Announcing 7 new in-person Scrabble tournaments for 2022
It's been two weeks now since we announced the Collins division of this year's Word Cup, and the response we've heard from the player community worldwide has been tremendous. As of this writing, we already have 61 players in the field for our 2022 championship, 45 paid and 16 tentative (and "this writing" will almost certainly be outdated by the time you read it). The field is growing faster than we can even keep up with!
If you're signed up for the Word Cup already, great! I hope you're ready for four and a half days of elite competition with a great crowd of CSW players.
But also... why sign up for just the one event? After all, we've got plenty more enticing tournaments on the CoCo calendar for you to choose from. Want to get warmed up before Word Cup? Want to get more of your Scrabble fix after? Either way, we've got you covered.
To that end: Today, we're excited to announce a new slate of tournaments for 2022. Below is a rundown of seven events that are, as of right now, officially open for registration. Let's get into it!
Portland, OR
Dates: May 7-8, 2022
Director: Conrad-Bassett Bouchard
The "Oregon Scrabble Championship" will be Conrad's second directorial effort from his house in Northeast Portland, in the Alberta Arts district. If you came to his last event back in October, you know what to expect from this one - a competitive Scrabble tournament in a homey environment, nestled right in the middle of one of Portland's (nay, America's) hippest neighborhoods. Enjoy great games, great company, and really great food and beer.
Minneapolis, MN
Dates: May 21-22, 2022
Directors: Rob Robinsky, Josh Ryks-Robinsky
I'm psyched for this event for two reasons - it's the first CoCo event we've run in Minnesota, and it's also the debut of Rob and Josh, who I'm sure will be fantastic directors. They've got a tournament planned at Gamezenter, a cool game shop in the Twin Cities area, and they're excited to host a CSW event this spring. It should be a lot of fun.
Seattle, WA
Dates: July 23-24, 2022
Directors: Jennifer Clinchy, Evans Clinchy
This will be the second time Jennifer and I host an event at our house; the first was back in December. We can't wait to hold another one. July should be a great time for an event - the weather will be beautiful, and if the pandemic situation improves (fingers crossed!), we may even get to show off some of the local restaurants in our area. Come one, come all.
Bloomington, MN
Dates: Aug. 6-7, 2022
Director: Mike Johnson
Another Twin Cities tournament, and another new CoCo director! Mike is no newbie to the organization - he's already worked with us to plan this summer's Word Cup, plus taken a seat on our board of directors - but this will be his first time flying solo and running a CoCo event. He's obviously highly qualified to do so! Mike has a deal on an affordable hotel in the suburb of Bloomington, and he's looking forward to hosting CSW players from near and far.
Potomac, MD
Dates: Aug. 20-21, 2022
Directors: Marty Gold, Zachary Dang
This is our first tournament in the Washington, D.C. area, and we've got a trio of people to thank for making it happen. First off, Bob Linn has generously offered his home as a venue, and he's got a beautiful, spacious house that can fit 20 players or even more. Thanks are due also to Marty and Zach, both first-time CoCo directors who I'm confident will do a great job tag-teaming this event. There's a deep pool of CSW Scrabblers in the Mid-Atlantic region, so we're expecting this tournament to draw a great field.
Lincoln City, OR
Dates: Sept. 3-4, 2022
Directors: Jennifer Clinchy, Evans Clinchy
The CoCo calendar wouldn't be complete without the Labor Day Oregon Coast Open (LOCO)! This is our fourth annual-ish beach house tournament - we held one each in 2018, 2019, and 2021, with a COVID layoff in between, and we're expecting to be back for another oceanside extravaganza this year. This year, we've booked our swankiest beach house yet, so pack your bags for a true luxury vacation! We've got a big house with a hot tub, grill, pool table, and more. Space is limited in the house, so act quickly to reserve your spot.
Portland, OR
Dates: Oct. 8-9, 2022
Director: Conrad-Bassett Bouchard
Conrad's first CoCo tournament last fall was the Portland Alberta Beer Scrabble Thing (PABST) - this is the PABST2! Last year's event was great fun, and I'm expecting no different this time around. Plan your trip to PDX and crack open an ice-cold PABST.
Our whole team is psyched to roll out these new tournaments. 2022 is starting to look like a busy year for Scrabble! We already had seven events on the calendar before today; we've now doubled that number to 14. The calendar is getting jam-packed.
And this is just the beginning. We've got a number of plans in the works to continue expanding as 2022 rolls on - we'd like to start putting more tournaments in New England, New York, and New Jersey, as well as ramp up our efforts in the South and the Midwest. Plus, there's the challenge of setting up shop in Canada once crossing the border becomes more feasible. All of this is coming - just stay tuned.
But for now, we hope you'll enjoy these seven events. All are now open for registration, so you know what to do. Click the button, then do the thing.