-like
: design. Bonus points exist for

: those who are able to dispose of
: seven tiles in one go, creating

: those elusive, long-lettered

: words. Gameplay ends when

: one player has run out of tiles,

: and the player left with tiles
must subtract their numbered

: tiles from their score and add
them to the opponent’s score.

First, we should not disre-

: gard the fact of Scrabble’s point
: system. The victorious and the
: vanquished are determined

: by points awarded based on

: the merit ofa word. Where

: else do we find point systems

: in play? Sports. Points lend

: structure to everything from

: soccer, to basketball, to tennis,
: and all other forms of sport.

: And while Scrabble is in large

: part a game of chance, it is

: also a game of strategy. Used

“oy

a “z”? Created an unusual and
: unlikely word? Evaded making

a simple “cat” and instead laid

: down “capture”? All of these

: strategic moves, requiring

: careful planning before making
: a play, affect whether or not

you will tile a road to victory.

Bulking up Scrabble’s

: potential claim to sport fame
: is the fact ofits clubs, tour-
> naments, and associations

supporting competitive play.

: The North American Scrabble

Players Association lists several

: championship games, the

: option to watch live coverage

: ofthe games, and accounts of

: Scrabble records broken. (For

: example, one of the highest

: word scores recorded is “quix-

: otry,” with 365 points.) The site
: features detailed rules, explana-
: tions of regional differences in
: lexicon, and opportunities for

: participation at any skill level.

Despite my attempts to

: paint Scrabble as a potential

: sport, at this point, the answer

: is likely obvious. Although

: Scrabble tests one’s textual met-
: tle, it does not present a physical
: challenge in the same way that,

: say, rugby does. Certainly it’s

: competitive, challenging, and

: features some of the same char-

: acteristics as a sport (points,

: rules, championships and tour-

: naments); nonetheless, Scrabble
: doesn’t manage to scrabble

: onto the athletic podium.

prth American SCRABBLE Player

 

 

 

 

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2013 National SCRABBLE Champion Nigel Richards (New Zealand)
By Patty Hocker/www.businesswire.com

 

Record breaking

» Men's baseball sets a new standard for future squads

Eric Wilkins
Sports Editor

M sports
@theotherpress.ca

 

Gi,

t’s the end of another season

for the men’s baseball team.
While there was no hardware
at the end of it all, it was the
finest season in Douglas
College history—something
the Royals are well-aware of.
The end for the squad this year
came agonizingly close to the
NWAACC Championships.
After qualifying for the North
Regionals, the Royals knew
they had some work to do, and
they just about pulled it off.

The first big game saw

the team face offagainst
Bellevue. Although the Royals
started well, scoring a run in
each of the first two innings,
Bellevue shut the door from
then on. A pair ofruns at the
bottom of the second tied it
up, and then a further two put
Douglas down 4-2. A final run

: inthe eighth rounded out the
: scoring and Bellevue won 5-2.

Now in do-or-die mode, the

: Royals were up against Skagit

: Valley. Despite a decent start, a
: strong showing from the Skagit
: offence in the fourth and fifth

: innings meant that Douglas

: was down 5-2 heading into the

: sixth—and then the Royals

: showed them how to really play
: ball. A four-run inning put the

: Royals temporarily on top until
: Skagit tied it up at the top of the
: seventh. In nail-biting fashion,

: the game stayed that way into

: extra innings. Still knotted at

: seven, the Royals entered the

: bottom of the uth inning hoping
: toend the game then and there.
: After two runners got on base,

: courtesy ofa walk and being hit
: bya pitch, Jared Frew delivered
: just inside the first base foul-line
: for the walk-offhit. The crew

: from Douglas was still alive.

The next game decided

who would be heading to the
: NWAACC Championship as
: the North representative, and

: the opponent was once again

: Bellevue. Douglas held in for

: most of the game, only being

: down1-o until the sixth inning,
: but they just couldn't get their

: offence going, ultimately losing
: 5-0 to Bellevue’s AI]L-NWAACC

: Second Team pitcher, Nick Kiel.

Colby Rossi summed up the

: team’s experience at Regionals:
: “We faced some tough pitching,
: which was to be expected in

: the playoffs, and didn’t exactly

: get the outcome that we would

: have liked. As for execution,

: we werent terrible, but we

: definitely were not up to the

: standard that is necessary to be
: successful in playoff competi-

: tion. We uncharacteristically

: made too many mistakes on

: defence, both mentally and

: physically, that cost us some

: runs at the end of the day.”

But while it’s easy to dwell

: on the squad not making the

: championships, it’s impossible
: toignore the accomplishments
: of both the team and the

: individuals on it. The Royals

: set aschool record with 15 wins,
: and their third place finish in

: the North Division was also

: tops for the college. The squad

: fought hard to get where they

: were, and, as evidenced by

: their1-6 startin a preseason

: tournament in Arizona,

: they made great strides.

Rossi noted, “We had an

: incredible season thanks in

: part to the ‘completeness’ of our
: team; we were solid in all aspects :
: of our game and that showed

: through our record. It was

: anhonour to bea part of this

: year’s team, not just by having

: alot of success on the baseball

: field, but also by witnessing

: how our players gelled together
: so closely and so quickly.”

To go with the team success

: Brayden Munro. Three North

: Region Gold Glove selections

: also went to Jordan Kornberger,
: Munro, and Robertson.

: Getting in on the act was

: coach Cavanagh Whitely, who

: finished the year with 56 total

: wins in his coaching career

: at Douglas College to shatter

: the previous record of 49.

With the season officially

over, Whitely rounded all the

bases for a final quote: “I’m

: proud ofthis group and what

: they were able to accomplish

: this season. Each player was

: able to contribute to our success
: both onand off the field. I’m

: especially thankful for our grad-
: uating group of sophomores.

: They dedicated themselves to

: : their goals and left everything

: wasa slew ofindividual honours. :
: Making the First Team North
: Region All-Star squad were Tyler :
: Yorko, Jackson Temple, and

: Matt Trimble. On the Second

: Team for the North Region were
: Frew, Tanner Robertson, Shawn
: Andersen, Jeff Bouchard, and

out there on the field. Their

: work ethic and leadership will

be missed. They set a new level

: ofachievement for the program
: and] wish them the best wher-

: ever their academic and athletic
pursuits may take them.”