Hi all, as if I didn't have enough to keep track of, I've been feeling
like it would be fun to have a few more special contests that are
awarded at the end of our 6-month club "season". Currently, the only
contest that does so is the Alphabet Bingo Challenge. Here is a list
of contests I would like to implement beginning July 8, with their
associated prizes. For most of these contests, there is a U1500 prize
for players whose club rating at the beginning of the contest is below
1500, and an O1500 prize for players whose club rating at the
beginning of the contest is 1500 or above. For all of these contests,
the prize money will be awarded at the end of the 6-month season, for
the winning achievement throughout the entire season.

Best overall club rating improvement*: $3
Alphabet Bingo Challenge (U1500/O1500): $5 (1st), $3 (2nd)
Best winning percentage, 25 games min. (U1500/O1500): $3
High game** (U1500/O1500): $2
High bingo (U1500/O1500): $2
High loss (U1500/O1500): $1
High non-bingo (U1500/O1500): $1

* A newcomer's "base" rating is determined at the end of his/her 4th
week of attendance, to allow some time for the initial rating to
settle down a bit.
** The high game can't be scored against a newcomer within his/her
first 4 weeks of attendance.

Don't worry, none of this will require any extra work on your part;
I'll be keeping track of it all. And it won't require any additional
dues, either. By taking $2 out of the pot each week, which I've been
doing since our club joined NASPA nine weeks ago, we can cover the
$30/year NASPA club registration fee and have money left over for all
these contests. Just sit back and enjoy.

Also, I will be mixing up the Alphabet Bingo Challenge a bit in order
to discourage players from sacrificing good Scrabble play in order to
try to win that contest. Instead of having a single letter determined
before each club session, I will be drawing three random letters out
of a bag of 26 tiles at the end of each club session. For each letter
drawn from the bag, you will score a point for every bingo in which
that letter appears within the first N letters of your bingo, where N
is the point value of the letter. So for example, the letters
AEILNORSTU will only score a point toward the contest if they are the
1st letter of your bingo; DG if they are the 1st or 2nd letter; BCMP
if they are in the first 3 letters; FHVWY if they are in the first 4
letters; K if it is in the first 5 letters; and JQXZ if they are
anywhere in your bingo. If this sounds a little complicated, that may
just be because I couldn't think of a more concise way to explain it.
It's really pretty straightforward.

I hope you like these contests. I think they will add a bit more
challenge and excitement to our club sessions. All of our contests are
intended to be a little fun "on the side", but please don't go out of
your way to try to win the contests at the expense of losing games. If
you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know!

--
Michael W Thelen
To have doubted one's own first principles is the mark of a civilized
man. -- Oliver Wendell Holmes