Hong Kong Youth Scrabble Team 2025 Qualification Arrangement

Hong Kong Youth Scrabble Team 2025 Qualification Arrangement

The World English-Language Scrabble Players Association ("WESPA") and Malaysian Scrabble Association ("MSA") will organise the World Youth Scrabble Championship 2025 ("WYSC 2025") from 30 August to 1 September in Selangor, Malaysia.

Hong Kong has ten spots for quota players. The WYSC 2025 Main Event is only open to players born on or after 1 January 2008. To be eligible, players must also:

  • meet the criteria in the Hong Kong Player Statuses Regulation
  • be an active HKSPA individual member as at 30 April 2025
  • ask for the school teacher's permission to join the WYSC 2025, as school absence approval is needed if you qualify (you are not required to seek permission at this stage if you are going to promote to a secondary school in September 2025).

About the WYSC 2025

The WYSC 2025 will be held in Sri Kuala Lumpur International School (Primary), Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia from 30 August to 1 September 2025.

For more information, please visit the official website of the tournament: https://scrabble.org.my/wysc2025/

Qualification Mechanism

Players interested in representing Hong Kong as a quota player and be part of the Hong Kong Youth Scrabble Team for the WYSC 2025 may qualify via any one of the following two routes:

Qualify by ratings: Players with peak HKSPA ratings of 1600 or above from 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025 may qualify directly without needing to participate in a Qualifier. A maximum of 3 players may qualify via this route. If more than 3 players express interest in qualifying via this route, the spots will be given to the top 3 players with the highest peak ratings during the period.

Qualify by Qualifier: Players may play in the Qualifier regardless of their existing HKSPA ratings. The Qualifier will be on 17 May 2025 from 10:00 to 18:00. The exact location will be communicated with enrolled players one week prior to the Qualifier. The Qualifier will be HKSPA-rated. 7 games, Australian Swiss Draw (sometimes lagged), last game King-of-the-Hill (KOTH). Standard tournament rules apply, including 25 minutes per player, 5 points unsubstantiated challenge penalty, the latest version of WESPA rules and the CSW dictionary applicable.

Players from the same school can face each other. There are no prizes for the Qualifier. There will be at most 20 participants in the Qualifier. In case more than 20 players enrolled, the 20 players having the highest peak ratings from 1 May 2024 to 30 April 2025 can play in the Qualifier, while players having official HKSPA rankings have prior over those who do not.

Eligibility verification

All participants must bring their HKID card (passport or birth certificate showing that Right of Abode/Permanent Residence is established if they do not have an HKID card) to the venue of the Qualifier for verification. Players who can only show a photo or copy of the HKID card (passport or birth certificate showing that Right of Abode/Permanent Residence is established if they do not have an HKID card) have to pay an administrative fee of HK$50. Registered participants would not be allowed to play if they cannot show any identification documents before the event.

HKSPA officials will inspect the identity documents of players who qualify by ratings by appointment.

If you think you are a Hong Kong player or have Hong Kong representation status under the Hong Kong Player Statuses Regulation but do not have any of the above documents to prove your claim, please get in touch with us at info@hkscrabble.org stating your justifications and proof.

Enrollment

Qualify by Ratings: Eligible players should write to the Association by email (info@hkscrabble.org) clearly stating their intention to participate in the WYSC 2025 and wishing to qualify by ratings on or before 30 April 2025.

Qualify by Qualifier: All players must sign up for the Qualifier. Please click here to enrol via the HKSPA Tournament Enrollment System on or before 9 May 2025. Walk-in will not be accepted.

Arrangement after Qualifier

There will be ten quota players in the WYSC for Hong Kong.

We will first allot the spots to those qualified by ratings. After that, the Association will prepare a list (hereinafter "Ranking List") of players ordered by the rankings of the Qualifier. Players with a higher ranking on the Ranking List have priority over the lower-ranked players to join the Hong Kong Youth Scrabble Team 2025 for the WYSC.

After the Qualifier, players must confirm their interest in joining the WYSC. HKSPA will announce the qualified players' information after the confirmation deadline.

Players not qualified will be placed on the waiting list. Should any qualified players drop out from the tournament, those on the waiting list will replace the qualified player.

Players not qualified may also join the WYSC by paying the entry fee on their own. The entry fee for WYSC (non-quota player) is USD 100.

HKSPA will organise the trip to the WYSC 2025. Players will be informed details in due course. They must settle the trip cost to the Association to participate in the Hong Kong Youth Scrabble Team for the WYSC 2025.

Contact

Please get in touch with us at info@hkscrabble.org should you have any enquiries.

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