This is the Open tournament organized by the SLSL. The inaugural AISC was held in 1990 in collaboration with the Y's Mens Club. This tournament was played in an informal manner with 4 to a board, and won by Nazreena Ahamed. The format and number of games of the AISC has evolved over the years, and the Open Division currently plays 8 games. In addition, there are 2 other categories namely Juniors (Under 18) and Sub Juniors (Under 13). The 21st consecutive edition was conducted in July 2010. This is not a rated tournament.
This tournament is open to all the members of the SLSL, provided their rating is above 250 points and they have been registered as members for a period no less than three months. It is held in several legs throughout the year. The format of the tournament has evolved from a 6 game tournament to an 18 game tournament. The number of legs has also increased from 3 to 5. All games played in this tournament are rated, and it’s this Rating that determines qualification for various other tournaments such as the PPT, Peak Rating system for the selection of representatives for the World Scrabble Championships (WSC) and the World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC) etc.
The PPT is organized by the SLSL for the top 8 (current) players selected from the Rating System in place. It is held in several legs throughout the year. To be current, players are required to have played 2 of the immediate previous 6 rated SLSL tournaments. The PPT has evolved from a 7 game – Single Round Robin tournament to a 20 game – Double Round Robin/King of the Hill Tournament which includes Quackle (Computer based Scrabble game in Championship Mode) as a player. This is a rated tournament.
These tournaments are organized by the SLSL for both Local and International Schools in Sri Lanka. Initially only the AIISST was in place, which was a team tournament and still is. However the number has increased from 3 per team to 5 and is now played in two divisions; A and B. Performance in the preceding year determines each schools’ qualification into the two divisions. In 2007 a separate individual tournament was organized to identify the most promising Student Scrabble Player of the country and was dubbed the “Schools’ Scrabbler of the Year”. Both these tournaments are unrated.
The world Scrabble community has found Sri Lanka to be a gracious host of Scrabble tournaments and most foreign players keep returning to play. The first ever International Scrabble Tournament organized by SLSL was conducted in the year 2003 and after a lapse of six long years, the second was held in 2009. This has paved way for Sri Lankans to compete at internationally rated tournaments whilst in their own backyard. The 4th edition of this tournament is to get underway in July 2011.
The hallmark tournament for Scrabble players under 18 years of age is the WYSC, which is conducted annually by the World English Scrabble Players’ Association. When the WYSC was inaugurated in the year 2006, Sri Lanka was allotted three (03) seats and year on year the number allotted grew due to the brilliant performance of our youngsters. It was recently announced that Sri Lanka has earned nine (09) seats for the 2011 version of the WYSC, reflecting the immense potential and capabilities of our youth. The maximum number of seats a country can earn is ten (10).
Every once in two years, the most invincible Scrabble players of the world come together for 24 rounds of mind boggling Scrabble. This tournament is organized by the World English Scrabble Players’ Association and has been in existence since 1991. The first edition was won by Peter Morris an American, while the present title holder is Pakorn Nemitrmansuk a Thai. Sri Lanka has been competing at this tournament since the inception itself