What's Happening With Scrabble Today?

In the nearly seventy years since Scrabble was "born" in Queens, New York, there have been many new developments in the board game itself as well as new developments in the manners by which players can participate. As more and more varieties of Scrabble are produced, making the game more widely accessible and enjoyable, it is equally important that the range of participation has also been greatly expanded. No longer a nice but basic board game in a family's living room, Scrabble has gained worldwide recognition as a great game of skill in tournaments and championships in virtually every part of the globe.

Cross-tables is an all-volunteer team dedicated to compiling updated information about Scrabble tournaments and those who play in the North American tournaments. Cross-tables currently has fifty-nine upcoming tournaments scheduled for the remainder of 2007, covering nearly every part of the United States and provinces of Canada.

As of their most recent data, by far the two highest-ranking players are Nigel Richards and Adam Logan. Nigel Richards of New Zealand holds the number-one ranking position with the rating 2025. With an average score of 428-383, Nigel Richards' career earnings are estimated at over seventy-one-thousand dollars. He has been at either top or near top position since September, 2002, as well as having won the New Zealand Masters award in 1999.

Currently in second place is Ontario, Canada's Adam Logan. With an average score of 415-375, he has a 2000 rating. Logan's career earnings are estimated at over sixty-three-thousand dollars. During the last decade, Adam Logan has won a number of awards.

The highest ranking female competitor is Marlene Milkent of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. With a rating of 1849, ranking in 40th place, her average score is 373-379. She has earned nearly two thousand dollars during her career.

The 2007 World Scrabble Championships, hosted by the Mattel company, will be held in November in Mumbai, India. A four-day event, these championships have been held every two years in different world cities. The total amount of prizes will be thirty-thousand dollars; the championship winner will receive fifteen-thousand dollars, with the remainder going to those who win the second to tenth place spots. It is sure to be an exciting and very competitive event for the highest-skilled Scrabble players.

For the younger crowd, the National School Scrabble Championship is for students in the fifth through eighth grades. This year, two hundred youngsters were scheduled to participate in the Providence, Rhode Island championships. Elementary and middle schools, as well as libraries and community centers from all parts of the United States were represented at this event. Prizes ranged from five thousand dollar to the first-place winner to a hundred dollars to the tenth-place winner. Representing the Ridgefield Library in Connecticut, Aune Mitchell and Matthew Silver took first place, and second place went to Joey Krafchick and Dorian Hill of the Atlanta Tucker Community Center. The competition has been covered by ESPN, and is scheduled to air on August 18, and September 6, 19, and 28.

Scrabble is definitely here to stay. In becoming an increasingly-popular form of competition on the national and worldwide circuit, with awards and recognition for one's skills, makes clear the great advancements Scrabble has gained during the decades since it was first designed.