Hampton Bays Scrabble Team Heads To Championship

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — The Hampton Bays Scrabble Club is heading to the big leagues: Four students will be attending the North American School Scrabble Championship in Washington, D.C. on April 1 and 2.

"They’ve learned Q words without Us, memorized 2- and 3-letter words, know the bingos found in the letters "SATIRE" and a blank, and the best ways to use J, K, X and Z. They’ve practiced against computers and humans and played Scrabble a lot," the district said.

That's what students from Hampton Bays have been doing since January to prepare for the 2023 North American School Scrabble Championship, to be held at the Planet Word Museum in Washington, D.C.

This year’s players include 8th grader John Anderson and 7th graders Amelia Mack, Elizabeth Maroulas and Anais Perez. All four are traveling to “nationals” for the first time.

The North American School Scrabble Championship, sponsored by Hasbro has been held since 2003. Hampton Bays Schools have been participating in the School Scrabble Program since 1998 and under the guidance of Kathy Hummel since 2000, the district said.

Hampton Bays students have participated in every Nationals competition, except in 2022, the district added.

"This is our 20th trip to the National Championship. In that time, Hampton Bays has been represented by 28 different teams of 40 different players. The kids and I are excited, as we are every year, to compete against the best student Scrabble players of North America. The challenges are to use what they've learned with the tiles that are drawn, and to play their best while having fun," said Hummel.

The Hampton Bays Word Wizards will be competing against teams of 4th to 8th graders from across the country and Canada as they represent Hampton Bays Middle School and the community. The teams will play eight games of SCRABBLE over two days.

The team said they are grateful for the support of their parents, teachers, the Hampton Bays Middle School administrative and front office staff, Superintendent Lars Clemenson and the Board of Education.

They are thankful for donations to the teams’ travel expenses from the following businesses and individuals: Triple Word Sponsors, including the Hampton Bays Lions Club, Kiwanis Club of Southampton, and North American Scrabble Players Association; Double Word Sponsors, such as Shore Line Insurance; and Teammate Sponsors, such as Jones and Little and The Appraiser.

The teams would also like to acknowledge the family and friends who challenged them as practice opponents, including Barbara Anderson, Deb Bouchard, Kaitlyn Hummel, Michelle and Matthew Papajohn, Patty, Allyson and Dommy Pensa, Patty Ruocco, Susan Ruocco, Joanne Schneider and Debra and Dennis Williams.

Currently, students play Scrabble game in schools and libraries nationwide; the program improves the obvious, such as vocabulary, spelling, and dictionary skills, but also works on math, creativity, spatial relationships and cooperative learning, the district said.Students play in teams of two emphasizing teamwork, communication and conflict resolution.