Scrabble in the UK
As have other popular items, Scrabble began it's incredible journey across the waters to the UK. In 1955 Scrabble simultaneously landed on the shores of Australia and UK. This was due to the efforts of J. W. Spears and Son, now a subsidiary of Mattel, Inc.
Since inception, Scrabble has taken on a fan following across the globe. There are both national and international tournaments played on a yearly basis.
North America has it's own association of Scrabble players: the National Scrabble Association (NSA) The NSA is considered the definitive source for North American game play and is operated as such. The NSA consists of a governing body with elected officials. The NSA is divided into separate committees: the rules committee, an advisory board, a technology committee, ratings committee, Tourneyman Task Force, a dictionary committee, and pairings committee. It has been in existence for over 60 years, recently celebrating it's 60th year in 2006.
The United Kingdom (UK) has it's own version of the NSA, aptly titled the Association of British Scrabble Players (ABSP). Similar to the NSA, the ABSP has it's own governing system. The ABSP has an honorary President, Committee Officers, and Committee Members. Members of all committees are volunteers. The current Honorary President of the ABSP has the distinction of being the founder of the National Scrabble Tournament in the UK. The Honorary President also has the distinction of serving on Trevor McDonalds' Better English campaign.
The ABSP is the association charged with coordinating all Scrabble tournaments across the UK. The organization has been in existence since 1987. While junior to the NSA, the ABSP can to hold it's own in the Scrabble realm. Much like the NSA, the ABSP has it's own word list. The ABSP's word list titled 'Collins Tournament and Club Word List'. The ABSP's version of the word list is due to the variations in spellings of words from the UK to the USA
The ABSP Committees are broken down into the following sets: Membership Secretary, Tournament Coordinator, Data Controller/Complaints Officer, Dictionary Advisor, Publicity Officer, and Publications Officer. Further a representative from Mattel, and WESPA representative, and a magazine editorial coordinator, tournament committee, Ratings Officer and Deputy ratings Officer.
On the ABSP website, one can find numerous resources for playing Scrabble. At this site are listings of tournaments, results of tournaments, contact info, and much more info. The site holds nothing back, in that it offers links to other avenues of play for Scrabble players.
The ABSP publishes it's own official magazine titled 'The Last Word'. This magazine is issued to all ABSP members six times a year. In this way, members are kept up to date on all things Scrabble. Inside this Scrabble publication one can find all things Scrabble: whether it be the latest ratings list, reports from players, or letters to the editor.
Like the NSA, the ABSP is also involved heavily in the School Scrabble Program. With this program the ABSP is also doing it's part in the educating students across the UK and providing for it's own future representation in the world of Scrabble players.
