Scrabble Tournaments

This time, I'm gonna discuss about the relation between Scrabble and tournaments. Why the most common realization of Scrabble is tournament? From my point of view, it's because of the nature of Scrabble itself. You race with your opponent to score the most points, it is what Scrabble is all about. The game is designed to be a competitive play, although we can play it casually but you can't put away the competitive component. Then what is tournament? According to Merriam-Webster :

tour·na·ment

noun\ˈtu̇r-nə-mənt also ˈtər- orˈtȯr-\

: a sports competition or series of contests that involves many players or teams and that usually continues for at least several days

: a contest of skill and courage between soldiers or knights in the Middle Ages

Or you can say it as competition or championship or tourney too. They have the same meaning. Like I've said before, tournament is the most common realization of Scrabble. We when hear about Scrabble event announcement, it's almost likely in form of tournament. Am I right? We do tournaments basically to give players a platform to develop, to socialize and to fulfill players' need.

As a player who has joined lots of tournaments, I can tell you I'm very benefited from joining tournaments. Some benefits are my skill has been increased quite much since I first played a Scrabble game (although I still keep learning), I got many friends both from Indonesia and overseas, and also life values. Top prizes are the other thing. I never get bored to join any tournaments and always crave for more because it's simply enjoyable.
From the past three years, only less than 30 players have been actively joining tournaments nationally (based on ISF ratings of minimum games played). The other 200 only joined one or two tournaments then they disappeared. I don't know why but it's becoming a trend. I don't exactly know whether this condition also occurs in cities across Indonesia. Jakarta sees this problem but slowly develops more and more because of more frequent activities. I hope there will be lots of returning players also lots of new comers.

Nowadays, players' mindset and motivation have been an issue in joining Scrabble tournaments. Of course without the right mindset and motivation, you won't continue to join another tournament.
These are some wrong mindsets and motivations and excuses :

• "Top players are joining, I won't join the tournament!" - Simple, if you want to be the best, learn from the best! The stronger the opponent is, the stronger also you'll be. Top players started from the bottom also, had their hard times. Face it and you'll reach further!
• "I won't be able to win the tournament" - That's why it called tournament. There are always winning side and losing side. You can't win every tournament you join, that's normal. Train hard so you can have bigger opportunities and self-confidence.
• Prize money - If you are searching for money, go find some job not by joining Scrabble tournament.
• "Too much expenses or cost" - Start saving some money from now! Or find local institution to help you with funding, or conduct a fundraising tournament but you can always join local or small tournaments. There's always a way to solve the problem.
• "I'm having a bad record in this tournament, let's go somewhere else on the second day or third day" - Mostly happens to High School students. Oh c'mon! You have paid the registration fee and it's going to be wasted. By keep joining until the end, at least you can enjoy the fun and disregard the result. 
• "I have no time!" - Classic excuse. Most tournaments are conducted on weekend. There has to be a space. You can also manage your time better.
• "I've been vacuum for quite a long time" - Another classic. One of the way to refresh your memory is to join a tournament. Even I think it's the most effective way.

Scrabble tournament is a platform for you to develop your Scrabble skill, don't be afraid to take the chance.
Moving on to the organizer. Well, there's no a big problem for the organizer so far from my point of view. If you find it hard to get participants, prove it first why your tournament will be awaited and expected. Smaller tournament might help you to bring the participants to your main tournament.  Give a good impression to the participants so they want to return to your tournament. Make it prestigious but also reachable for all.
Do a good branding and people will help you 'promote' your tournament.

 I really hope many players will be active in not one, not two but many tournaments. Have the right motivation and give your thoughts if you have any about any tournament so the particular one can improve. Also look forward for more Scrabble event and activity across Indonesia.
Good luck! :D