The National Scrabble Association ( NSA ) was created in 1978 by Selchow & Righter, then the makers of Scrabble , to promote their game. It coordinated local clubs and Scrabble tournaments in North America , including the National Scrabble Championship , until 2009. The last director was John D. Williams, who is co-author of the book Everything Scrabble .
19-503: In July 2009, the coordination of tournaments and competitive clubs was transferred to a new organization, North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA), now known as NASPA Games . The NSA continued to publish Scrabble News and run programs such as the School Scrabble program. The National Scrabble Association dissolved on July 1, 2013. Activities of the association included: This article about an organization in
38-536: A fixed rate based on the number of tournament games played. On July 9, 2020, after some debate and a non-binding survey of members, the organization decided to remove 259 “personally applicable offensive slurs” from its tournament and club lexicon, echoing Hasbro's public position. The NASPA Word List , published for members only, continues to differ from the public Official Scrabble Players Dictionary in including other offensive words, generic trademarks, and longer words (up to 15 letters). On July 22, 2021, Chew (now
57-535: A large number of possibly offensive words necessitated a separate, unabridged word list for tournament use. The first edition of OWL was created by the NSA Dictionary Committee, chaired by John Chew , and took effect on March 2, 1998. To avoid controversy, it was available for sale only to NSA members, and unlike the OSPD, did not include definitions. To provide additional value for tournament players,
76-476: A minor update in 2016, added over 1,000 nine-letter words. The 2018 update NWL2018 added over 3,000 words, including additions to OSPD6 and MWCD, and ten-letter words from COD2. It was produced by NASPA in collaboration with Merriam-Webster, and under its own copyright for the first time. The 2020 update NWL2020 differed from its predecessor only in the removal of 259 words deemed to be personally applicable offensive slurs, precipitated by rule changes proposed by
95-415: Is Collins Scrabble Words . North American tournament Scrabble currently uses the sixth edition of NWL, officially called NWL2023. The NASPA Games Dictionary Committee created this version in mid-2023 and it took effect on February 29, 2024; it is the third version published autonomously by NASPA rather than by Merriam-Webster under its copyright. NWL2023 contains every word in the seventh edition of
114-755: Is a trademark of Hasbro, Inc. in the USA and Canada, and of Mattel, Inc. elsewhere. NASPA and its activities are neither endorsed by nor affiliated with Hasbro or Mattel." NASPA membership is mandatory for anyone who wishes to compete in sanctioned NASPA tournament play, though NASPA-sanctioned clubs are free to operate independently within the limits of the Code of Conduct. There are several categories of membership: As of June 2013, NASPA had more than 2,500 dues-paid members. As National Scrabble Championship : As North American Scrabble Championship : The 2020 and 2021 events, both scheduled for Baltimore, were postponed due to
133-502: The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary as well as words considered unsuitable for that book (offensive words and trademarks). It also contains words of nine or more letters, unlike the OSPD. It differs from its predecessor, NWL2020, in the introduction of over 4,500 words, including additions to OSPD7, and 11–15 letter words from COD2. The decision to bowdlerize the OSPD's third edition by removing
152-517: The COVID-19 pandemic . NASPA Word List NASPA Word List ( NWL , formerly Official Tournament and Club Word List , referred to as OTCWL , OWL , TWL ) is the official word authority for tournament Scrabble in the USA and Canada under the aegis of NASPA Games . It is based on the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary (OSPD) with modifications to make it more suitable for tournament play. Its British and international-English counterpart
171-614: The North American Scrabble Championship (NASC), in recognition of its significant Canadian membership. In September 2021, the championship was officially renamed the Scrabble Players Championship (SPC), as a consequence of NASPA's dissociation from Hasbro. Its committees and officers perform a number of tasks, including: The National Scrabble Association (NSA) began promoting school, recreational and adult tournament Scrabble in
190-528: The North American holder of SCRABBLE trademarks, Hasbro, Inc. , in the wake of that year's anti-racism protests. Unlike the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary , NWL is a list and does not include definitions. It contains words not included in OSPD because they are considered offensive , and a number of other additional words (mostly registered trademarks). Print versions of NWL can be procured from
209-612: The OWL includes words whose base or inflected forms have up to nine letters, rather than the OSPD's eight. OSPD3 was created from OSPD2 by adding all appropriate words that had been added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (MWCD) in the interim; OWL was then formed by restoring the possibly offensive words removed from OSPD3 and adding nine-letter words from MWCD. The 2014 update OTCWL2014 added several thousand words from two new sources, Oxford Collegiate Dictionary Second Edition and Canadian Oxford Dictionary Second Edition. OTCWL2016,
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#1732798365236228-656: The Scrabble name only nominatively and thus not to infringe on Hasbro's trademarks. NASPA later adopted a stricter Code of Conduct, with the goal of improving players' and officials' deportment at Scrabble events. Punishments for misbehavior and cheating at tournaments and clubs have been much swifter and harsher than in the past. Though it valued its status as Hasbro's officially licensed organization for tournament and club play, NASPA received no operational funding from Hasbro, relying on membership fees, as well as "participation fees" collected by tournament directors, calculated at
247-646: The United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . NASPA Games NASPA Games, formerly known as North American Scrabble Players Association ( NASPA ), is a nonprofit organization founded in 2009 to administer competitive Scrabble tournaments and clubs in North America . It officially took over these activities from the National Scrabble Association (NSA) on July 1, 2009. As of July 31, 2021,
266-781: The late 1970s with financial support from Hasbro. In 2008, Hasbro decided to stop supporting adult tournament Scrabble and clubs by the end of 2009. A meeting arranged by the NSA and Hasbro executives was held at Hasbro headquarters in suburban Springfield, Massachusetts in December 2008. It was attended by prominent Scrabble players, club and tournament directors, and others from across the continent, including John Chew, Chris Cree, Joe Edley, Ira Freehof, Matt Hopkins, Robert Kahn, Katya Lezin, Seth Lipkin, Mad Palazzo, Steve Pellinen, Mary Rhoades, John Robertson, Sherrie Saint John, Debbie Stegman, Alan Stern, and David Weiss. The attendees were offered
285-499: The lone CEO of NASPA, following Cree's decision in 2019 to step back as co-president to become CFO) announced to the membership that NASPA's right to use Hasbro's SCRABBLE trademarks would be terminated as of July 31, 2021. This resulted in a number of organizational changes, including a name change to NASPA Games. The organization intends to continue operations as before, including its annual North American championship, without Hasbro's endorsement. Its new legal disclaimer reads, "SCRABBLE
304-473: The opportunity to form a new organization to preserve competitive adult Scrabble in North America, and encouraged to do so with Hasbro's blessing but without any funding. The NSA would continue to exist, but would largely focus on its school Scrabble program and promoting recreational play. (It ceased operations on July 1, 2013.) Most of the attendees accepted Hasbro's challenge and formed the nucleus of
323-661: The organization is no longer associated with the North American owner of the SCRABBLE® trademarks, Hasbro, Inc . NASPA has organized an annual North American championship since taking over from the NSA in 2009, most recently held in South Bend, Indiana in July 2024. Initially, it was known by its inherited name, the National Scrabble Championship (NSC). In 2015, the championship was officially renamed
342-540: The steering committee. An email vote by the steering committee's members determined the new organization's name: North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA). NASPA was registered in Texas as a not-for-profit corporation and headquartered in Dallas . Chris Cree of Dallas and John Chew of Toronto emerged as co-presidents. Hasbro gave NASPA until the end of 2009 to establish control of the competitive tournament scene, but it
361-512: Was ready for the transition six months early. Accordingly, the first NASPA tournament games were played on July 1, 2009, in three different cities. As of July 1, 2009, NASPA became the only group in North America permitted to use Hasbro's SCRABBLE trademarks in adult club and tournament play. Other organizations such as the Word Game Players' Organization have existed since 2010 and run their own tournaments, but have been careful to use
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