Orlando, U.S.A. — They will be coming from 41 states and several countries carrying worn dictionaries, word list flashcards and custom-made tiles and boards. On August 11, over 300 people with the world’s most extensive vocabularies will gather at the 2012 National Scrabble Championship (NSC) at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando, Florida. The field—which includes multiple World, National and National School Scrabble Champions—will compete in 31 rounds of Scrabble game play over five days.

First prize is $10,000 courtesy of game manufacturer Hasbro, Inc. and “bragging rights” among the thousands of Scrabble tournament players throughout the United States and Canada.

“Approximately 40 million people play the Scrabble game on a leisurely basis, but Scrabble is a lifestyle and passion for our group,” says Chris Cree, a veteran top expert and co-president of the North American Scrabble Players Association (NASPA), organizers of the NSC. There are 200 official Scrabble tournaments every year that are overseen by NASPA. Players at the expert level memorize the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary and devote hours to studying obscure words.

“This year we have a past National School Scrabble Champion competing and several former School Scrabble Program participants are playing in the top division,” says John D. Williams Jr., Executive Director of the National Scrabble Association, NASPA’s sister organization, which runs the School Scrabble Program (http://www.schoolscrabble.com/). Over a million students in 20,000 schools have participated.

Nigel Richards, current National and World Champion, will be defending his title during this marathon Scrabble tournament. There is no elimination, and everyone plays all 31 games. Rounds begin at 9:00am on Saturday, August 11. The final three rounds begin at 9:00am on Wednesday, August 15 followed by the prize ceremony.

Scrabble lovers everywhere can follow the live online coverage at www.scrabbleplayers.org. The website has received over 6 million hits during previous Nationals. Fans can also visit www.facebook.com/officialscrabble for the latest Scrabble news. Scrabble is a trademark of Hasbro in the United States and Canada.

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