West African Scrabble Championship: Ghana talks tough ahead of games

Posted : 12 November 2023

The President of the Scrabble Association of Ghana, Haruna Adamu, talked tough about Team Ghana's preparations for the West African Scrabble Championship, affirming that the contingent is not coming for a tea party.

Adamu, in an exclusive interview, stated that at least ten heavyweight wordsmiths, led by Charles Tachie-Menson, who was ranked 8th at the last World English Scrabble Players Association Championship (WESPAC) in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in July, will be heading to Nigeria for the second edition of the West African Scrabble Championship (WASC).

Haruna Adamu, who was recently elected as an Executive Committee member of the World English Scrabble Players Association (WESPA), said that Team Ghana would be in Lagos for the Championship and would undoubtedly give the rest of the subregion a run for their money.

The Boss of the Scrabble Association of Ghana, a country rich in gold, oil, and cocoa, bordered by Cote D'Ivoire in the West, Togo in the East, Burkina Faso in the North, and the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean in the South, stated that the West African Scrabble Championship is a significant platform that Ghanaian players are eagerly looking forward to.

Charles Tachie-Menson, who is familiar with the Nigeria Scrabble circuit, will be leading the Ghanaian contingent, and the West African Scrabble Championship will be his first major outing after his impressive performance at the last World Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, where he finished 8th among 134 players from 27 countries in attendance.

Charles Haizel Tachie-Menson finished tenth during the inaugural edition of the West African Scrabble Championship, won by Nigeria's Eta Karo, and Team Ghana came second in the team event behind Nigeria.

Haruna Adamu, a significant player in his own right, will be part of Team Ghana heading to Lagos, the city of aquatic splendor, alongside Stanley Ubiedi and Christian Mensah, a former National Champion, for the three-day Championship.

Backed by its grand patron and the pillar of Ghana Scrabble, Samuel Mbrayeh Quartey, affectionately called SM Quartey, Team Ghana has always made their presence count at all major international Championships, including the last African Scrabble Championship in Lusaka, Zambia.

At the African Scrabble Championship in Lusaka, the Zambian capital, Stanley Ubiedi, another talented and experienced wordsmith who will be gracing familiar turf in Lagos in the colors of Ghana, finished 8th, with 20 wins from 32 rounds of games ahead of David Kimani of Kenya and Emmanuel Umujose of Nigeria.

Stanley Ubiedi, a Grandmaster winner and multiple Ghana National Championships title holder, has an impressive and inspiring collection of Scrabble honors.

A prize pool of $12,000 has been set aside for the individual and team events of the championship, with the prize money for the top ten in the individual category and the top three for the team event.

The Technical Director of the second edition of the West Africa Scrabble Championship (WASC), John Curtis, who also chairs the Subcommittee on Technical and Tournament Logistics, says that the West Africa Championship is a 28-game competition, including 1 random, 22 lagged, and 5 king of the hill pairings.

It's noteworthy to mention that the Republic of Ghana, with a rich Scrabble heritage, hosted the first leg of the historic African Youth Scrabble Championship (AYSC) Trophy Tour this year, as well as the first edition of the West African Scrabble Championship (WASC) last year. The coastal city may get the nod to host the World Scrabble Championship in 2025, with the PANASA President's Cup (PPC) as a plus for the country.

Ghana will again make its mark in the Scrabble and African Sporting Hall of Fame in March next year when the game of words makes its grand entry into the All African Games as a demonstration event.

Nigeria's Centre of Excellence, Lagos, will host the second edition of the West Africa Scrabble Championship (WASC) from the 22nd to the 26th of November 2023.

Lagos was selected over the ancient cities of Benin and Abuja that were in contention to host the biggest sub-regional Scrabble tournament in Africa, with five countries, namely Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and host Nigeria in attendance. After the West African Scrabble Championship, the Ghanaian contingent will return home to participate in their national championship scheduled to be held on the 1st and 2nd of December in Accra.

West African Scrabble Championship: Ghana talks tough ahead of games

ADD A COMMENT :

Hot Topics