stat me up

Basing on the list of players registered for this year's WSC in Johor Bahru here are some interesting facts:

• 95% of eligible players have signed up
• average player ranking is 1887 (ranked players)
• only 7 % of the players are women
• average player's age is 37
• the youngest player is 15, the oldest is 66
• 65% players are less than 40-years-old
• players from 44 countries are eligible to play
• 39 countries have confirmed at least one player
• players from Barbados, Cameroon, Germany, Israel and Nepal are yet to sign up

Data source:
http://www.wscgames.com/2009/roster_long_rating.html (2.10.09)

the goal revised

It looks like my primary goal is almost achieved - I have signed up to represent Poland at this year's WSC in Malaysia.

The only thing to do now is to get on the plane.

Too simple?
That's what I thought and I set up new goals:

minimum: to equal Wojtek's 1999 performance at the WSC in Melbourne by winning 10 games

optimum: to win 11 games and become the best ever Polish player in a WSC

maximum: to win 12 games with a decent spread to be placed in the top half and to guarantee my country two places in the next WSC

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History of Polish participation at the WSC:
1999 Melbourne Wojtek Usakiewicz placed 84/98 with a 10-14 record and a spread of -876
2001 Las Vegas Mateusz Zbikowski has qualified but didn't participate
2003 Kuala Lumpur Wojtek Usakiewicz has qualified but didn't participate
2005 London Mateusz Zbikowski placed 96/102 with a 9-15 record and a spread of -1652
2007 Mumbai Wojtek Usakiewicz placed 98/104 with a 8-16 record and a spread of -844
2009 Johor Bahru Bartosz Pieta...
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History is waiting to be written - I just gotta sit down and learn those words... ;)

a poem

[written by my grandpa on 24.08.2009]
[language: Polish]
[translation: N/A]


Dla Bartoszka P.

Nasz Bartek to facet niewąski
Pojechał do Warszawy
Wyskrablował mistrza Polski
Szuka sponsora, co sięgnie do wora
By jechać na mistrzostwa świata
A to suma niebylejaka
Może się spełnią marzenia Bartka
Może usmiechnie się do Bartka los
Może zdobędzie upragniony trzos
Gdy już wróci z Malezji z krążkiem złotym
Zagrają fanfary na dalszą ochotę
I będzie skrablował po anglosasku
Od świtu do brzasku...

W dniu imienin
dla Bartoszka
dziadziuś M.
Poznań, 24.08.2009

Malaysia - here I come

`
It's official.

I'm off to Malaysia in November to represent Poland at this year's World Scrabble Championship in Johor Bahru.

It is still something I don't quite believe - the prospect of going so far to play 24 games of Scrabble seems surreal, to say the least.

I'm taking a plane from POZ to MUC, then MUC-SIN and then somehow with a bus number 170 over to Johor Bahru ;)

It's gonna be fun, I hope.

Fight in Walcz

Last weekend I attended my first full Polish Scrabble tournament since Szczecin in March 2008. It took place in Walcz (www.walcz.pl)- a town 120 km NW from Poznan. Although it is quite small it still can boast two lakes direct in the city centre.
The Scrabble tournament was magnificent - great hospitality, highest ever prize money in a Polish scrabble tournament - almost 500 EUR for the winner and prizes for each attendant.
I was 82nd and yet got a book worth about 8 EUR.
It was my second best tournament ever. I won 6 out of 13 games. The highlight was my win against Mariusz Skrobosz - the current ranking list leader. I won by 4 points! My ranking at that time was 100, Mariusz's was 149...
After that tournament my ranking is 103.50 and officially I'm now no 271 in Poland :)

supernova

Between July 31st and August 2nd in Bucharest took place a Romanian qualification tournament for the World Scrabble Championship. Only 5 players participated - that's even one less than in Poland.

The tournament was won by Mihai Pantis, who beat Dan Laurentiu Sandu in the finals with the score of 5-4, ensuring a place in the World Scrabble Championship (WSC) to be held in November in Malaysia.

He will be joined by another Romanian player - Adrian Tamas, who has already qualified for the World Championship.

It is the first time Romania has the right to register 2 players at the WSC. Remarkably both players come from the University Sports Club of Cluj-Napoca.

Go go, Team Romania!

Sources:
http://translate.google.pl/translate?hl=pl&sl=ro&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fu-cluj.ro%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_content%26view%3Darticle%26id%3D371

http://translate.google.pl/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=pl&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pdaromania.ro%2F2009%2F08%2F07%2Fcolegul-nostru-mihai-pantis-este-%25E2%2580%259Estapinul-cuvintelor%25E2%2580%259D%2F&sl=ro&tl=en&history_state0=

TV

Watch this space:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw7UdhdOJCg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maRPkqb6wAM



The guy on the right is me - talking about Scrabble on the local TV show on 03.08.2009.

I hope this piece of self-PR helps me find sponsors of my journey to Malaysia for the WSC 2009.