***THE TOURNAMENT AFTERWORD***
16 adventurous souls came to The Cove Bar in Waterford on Saturday morning to play some tournament Scrabble at the home of the Afterword Club. Some of our trademark features were in evidence, quiet background music playing, use of the big screen for warm-up games, and for display of info, and of course the sort of generosity of spirit that anyone who has frequented The Cove will be familiar with.
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The standard tournament software (tsh) seemed to be having a mid-life crisis of sorts, so it had to be abandoned in favour of Graeme Cole’s excellent Atropine software. This change was not taken lightly, but it was essential or the tournament simply could not have gone ahead. It was with great trepidation that we embarked on the experiment of trying to run a Scrabble tournament with software specifically designed for Countdown… but it worked like a dream, and the players were appreciative of some of its features, notably the simple way starts and replies were displayed onscreen, and the standings report viewable after each and every round. As acting TD, Michelle made it look easy, and remembered to keep absent friends up to date with prompt social media postings of standings reports, just as each round ended.
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The food at the venue was delicious, and tea and coffee flowed freely and bountifully. There were no complaints on that front. For anyone on a tight budget, the Ardkeen shopping complex across the road offered some nice cheap lunch options too, so that was handy.
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8 rounds played on Saturday with 6 more to come, we had a bit more breathing room Sunday to take a longer lunchbreak and be a little more relaxed re: timings. Sunday morning started off from 9am with a few quizzy bits. Fair to say Feargal ruled the “spot the intro” round, and Liam T. Davis was utterly unassailable on “flags of the world”.
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We had one player who had travelled from overseas for the tourney! It was Joseph’s first time in Ireland, and he had a great time and a great tournament too! He’s highly tempted to make the trip again if there is another one run in that venue. Hopefully we can accommodate that request sooner rather than later.
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Eventually the tourney had to come to a close. Tom, who had been unable to play due to illness, made it in for the prize-giving cerremony. Here’s a list of the results:-
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HIGH SCORES
3rd – Joseph Bennett [551pts]
2nd – Joseph Bennett [556pts]
1st – Eoin Jackson [587pts]
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HIGH WORD
3rd – Feargal Weatherhead [WATCHES, 115]
2nd – Theresa Scallan [TRIPEDAL, 149]
1st – Eoin Jackson [SNAPPIER, 176]
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MYSTERY NUMBER = 163
Winner = Liam Thomas Davis [170pts]
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SUPER NEWBIE
Marie McDonald [14th place]
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DAVID vs GOLIATH
3rd – Marie Ryan vs Theresa Scallan
2nd – Theresa Scallan vs Joseph Bennett
1st – Chris Broderick vs Joseph Bennett
(Kudos must be given to Dominic McGuigan for his win over Theresa Scallan. Dominic hasn’t achieved a full rating as yet, but if he had…)
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C-RATINGS TOP 3
3rd – Marie McDonald [14th]
2nd – Dominic McGuigan [13th]
1st – Hugh Boland [10th]
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B-RATINGS TOP 3
3rd – Marie Ryan [7th]
2nd – Eileen Meghen [6th]
1st – Pauline Weatherhead [4th]
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OVERALL TOP 3!!!
3rd – Chris Broderick [9 wins, 331 spread]
2nd – Joseph Bennett [11 wins, 1135 spread]
1st – Feargal Weatherhead [13 wins, 1683 spread]
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There were 9 prizes awarded. High Word, Mystery Number, Super Newbie, DvG, 1st B, 1st C, 3rd, 2nd, 1st!
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Thanks to everyone who attended.
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Photos from the event can be seen on the Afterword Facebook page