Revision as of 06:54, 6 June 2013

Competitive club SCRABBLE play in Canada and the United States is administered by NASPA and its Club Committee.

Types of Clubs

There are two types of club listings available.

NASPA-sanctioned Clubs:

We maintain a club roster listing the NASPA-sanctioned clubs that meet across North America and their meeting times.

Casual Clubs:

The Casual Club listing may be found at the National SCRABBLE Association Casual Clubs web page. Club directors who choose that option as their only listing will not be listed on the NASPA club listing. If you choose that option you will find a form on that page to fill out to list your club.

List of NASPA-sanctioned Clubs

The current list of clubs is available at the club roster page.

There is no fee for starting or continuing a NASPA-sanctioned club. The fee initially charged has been discontinued.

Club websites may be listed as long as they do not contain inappropriate material or links to inappropriate material as periodically reviewed by the Club Committee.

Unless otherwise requested, only the first director listed in the response to the NASPA request for club information will be listed.

Registering a Club

To register a new club, complete the club listing application and send it to Mary Rhoades.

In order to maintain registered status, clubs must meet the following criteria:

• The club director must be a sanctioned director, having taken and passed the director test.
• Club directors’ NASPA membership status must be current and in good standing.

Changing Club Information

Please send changes of club location, address, email, website or anything shown on your club listing to the Club Committee  naspa-club-directors@yahoogroups.com .

NASPA Sanctioned Club Benefits

• Listing of clubs on the NASPA website which is linked directly and indirectly with Hasbro and the NSA.
• NASPA members are protected by our corporate insurance policy should a NASPA member be the proximate cause of damage while participating in NASPA sanctioned activities, including official club play.
• The accomplishments of players at NASPA sanctioned clubs have validity and legitimacy throughout North America and the Scrabble playing world. Accomplishments are official with special accomplishments chronicled on our worldwide website.
• Exclusivity: Only one sanctioned club will be permitted to meet on any given day of the week within a 50-mile radius unless agreed upon by all concerned.

How to Start a NASPA Club

• Find players: If you know any people who have expressed an interest in playing, contact them and let them help you pick a good night for a club. You can actually start in any public place or in your home until you are ready to become a sanctioned club. Download the Director’s Manual and read all about clubs. You can find the Official Tournament Rules. Most clubs have 3 or 4 games per session.

• Find a place to meet: Clubs meet in all sorts of places, such as restaurants (fast food and other places), bookstores, recreation centers, meeting rooms in upscale groceries, libraries, hotels, churches, colleges, schools, rooms at senior retirement centers, assisted living centers or apartment complex meeting space, etc. Be sure the times they are open will coincide with the times you want to start and end.

• Call your neighborhood or city newspaper and let them know you have a new club and are looking for publicity. They may have a community activities column you can add your club to. They may also send a reporter to your club to interview and take photos.

• Put notices on bulletin boards in laundromats, grocery stores and anywhere else you see one.

• Carry club business cards with you that you can give people if SCRABBLE comes up in the conversation. Google "free business cards" and take advantage of offers. You can also use a greeting card software or other software to print your own on to print at home with Avery or other products that have business card stock.

• Have flyers available at your club meeting for people who seem interested. You can also make a flyer to put on the doors of the establishment while you are there if the manager will let you.

• Publicize on Facebook, MySpace, NASPA club listing (when you have become an official club), Literacy events, fair booths, leave club brochures in bookstores or libraries if allowed, word of mouth in online play (ISC, Pogo), free ads such as on Craig's List, Meetup groups.

• Offer to teach an Adult Ed class on SCRABBLE at a community college, senior center or library.

• More on getting and keeping new players: Offer incentives to members if they bring a new member (free week or two at club for the member), provide Top 10 Things list, FAQs on website for potential new players, teach, encourage and allow certain perks such as the 2-to-make-3 list, Mike Baron's Cheat Sheet, an additional 5 minutes on their clock, offer free challenges for a certain length of time or a certain number of wins, offer consultation games so they can see rack management, board strategies, etc., pair with lower-rated established players for awhile, offer the Expert Point Certificates.

• Consider: Unrated youth tournaments, having an unrated division at your regular rated tournament and publicizing it.

• Club Dues, if desired: This varies depending on club expenses and prize funds. Some club dues contribute toward tournament playing room costs. Sometimes club dues provide club prizes, either weekly, monthly or yearly. Club dues can go toward yearly tournament expenses.

Expert Point Certificates

Some clubs use Expert Points (one point for each club game win) to encourage and celebrate club achievements. They can be a motivating factor for the newcomer to continue attending your club. Those certificates reflect many hard-fought victories. Certificates may only be awarded to current members of NASPA. It is up to the club director to notify the Club Committee  naspa-club-directors@yahoogroups.com which Expert Award certificates should be awarded and what level. Levels of achievement are: 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 2000 and 3000 Club wins.