If you've taken a look at the CoCo event calendar recently, you may have noticed we've considerably beefed up our tournament offerings for this summer.

We've got two tournaments coming up in Slingerlands, NY, including a 1-day event in early August and a 2-day a month later. We've got Portland brewery 1-days starting up this summer, with the first one coming in mid-August. And, soon to be announced, we've got yet another installment in our ongoing "Texas CSW 1-Days" series on the horizon, likely in August, date TBD.

All of this is exciting stuff - and we owe all the credit to a new class of directors who have grabbed the reins in 2023. In Slingerlands, Terry Kang has stepped up for us in a major way, directing a handful of events at her own home, and doing a marvelous job of hosting everyone in the process. These two tournaments will be the third and fourth ones she's run with us, respectively. In Portland, Dave Wiegand is the newest member of our directing team, and I just know he's going to do an awesome job of rallying Pacific Northwest Scrabblers together for fun events. And in Austin, TX, Jesse Day has taken the initiative to get tournaments going there - he's got two successful 1-days in the books already, with hopes of many more.

Our whole team is super grateful to have these new directors on board. They're all an excellent fit, as they all have a few things in common. They genuinely care about the Scrabble community, and the community of CSW players in particular. They live in places where there are plenty of active tournament players, and they saw a need to provide the locals with more opportunities to play. And they were all willing to put in a little bit of work to make it happen. You love to see it!

And certainly, we would love to see even more of it in the future.

If you're thinking of directing some Scrabble tournaments in your neck of the woods, maybe take a moment and consider whether joining the CoCo team is the right move for you. Here are a few reasons why you might like it...

• You get to work with people who share your values. Do you care about advancing Collins play in North America? Bringing new technology and innovative ideas to tournament Scrabble? Ensuring a safe and harassment-free environment for all players? If so, great - those are exactly the values we stand for. Come join our team of directors who feel the same way.

• You can give back to the community. If you're a player who's enjoyed dozens and dozens of Scrabble tournaments over the years, then just remember: All those fun times never would have been possible without the hard work of those tournaments' directors. Ever feel like it's time to return the favor by hosting an event or two of your own? We can help you get started.

• You can help grow tournament Scrabble. Everyone likes to talk about the idea of "growing the game," but now's your chance to actually walk the walk. Scrabble isn't going to grow itself - our tournament scene is only going to evolve if we, the people, put in the work to make it happen. You - yes, you! - can be a part of that.

• You get to play! If you're looking for more Scrabble tournaments to play, then it's pretty simple - the best way to find more events is to create them yourself. The vast majority of CoCo directors play in their own tournaments, and we do everything we can to make that feasible for them.

• Why not? It's easy. One of our top priorities in running the CoCo is making the directing experience as straightforward and seamless as possible. Our leadership team lives to make directors' lives easy. We promote your tournaments for you. We help you manage your entrants list and your finances. We automate your pairings and your live coverage. Basically all you need to do is put a time and a place on the calendar, then show up. We'll handle pretty much everything else for you.

So: Are you someone who's been on the fence for a while about directing Scrabble tournaments? If so, now's the time to hop off. Don't worry - we'll be there to catch you.

If you're interested in directing, or just want to learn a little more about the possibility, please drop us a line. We would love to hear from you.