Discouraging the organisation of face-to-face Scrabble tournaments and special policies in light of outbreak of coronavirus from Wuhan, China

Hong Kong Scrabble Players Association (HKSPA) has consulted its members previously on a proposal to temporarily suspend the rating and recognition of all Scrabble tournaments in Hong Kong. After careful consideration, while the Association discourage the organisation of any face-to-face Scrabble tournaments until further notice, the Association will continue to rate and recognise tournaments as usual. The following special policies will be implemented in all Scrabble tournaments rated or recognised by the Association:

• all players under the age of 18 (as on the date of the tournament) must obtain written consent from at least one of his or her parents to participate in the tournament. The written consent must be in the form prescribed by the Association, and must be submitted to the Tournament Director before the start of the tournament. The Tournament Director may refuse the participation of an under-18 player who failed to hand in the written consent;
• all players are encouraged to inform the organiser whether they have travelled to China within 30 days prior to the date of the tournament. If the organiser requires a player to so inform him, the player must do so. The Tournament Director may refuse the participation of a player who has so travelled in the relevant time period or who refuses to disclose his or her travel history. The Association has the power to impose a ban on any player who lies about his or her travel history to participate in all HKSPA-rated or recognised tournaments for a period up to 5 years.

The above policies will take effect immediately until further notice.

We also urge all Scrabble players to keep personal hygiene at all times and avoid going out unnecessarily.