Pakistan Scrabble Association has been active in promoting the game of Scrabble since 1989 under the patronage of Ms Goshpi Avari, known as a hotelier and the first Pakistani to win a gold for Pakistan in the Asian Games in sailing.
Ms Avari recently stepped aside after 33 years of stewardship. She is currently the Patron of the Pakistan Scrabble Association and has handed over the reins to Mr Nadeem Omar, owner of the Quetta Gladiators franchise in PSL who has been an avid Scrabble player in the 90s and early 2000s.
The game of Scrabble has over the years grown from its roots in Karachi to the length and breadth of Pakistan where it is a popular game amongst students and regular events are held in all four provinces.
Pakistan is currently the leading nation when it comes to Youth Scrabble due to its innovative Student program launched in 2011 under the guidance of Tariq Pervez as Director Youth program that has resulted in producing at least 3 World Youth Champions besides numerous age category winners.
Based on Tariq Pervez’s contribution to the game of Scrabble both in Pakistan and internationally, he was recently announced as WESPA Chairman succeeding Karen Richards of Australia.
Pakistan has also had the privilege of holding the Online World Youth Scrabble Championship during the Covid years.
The Executive Committee of the Pakistan Scrabble Association has announced the schedule for the upcoming Champions Trophy Scrabble Tournament to be played between the top 32 players in the country as per current rating.
The event is a follow up of the recently held National Scrabble Championship and attempts to raise the bar between competing players and ensuring that there are no easy matchups.
The 2-day event is scheduled to be held at a local school between December 23 and 24, 2023 where participants will be playing a total of 18 games, the first 15 of which will be held on a 2 games lag and the final 3 on King of the Hill format.
The tournament holds special significance since it is an invitational tournament restricted to the top players of the country and is internationally rated by WESPA (World English Scrabble Players Association).
The list of invited top rated players include the current national Champion Hassan Hadi Khan who has had a remarkable international career as a Youth players winning accolades internationally.
The other players include 10 times National Champion Waseem Khatri, former World Youth Champion Ali Salman and his equally talented brothers Affan and Ahmed, all three of whom ended in the top 10 of the recently held World Youth Scrabble Championships held in Trang, Thailand earlier this year.
Other players include some more members of the Youth team besides the veterans such as Tariq Pervez, Muhammad Inayatullah and Jawed Shamim.
Results of the games can be viewed live at Pakistan Scrabble Association website www.pakistanscrabble.org.
