The ABSP National Scrabble Championships (NSC) will continue to include a regional qualifying process. NSC Qualifiers will take place all over the UK, any ABSP rated one day event taking place before the NSC Finals weekend may opt in to be a qualifying event if it meets certain criteria.
The stipulations to be a Qualifier are that there be an open division and (optionally) a division for players rated 140 and under. The top 25% (number of places is rounded up if it's not a whole number) in the open qualify for the NSC Finals, and will be a weekend event on October 5-6 2019(venue to be decided - a possible last chance qualifier on the 4th October may also be at the same venue). There is one additional place allocated among the Open division for every player rated 165 or more, up to a maximum of 60% of the field. For the lower division it's the the top 10% who qualify (again rounding up the number of places).
The minimum number of games for a NSC Qualifier is 7 with an upper limit of 9 games. Either free challenge or 5 point penalty challenge are acceptable. The NSC Finals will be 5 point penalty.
Organizers are welcome to do whatever they like with monetary prizes, create pseudo-divisional (rating) prizes and so on. Players only get one chance to qualify, but can opt to choose which event they are qualifying from, but have to notify the ABSP (ie Wayne Kelly) before they play at a qualifying event otherwise it is assumed that a player is attempting to qualify from said event. All admin is handled by Wayne Kelly, please contact him with any queries.
Those who have been involved with NSC qualifiers in an organisational aspect (ie tournament organizer, director or computer operator) would automatically qualify for the NSC finals, which is the weekend of October 6th-7th, 2018 in London.
A list of qualifiers for the 2019 NSC is available here
Example Qualifier:
191 Craig Beevers
173 Mark Goodwin
169 Femi Awowade
160 Jack Durand
154 Tom Sharp
150 Phil Kelly
148 Ian Coventry
145 Colin Nicol
142 Len Moir
136 Tony Davis
So it's 25% with the number rounded up. 25% of 10 is 2.5 so that's rounded up to 3. There are three 165+ players. So that's another three spots. So to qualify from this division you'd need to finish in the top 6.
FAQs
If I fail to qualify can I keep trying? No, players only get one chance at qualifying. You do not get another chance by playing in a different section either.
I'm playing in a NSC Qualifier, but don't want to attempt to qualify from this event, what do I do? Contact Wayne Kelly before the tournament takes place.
I've already qualified/not qualified, can I play in a Qualifier event? Yes absolutely. Qualifier events are simply regular one day events with the added possibility of qualifying for the NSC Finals.
How can I have my event become a NSC Qualifier? Contact Wayne Kelly for full details. Any NSC Qualifier must be okayed by Wayne first.
Do it cost me anything to have my event become a NSC Qualifier? No, absolutely not. Any prizes you have also completely separate. The NSC Finals event works by collecting entry fees from qualifiers who enter the tournament.
Is there a best of 5 final in London? No. Everything is done and dusted at the NSC Finals.
My event doesn't have a 140 and under division, can it still be a NSC Qualifier? Yes, as long as there is an one open division that's fine and the usual formula applies.
My event is an invitational, can it become a NSC Qualifier? Invitiational tournaments are not allowed. Events with a transparent process such as age group tournaments and those like Diaspora which are intended for players who are away from their home town are allowable.
Where can I see who has qualified? A list of qualifiers will appear here.
Trivial Rules
These should rarely if ever come into play, but in case of extreme circumstances:
Minimum number of players in a division is 6.
Minimum number of non-qualifying places is 2.
The number of qualifiers in a division cannot exceed 60%.