Update (9 May) - Qualifying mechanism
As of today, 17 players expressed interests to play in the Championship on 3 and 5 June 2022. There shall be 16 spots in the Championship on 3 and 5 June. The Executive Committee hereby announces the qualifying mechanism:
| Players can qualify by | Qualifying rule | Players qualified |
|---|---|---|
| Easter Online Scrabble Challenge 2022 - Secondary (Open) Division (as previously announced) |
Top 2 players among the players in the Easter Online Scrabble Challenge 2022 - Secondary (Open) Division who expressed interest to play in the Championship qualifies for the Championship. | CHOY Tsun Hin Thomson LAW Long Yin |
| Ratings | Players with a valid HKSPA rating (i.e. players who have played in the past three years and have reached 50 games in HKSPA-rated tournaments) of 1400 or above qualifies for the Championship. | Carson IP Euclid HUI Kelvin LAM Wesley CHOY Wing Chi Linda DAY Edwin CHAN Paul CHRISTENSEN Douglas TSANG Adem NG KWOK Ka Yee |
| Qualifying Tournament | Players with a valid HKSPA rating below 1400 and players without a valid HKSPA rating (e.g. players who have not reached 50 games in HKSPA-rated tournaments and players whose rating expired) need to participate in the Qualifying Tournament. The last-ranked player in the Qualifying Tournament shall not qualify for the Championship; the rest of the players qualify. | FUNG Pak Man Ian TSOI Yin LAU Kwun Shing LOU Yuen Ching |
Hong Kong Scrabble Championship 2022 Qualifying Tournament (HKSPA-rated)
Date: 14 May 2022
Time: 09:00 - 15:00
Venue will be communicated with the participants directly.
Participants: FUNG Pak Man, Ian TSOI Yin, LAU Kwun Shing, LOU Yuen Ching, Raymond LEUNG
Format: single round-robin (i.e. each player has to play 4 games), each player has 25 minutes to play each round
5 points unsubstantiated challenge penalty, WESPA rules version 4, CSW19
Update (4 May)
The online enrollment platform is now closed. Players who are still interested in the Championship may contact us by email (info@hkscrabble.org) or other means to express interest no later than 7 May 2022. Please note that a Qualifier may be held on 14 or 15 May (to be confirmed).
Information originally announced
Date: 3 and 5 June 2022 (Friday, Tuen Ng Festival, and Sunday)
Time:
- 3 June 2022: Registration starts at 09:00. Round 1 starts at 09:30. Last game is expected to complete at around 19:45.
- 5 June 2022: Round 10 starts at 10:00. Expect to complete by 20:00.
An hour lunch break will be arranged on both days. The finishing time of the tournament may vary subject to the actual tournament schedule.
The event will take place in a club with dining facilities. Drinking water will be freely available. Players should have their lunch inside the club premises and should not bring outside food or drinks to the venue. Exact location will be communicated with enrolled players in due course.
Eligibility: Qualified HKSPA individual members with Hong Kong representation statuses defined under the Hong Kong Player Statuses Regulation (i.e. Hong Kong permanent residents)
Format:
18 games, 8 to 10 games per day.
- Game 1 to 3: Init Fontes Swiss - Players will be categorized into 4 groups by their HKSPA ratings immediately prior to the tournament. Sub-divisions will be formed by selecting one player from each group to form a sub-division of 4 players. These 4 players will play a single Round Robin. If the total number of players is not divisible by 4 (due to players’ absence), there will be a group containing all the remaining players. They will play partial round robin and opponents / bye will be arranged by random.
- Game 4 to 9: Australian Swiss Draw (sometimes lagged) without repeat
- Game 10 to 16: Australian Swiss Draw (sometimes lagged) with one repeat allowed
- Game 17 to 18: King-of-the-Hill (KOTH)
5 points unsubstantiated challenge penalty. The above format is subject to change in case the number of participants is below 16.
Rating: The tournament will be HKSPA-rated only.
Dictionary: Collins Official Scrabble Words 2019 (CSW19)
Time limit: Each players has 25 minutes to play each round.
WESPA rules version 4 is applicable to all divisions. Gibsonisation rules apply where appropriate.
Prizes:
Champion – the title of “Hong Kong Scrabble Champion” + the Lion Rock Trophy + plaque
1st Runner-up – medal
2nd Runner-up – medal
3rd Runner-up – medal
Individual Youth Awards
Best Under-18 Player (born on or after 1/1/2004) – medal
Best Under-16 Player (born on or after 1/1/2006) – medal
Best Under-14 Player (born on or after 1/1/2008) – medal
Best Under-12 Player (born on or after 1/1/2010) – medal
(Players may receive more than one award, e.g. the Best Under-16 Player might as well be the Best Under-18 Player. The award(s) will only be available if there are at least 2 eligible players.)
High Word – medal
High Game – medal
Certificate of Participation will be given to participants at the end of the tournament free of charge on request during the application.
Players may request to issue Certificate of Award if they are an award-winner. A certificate fee will be charged per certificate issued (one award title per certificate). Players may request for such certificates after the prize presentation ceremony and pay the application fee on the spot. The certificate will be sent to the player by ordinary mail.
Who can play
There are 16 spots in total. All HKSPA individual members with Hong Kong representation statuses defined under the Hong Kong Player Statuses Regulation may qualify to the tournament.
2 spots will be allocated to the top 2 players in the Easter Online Scrabble Challenge 2022 - Secondary (Open) Division. For the remaining 14 spots, interested members may express their interest via the HKSPA Tournament Application System here. You may login with your HKSPA account and click the join button to express interest, or if unable to do so, reply our invitation email. The deadline for expressing interest is 3 May 2022, at 23:59 Hong Kong Time.
We have decided not to state definitely the qualifying mechanism nor the number of players as in previous years, due to the uncertainties of the number of players interested amidst the pandemic situation. A qualifying mechanism, if necessary, will be announced after the application deadline, taking into account the amount of interests expressed.
We aim at maintaining the number of players at an even number. In case an odd number of players expressed interest, the lowest ranked players may be regarded as standby player.
Qualification Fee
Players will be required to pay the following Qualification Fee after they receive confirmation that they are able to play in the Championship. The fee could be settled by bank transfer only.
- Full-time students: $120
- Others: $150
The fee paid is non-transferrable and non-refundable, unless the tournament is cancelled or postponed. A meal subsidy of $50 per tournament day will be offered to players.
Players should also pay the membership fee of session 2021-22 (if applicable) before they accept the invitation if they are not an active HKSPA individual member.
COVID-19 infection control policies
To prevent the outspread of the coronavirus and to comply with the government infection control measures:
- Players with symptoms of sickness should not participate in any tournaments. Also, you should not participate in any tournaments if you are confirmed positive for COVID-19, no matter you have symptoms or not. Please notify the organiser as soon as practicable if you are unable to attend the tournament.
- Players should keep personal hygiene at all times. Scrabble equipment, including chess clock and the tiles, will be disinfected regularly during the breaks between rounds.
- We will comply with the government regulations applicable on the day of the tournament. The tournament venue is not open to the members of public. Only players and officials are permitted to enter the tournament venue. We will provide online streaming to selected games in the tournament.
- As the tournament will be held in a restaurant inside a club, Prevention and Control of Disease (Vaccine Pass) Regulation (Cap. 599K) will apply. Players must either be holding a valid Vaccine Pass or is exempted (Doctor's Certificate / Isolation Order issued by the CHP that is within 6 months from the date of release shown on the order should normally be accepted). The document proof / electronic record in form of a QR Code will be inspected by the Club's official.
- As per the Direction issued by the government, the use of LeaveHomeSafe application is mandatory.
- If the situation of COVID-19 in Hong Kong is worsened before the tournament such that (1) the venue is not available for the tournament due to legal restrictions, or (2) in the discretion of the organiser, the tournament may not be organised in a way that is safe for all tournament officials and players, the tournament organiser may postpone the tournament to another date or cancel the tournament. Players may opt to withdraw their enrollment and receive a refund if the tournament is either postponed or cancelled.
Players are required to bring their HKID Card (passport or birth certificate if they do not have a HKID Card) for verification purposes. For students, they should also bring their Student ID Card (student handbook if they do not have a Student ID Card). Players who fail to bring the required documents may not be allowed to play / being charged administrative fee.