When some people think of Scrabble, they think of a leisurely game night weekend in a living room. But for some, this iconic board game is a competitive, adrenaline-filled, highly cerebral-disciplined, worthy of hours of study and a lifetime obsession. For that kind of people from the University of Colombo, Scrabble Tournament of Freshers’ Meet is a marathon. Tournament of this game of patterns and memory was held on the 11th of March 2018 at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo from 8.00 a.m. onwards.

The tournament was conducted under two main categories; Men’s and Women’s, both as highly competitive as the other. Faculty of Science, UCSC, Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Management, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Nursing, and Faculty of Technology sent their best players for the competition. From the Faculty of Science, UCSC and Faculty of Management, two teams (Team A and B) participated in both Men’s and Women’s categories. Altogether 10 teams competed under each category.

The tournament structure was of a round robin fashion. It included 4 rounds for each category. A team with 3 players from one faculty played against another and the winner was decided by a two-third win. If a round was a draw, the margin of the teams was considered. The tournament playing room was a scene to behold with players who had committed hours to memorize obscure words from all corners of the English language, from “aa,” a word of Hawaiian origin referring to a type of larva, to “zyzzyva,” a tropical beetle. To unaccustomed viewers, it was hard to believe that some of these words were actually English. But if you search, you can find each of them in the Official Scrabble Players’ Dictionary. Well, to be a little sarcastic, Xenophobia doesn’t benefit anybody unless you’re playing Scrabble.

Nerves were high during the latter part of the day towards the end of the competition. In Men’s category, the team A from the Faculty of Science was placed 1 st, while team B placed 2nd. The Faculty of Medicine placed 3 rd. In women’s category, it was the Faculty of Medicine team that ensured the 1 st place. The team from Faculty of Arts obtained the 2nd  place and the team A of the Faculty of Science placed 3 rd.

Marking the end of very intensive yet much enjoyable tournament of Scrabble, the unbeatable teams of the Faculty of Science were able to bring the Scrabble Championship home. Faculty of Medicine was the runners-up and the Faculty of Arts became second runners-up.

We, FOSMedia, congratulate the winners of the Scrabble Championship and the Runners-Up. We also thank all the players for bringing a very hot and a very enthusiastic Scrabble game. Warm wishes for the rest of the Freshers’ meet too!

Image courtesy:- www.google.lk