World youth scrabble championships UV to host Visayas qualifying

CEBU, Philippines - The scrabble community in the region got a major boost as for the first time the National Scrabble Association of the Philippines (NASCAP) will stage the Visayas qualifying round of the World Youth Scrabble Championships (WYSC) on February 20-21 at the HRM laboratory of the University of the Visayas (UV)-Main campus.

Cebu Scrabble internal event manager Teodro Martus, Jr. said this is indeed a very welcome development for local talents. He noted that there are a lot of potential players in the region but were not given the chance to take part in the national qualifying due to financial constraints.

“This is the first time that NASCAP is organizing a regional elimination for the WYSC. In the past, all the qualifying rounds were done in Manila, which is primarily the reason why only those who had sufficient financial support can afford to go there,” said Martus, currently the country’s top player.

Martus said he brought up such concern to NASCAP president Engr. Robin Rubina and he was very happy that the latter responded on the affirmative.

“It’s very difficult for Cebuano players to go to Manila due to financial considerations that’s why I suggested to Engr. Rubina to have the Visayas elimination. I was so elated when he approved my suggestion and made it into a regional qualifying,” added Martus.

The top three finishers will represent the region to the WYSC National Finals this June. They will be pitted with the best from Luzon and Mindanao.

Initially, only the top three winners overall will banner RP’s campaign in the 5th WYSC this December in Manila but Rubina told Martus they could increase it to five as token of being the host nation. If NASCAP pushes through with its plan, it still needs the approval of the sanctioning World English Scrabble Players Association (WESPA).

Aside from the tournament, which is organized by the UV Green Wizards in association with NASCAP, there will also be a UV Scrabble Challenge on the same day and venue featuring the youth and open categories.   (FREEMAN NEWS)