On the importance of being international
My first Scrabble tournament was way back in 2007, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. Though it’s not the games themselves I remember, really. More than anything, it's the people. I remember the first time I hung out with a group of players after hours and enjoyed dinner, drinks, and conversation. I remember discovering what Scrabblers were like away from the board - they regaled each other with funny stories from tournaments past, they quizzed each other on tough anagrams, they exchanged witty banter and not-so-witty puns. It was liberating to see a group of people who were really, truly free to be their unabashedly geeky selves. I remember, after that very first tournament, having an epiphany to which I'm sure many others reading this can relate.
This is it, I thought to myself. I've found my people.
In the years that followed that realization, I got deeper and deeper into the Scrabble community in North America. I had many more unforgettable weekends; I began many more lifelong friendships. Over the years, I came to be genuinely amazed at the sheer number of incredible people I met. What a tournament scene we had. What a community we were all a part of!
Sadly, it took me several more years before I began to understand the big picture. You know that Scrabble community that's so amazing? Turns out, it extends far beyond North America. If you're like me, and you feel truly at home among Scrabblers, then I've got good news for you: There's a whole wide world of them.
My first international tournament was in 2013, and it was just as eye-opening as the first one back home. I was blown away by the number of talented players - and great people! - I met at my first world championship. They come from all over, and they represent countless races, religions, backgrounds, and worldviews. The one thing they all have in common is they love the game.
Ever since I first discovered the global Scrabble community, I've tried to be as deeply involved with it as possible. And I think, as we start to form the Collins Coalition, that involvement will be an important value for us to have as an organization. The world is a vast and diverse place, and it boasts an incredible pool of talented Scrabble players.
Consider this: As of this writing, there are 1,441 people listed as currently active players in the World English-Language Scrabble Players Association (WESPA) database. Of those 1,441, only 103 hail from the United States, and 41 are from Canada. That means about 90% of the world's Scrabble talent comes from outside this continent. We may have invented Scrabble, but the rest of the world has caught up to us and then some. Five people have been crowned first-time world champions in this decade; they came from England, Nigeria, England again, Bahrain, and Australia. Not an American in the bunch. Considering how many great players there are overseas, why not encourage them to come play with us? I’d argue that we'd be foolish not to.
And of course, this goes the other way too - there are great tournaments overseas, and I'm all for encouraging members of our community to go abroad and play international events. Every Worlds I've played has been top-notch - and last year's Alchemist Cup, featuring star-studded national teams from all the best countries in the Scrabble world, was the single best event I've ever attended.
Of course, it requires a good deal of privilege to travel all over the world and play a board game. Not everyone has that kind of time or money or personal freedom. But do keep in mind that one doesn't have to be a globetrotter to appreciate being part of an international community. And as we give the CoCo wings, we'll try to deliver value to an international coalition of players in all sorts of ways. We'll work to build enthusiasm for learning words from all different English dialects. We'll foster conversations with players all over the world. And of course, we'll use this space - as in, the very blog you're reading right now, at this precise moment - to share engaging content about the international game.
This is what a national Scrabble players' organization should do. And we intend to do it, immediately, from day one. We hope you'll join us.