February 2010 - The Last Word Newsletter

R E D E Y E 2 0 1 0It took a little work, but the NSA eventually gave the event aprovisional go-ahead. Among the provisions, the players that firstyear had to respond to a post-event questionnaire that tried toassess their ability to play well for 24 games and still have fun.The response was overwhelmingly positive. Among thesuggestions for future Redeyes was the addition of more games.From that initial 24 games, the Redeye has grown each year tothis year’s 30 games--with 69 players from 17 states and 2provinces. Anne Loring, in her second year as tournamentorganizer, concluded her opening remarks with, “And now, I thinkI’m going to say something that’s never been said before at a(rated) SCRABBLE® tournament. Today, you will be playing 16games.” That made for a comparatively easy 14 games on thesecond day to finish with 30 games in 41 hours. That 41 hoursincludes meals, breaks, and some sleep. The Redeye is gruelingfor the players, to be sure, but it is just as grueling for the directorsand data-entry helpers.Redeye co-founder Joe Gaspardconsiders a move in a gameagainst John Karris.Part of the Redeye experience is the uncertainty of structure in theweeks and months leading up to it. Some of that uncertainty is dueto the need to be as efficient as possible with pairings (the event isnot computer-paired, though it may be some day if it proves moreefficient and enough computer-savvy helpers can be found). Untilthe approximate final number of attendees is known, the number ofdivisions remains in limbo so that a schedule of games can beworked into the meal and break schedule with minimal waiting timefor data entry and pairings.This year, we eventually settled on a double round-robin format forthe top three divisions of 16 players. That made for no on-sitepairing work in those divisions and allowed all such effort to bedevoted to the fourth division, which ended up with 21 players.That division was set up to not start performance pairings until afterlunch on the second day, which resulted in the easiest Redeye forpairings to date. The double round robins also incorporated backto-backgames between contestants, which made things eveneasier in those divisions.First day registration opened at 5:45 am (pajamas allowed), andthings got underway very close to the scheduled 6:30 am start.Five games were followed by lunch, another four games before ashort break, three more games before dinner, and four gamesbefore bedtime. Meals were included with the entry fee and wereprovided by the hotel’s restaurant. (It wouldn’t be possible to playthis many games if players had to leave the venue for meals.)With only 14 games on the second day and a comparatively lateRedeye organizer Anne Loringhard at work.Sue Gable demonstrates how to drawtiles. Richard Lauder to the right. 29