The Tel Aviv Scrabble® Club

The Tel Aviv Club will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this November, and what better way could there be to celebrate this occasion than a Scrabble tournament. The Tel Aviv Scrabble Club in coordination with the Educational Centre for Games in Israel is pleased to announce the first Israeli Open Scrabble Tournament. This webpage contains information regarding the venue, schedule, format, registration, participants and extras. Please read carefully, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact Evan.

The event will take place at the new Blue Bay Hotel in Netanya. The recently renovated hotel has direct access to the beach below, an outdoor pool, a spa, gym and many more facilities to make your stay as pleasurable as possible. The hotel is just outside the centre of the city (about 500 metres on foot). Details of the hotel can be found here.

Netanya, on the Mediterranean coast, is about 20 minutes north of Tel Aviv. The average temperature during October is in low-mid twenties (Celsius) and there is about an 8% chance of rain on any given day, great autumn weather for Scrabble (or beaches, for that matter...).

Dates
24th-26th October, 2008

Timetable (subject to change)

Divisions
There will be a single division in the event, all games will be rated and played with clocks. The pairings system (see below) ensures that players will be playing opponents with a similar record in the event.

Ratings
This tournament qualifies for international ratings. Players' interational ratings will be updated accordingly. 

Pairings
Swiss pairings according to the standings will be used for games 2-17. Swiss pairings will be used for game 1 based on players' international ratings. If players do not have an international rating, their Israeli, ABSP, Maltese or other available rating (in that order) will be used instead. Game 18 will be strict KOTH. There will be no repeats in games 1-9, or in games 10-17.

Prizes
The winner will receive a minimum first prize of NIS4000 (750 Euros), possibly higher, depending on registration, and the honour of being the First Israeli Open Champion. The runner-up will also receive a cash prize. In addition, a ratings prize and prizes for special achievements will also be awarded.

Lexicon
The CSW (a.k.a. SOWPODS, the international Scrabble dictionary) will be the official word source.

Challenges
A player may challenge any number of words played by his/her opponent. If all the words are acceptable, the opponent will get an additional 5 points added to his/her score. No turn loss for the challenging player. If one or more of the words are unacceptable, the move will be removed and the opponent will lose a turn.

Registration fee
The non-refundable registration fee of NIS150 (~28 Euros) is payable upon registration. Players coming from abroad may pay upon arrival or on the first day of the event. Please note - players not staying at the hotel during the event will be subject to an additional charge by the hotel. Non-playing hotel guests do not pay registration. Players bringing sets and clocks will pay NIS20 less.

Accommodation
Person in double room: NIS780 (~148 Euros) for two nights Half-Board (HB). The price includes drinks (hot and cold), cakes and other refreshments throughout the event outside the playing room. Additional nights can be booked at the same price.
This price only applies when booking rooms via the organisers. We cannot guarantee the price when booking via the hotel.
HB: A full Israeli breakfast + one meal.
Single supplement is NIS450.
The hotel payment (via Credit Card): equal instalments, the first one being on the day of registration, the final one being upon check-in.
Foreign players may pay in 2 equal instalments.
A cancellation fee of NIS100 will be charged up until 21 days prior to the event. Later cancellations incur a larger charge.

To register, contact the organisers
Evan Cohen - +972-77-8844-013 or evan@post.tau.ac.il
Naomi Landau - +972-3-5287084 or ninja@netvision.net.il

Only players who have finalised registration for the event are included in the following table:

Ratings will be updated closer to the event to facilitate first-game pairings.

Red=International Rating
Blue=Israeli Rating
Green=ABSP Rating (modified)
*=Unrated - the rating given is an estimated rating assigned at the director's discretion to facilitate first-game pairings

Travel arrangements
Flights can be arranged with Edna (ednag@flying.co.il), for those interested.

Additional nights at the hotel
Additional nights at the hotel are available. Contact Edna (ednag@flying.co.il) for details.

Hotel reservations in other cities
Players interested in hotel reservations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nazareth (or anywhere else in Israel, for that matter...) before or after the event should contact Edna (ednag@flying.co.il) upon registration. Very important: as the tournament is immediately after the High Holidays in Israel, hotels before the event may be very difficult to book - so if you do so, do so well in advance.

Day tours
If you're interested in guided day tours before or after the event (with English guides of course), to Jerusalem, Nazareth, the Galilee and more, check out details here.