DCPS Students Show Their Word Skills in First-ever School Scrabble Capitol Cup
December 15, 2010
Photo courtesy of Patricia Hocker, National SCRABBLE Association
Photo courtesy of Patricia Hocker, National SCRABBLE Association
Photo courtesy of Patricia Hocker, National SCRABBLE Association
Photo courtesy of Patricia Hocker, National SCRABBLE Association
Photo courtesy of Patricia Hocker, National SCRABBLE Association
If a popular television show had you thinking you might be smarter than a fifth grader, guess again. Some of the student players at Saturday’s School Scrabble Capitol Cup at Walker-Jones Education Campus have taken on, and beaten, some pretty smart adults at similar competitions across the country.
Bradley Robbins of Windham, N.H., for example, regularly connects tiles to take down grown-ups at national Scrabble tournaments. But on Saturday, his focus was on players his age at the first-ever Capitol Cup event.
“It’s very exciting,” said Robbins, defending School Scrabble national champion. “There are some good players here.”
Students in grades 5 through 8, representing eight states and the District of Columbia, competed Saturday in 37 teams of two for cash prizes and trophies.
After five intense rounds of play, tournament winners, Liam Hopfensperger and Amalan Iyengar, seventh graders from R.D. & E.P. Smith Middle School in Chapel Hill, N.C., accepted a check for $2,000.
While prizes are nice, Saturday’s competition meant a lot more to the kids: This was their chance to shine in the spotlight in a competitive event. Students also were able to show what they’ve learned playing a fun, popular board game that helps build language and math skills.
“I started this thing 15 years ago and the phrase that resonates is: ‘The kids are learning and they don’t even know it. They think they’re just playing a game,” said John D. Williams, executive director of the National Scrabble Association.
“Scrabble teaches math and obviously vocabulary, but also encourages dictionary use, spatial relationships, decision making and teamwork,” he said. “Any time you can cultivate curiosity about words, it spirals into other things.”
Jane Ratsey Williams, director of operations for the National Scrabble Association, said School Scrabble events encourage sportsmanship, camaraderie and other positive character traits usually associated with athletics.
“As I often say, [these tournaments] give a lot of kids a voice who wouldn’t normally have one,” she said. “I love the fact that kids connect with kids from other places through this game.”
Tournament Director Stefan Fatsis, a DCPS parent and author of the Scrabble culture book “Word Freak,” said the game builds creativity and open-mindedness.
“It gives you that moment of incredible satisfaction when you say, ‘I did it!’” Fatsis said.
Scores of other DCPS students will now get that chance as well. Thanks to a new partnership between the National Scrabble Association and District of Columbia Public Schools, game manufacturer Hasbro has donated 127 School Scrabble Kits so that every in the DCPS system can play.
“I just love doing this,” said Jane Ratsey Williams. “It teaches kids it’s cool to be smart.”
Two DCPS teams did exceptionally well in the tournament. A team of Charlie Williamson, an eighth grader at Maret (who had attended Janney Elementary), and Jake Radack, a seventh grader at Alice Deal Middle School, finished in fifth place. Emma Keyes, a Deal Middle School eighth grader, and Lucy McCurdy, a Deal Middle School sixth grader, came in seventh. Both teams won four out of five games.
You can see all of the D.C. participants and their final results at www.dcschoolscrabble.blogspot.com
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