NYSC 2020 - Under the New Norm

The year 2020 looked set to be yet another successful year in so far as Scrabble outings were concerned for us Scrabblers – youths and adults alike, what with two new venues, the 1Shamelin Mall and Metro Mall KL came on board to offer their premises for the hosting Scrabble events. Following past years practise, we lined up 14 tournamnets for the year Calendar of events to he held at various venues.

But things did not work out as planned. Whatever preparations that had been made went awry and into disarray as Covid 19 pandemic set in and MCO was imposed on us starting March. Any activity requiring participants to physically face each other was not allowed. This therefore put into jeopardy our scheduled events, whether the ad hoc or annual ones, major or minor.

It would be upsetting if those major annual events like the Masters and NYSC were to be let to pass as these events were something our members would always be looking up to.

It was somewhat promising when initially the pandemic seemed to have eased up with new cases were in single or double digits. But it was not to be as towards the third quarter of the year however, new cases spiralled and seemingly out of control. The MCO was continually extended after the set expiry. With such gloom, we more or less resigned to fate and ready to just play with the computer !

Came January 2021 we were overjoyed to the announcement that an international Scrabble youth event would be held after all – but online. Apparently a mechanic had been found to conduct an online competition with minimal or next-to-none cheating element. This world youth tournament was sanctioned by WESPA to be spearheaded by the Pakistan Scrabble body. Sponsored by Gladiators Quetta the tournament was styled as the Gladiators WESPA Youth Cup 2021. It was a team event whereby Scrabble bodies in 16 countries from the five continents were invited to ”send” a team of of 6 players (plus 2 reserves) each to the event.

Malaysia was among those invited. The event was held from January 22 to Feb 7, 2021. It was a huge success.

NYSC 2020/2021

The successful hosting of the Gladiators WESPA Youth Cup (GWYC2021) led us to have the confidence that we could conduct our Scrabble events in the same fashion. Top on our mind was the need to reinstate the continuity of the NYSC series which had seen the 2020 edition disrupted due to the Covid 19 pandemic. As it was then already 2021, it was a missed opportunity for students to gain points under PAJSK for 2020 in Scrabble. That being the case, the tournament was named as NYSC2020/2021 – the 2020 NYSC held in 2021.

The main challenge about hosting the tournament online is how to address possible cheating since players could not be supervised in the usual way. However, the mechanics employed for GWYC2021 proved that elements of cheating could be curtailed if not totally eliminated. And so our NYSC2020/2021 was quickly set in motion :

Date : Feb 2, 4, 6, 7 (exact times notified)

Platform and Apps :

1. Woogles for Scrabble platform 2. OBS Ninja for sharing of computer screen and player-view 3. OBS Studio for invigilators

Number fo Partcipants : Capped to 72 (on logistics and monitoring issues) 8 (Malaysia’s representatives to GWYC) seeded Registration was opened on January 30, attracting 72 players from 39 schools in 9 states. Briefing and Tutorial was conducted on January 31 on game preparation/set-up and on playing the game using Woogles platform.

Game Format : Round Robin/Knock Out

64 players were grouped into 8 groups of 8 in the initial stage. Each Group played Round–Robin. Top 3 in each group proceeded to next round

32 players (24 + 8 seeded) then played Knocked-Out system (Best of 3)

16 players then played Knock Out System (Best of 3)

8 Players proceeded to Quarter Final (Best of 3)

4 Players to Semi Final (Best of 3)

2 Players to Finals (best of 5)

Results : Champion : Tengku Ariff Shah bin Tengku Shahrir Runner-Up : Eirfan bin Razman

Summary

Overall the event went well. This was a deviation from the customary NYSC that we have been organizing where players would physically face each other and play with real tiles, timers and boards. Here players faced opponents virtually - on computer screen, playing with a computer software, namely Woogles. Players however, need not worry about score calculation, nor tile-tracking as this were done autommatically by the software. Players who had been playing on ISC had an a slight advantage of having had the experience of online Scrabble.

This online game had another dimension in that invigilators were there monitoring the play remotely. Unseen to the players, they could monitor each and every move of the game as well as the players, whether they would be referring to notes or in consultation with anyone. Players, conscious of being watched appeared somewhat tensed and stiff, while parents and/or siblings sitting idling by in the environ would step into the scene should there be a need to restore phone settings or to convey message from tournament director or invigilator.

For this tournament we recruited volunteers to be invigilators from a few senior players and from Chegu Kanaka’s Scholar’s Scrabble Club. In the initial stage of the tournament, those youngsters who had earlier represented Malaysia in the GWYC2021 had the time to volunteer to

invigilate as they were given byes in this first stage. Though at the start, things did not go very smoothly due to incorrect game set-ups or unstable internet connection with some players, the overall tounament went well. There were cases when some players forgot to immediately enter the game results onto the formatted Google Sheet but this was quickly sorted out. But most heartening was that there was no incidence which required cautionary or punitive actions on the players.

The semi-finals and finals could be watched by others on Twitch as these were live-streamed. Thanks to Khoo Beng Way and Chang Ching Wei who made this happen as well as gave commentaries on the games. It was anxiously gripping especially to the parents who followed the games live, more so when seeing players missed ”simple” optimal moves. It became truly nail-biting when the game was very close and could go either way watching players lay their moves in trying to outwit the other to wrest the winning point. It was unnerving when the player missed the winning move.

Key to the success of running and participating in this online game is to have good internet connection. It is very important for players to have stable and strong internet connection as weak connection could result in lost time in a game, and disconnection of the camera link to the invigilator which might trigger alarm for possible cheating.

As the players and administrators are becoming familiar and gaining competence with the mechanics of online Scrabble tournaments, it is foreseable that we may just carry on with our usual games online. As the counntry is very much in gloom with spiralling new cases of Covid 19, it does not augur well to revert to the ”old days”. Indeed face-to-face tournament does not look like going to happen anytime soon. So let us brace ourselves for prolonged MCO and get familiar with new norm of playing Scrabble : online !

Appended below are details about the tournament – breakdown of participants and results. Some selected photos are also presented, including screen grabs of ”rare” interesting boards

Appendix 1 :Summary of Participants

Gender Total No. Schools State Student M F M C I s 1 SJK (C) Chung Hwa (2B) Johor 1 1 1 2 MRSM Baling Kedah 1 1 1 3 Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka 2 1 1 2 3 4 SJKC Keh Seng 1 1 2 2 5 SK Bachang 1 2 3 3 6 SK Bukit Tembakau 1 1 1 7 SK Convent Infant Jesus (2) 6 1 2 3 6 8 SK Kampong Gelam 1 1 1 9 SK St. Francis 2 2 2 10 SK Tun Syed Ahmad Shahabudin 1 1 1 11 SMK St. Francis 1 1 1 12 SMK Bukit Baru 1 1 1 13 SMK Infant Jesus Convent 3 3 3 14 SMK Sri Pengkalan 1 1 1 15 SMK Tinggi St. David 3 2 1 3 16 Kolej Genius@Pintar UKM Negeri 1 2 3 3 17 SK Sikamat Sembilan 3 2 3 2 5 18 Kolej Tunku Kursiah 1 1 1 19 SEMSAS Kuantan Pahang 1 1 1 20 St. George's Girls' School Pulau Pinang 1 1 1 21 SJK(C) Chee Vun Sabah 1 1 2 2 22 SBPI Gombak Selangor 1 1 1 23 SJKC Damansara 2 2 2 24 SJKT Kajang 1 1 2 2 25 SK Desa Pinggiran Putra 1 1 1 26 SK Taman Megah Selangor 3 1 2 2 4 27 SMK Bandar Utama 4 1 1 1 28 SMK Convent Kajang 1 1 1 29 SMK Convent Klang 1 1 1 30 SMK Damansara Jaya 2 1 1 2 31 SMK Damansara Utama 2 1 2 1 3 32 SMK Jalan Bukit 1 1 1 33 SMK La Salle 1 1 1 34 SMK Lembah Keramat 1 1 1 35 SMK Sungai Pelek 1 1 1 36 SMS Kuala Selangor 1 1 1 37 MBSS Kuala Lumpur 1 1 1 38 SMK Aminuddin Baki W.P. Kuala 1 2 1 2 3 39 Wesley Methodist School Kuala Lumpur 2 1 1 2 Lumpur (International)

TOTAL 39 33 27 16 29 72

Appendix 2 : List of Participants

Year / No. Full Name M/F School State Form 1 JOEL TEH HAO MING M Y5 SJK (C) Chung Hwa (2B) Johor 2 NURIN FARISHA BINTI MOHD FAZLI F F3 MRSM BALING Kedah 3 KREESAN A/L BATHMANABAN M F3 Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka 4 FITRAH AMANI BINTI MOHD KHAIRUL F F2 AKMAL 5 AVINESH JAYAGANES M F1 6 CHOW KAH YEE F Y6 SJKC Keh Seng 7 CHOW ZHUO YE M Y4 8 NUR AIN FARISYA BT MOHD FASHA F Y5 SK Bachang 9 NUR FATIN ALISHA BT MANIZAM F 10 MUHAMMAD AFIF AZMIL BIN SHAMSUL M KAMARUL ADZMIN 11 NUR JANNAH BINTI DAUT F Y6 SK Bukit Tembakau 12 ALEXIS KOH QIIAN F Y6 SK Convent Infant Jesus 13 AGHALYA A/P NAGESHVARAN F Y5 (2) 14 JAISHNAVI JAYAGANES F 15 NURR QAIREENAA RAI BINTI ARIFZ AZZWAN F 16 CHOW YOK YANN F Y4 17 YASHICA A/P TINAKARAN F 18 MUHAMMAD HAZIQ BIN ABDULLAH M Y6 SK Kampong Gelam 19 KHESISH BHAVESH MAVANI M Y6 SK St Francis 20 RAHUL M. AVALANI M 21 NUR SORFEENA BASIRAH BINTI MOHD F Y6 SK Tun Syed Ahmad HAIRUL SHAH Shahabudin 22 TANMAY BHAVESH MAVANI M F1 SMK St Francis 23 MUHAMMAD AQIL BIN HAIRUL MUDZAMIL M F1 SMK Bukit Baru 24 KAVENA M. AVALANI F F2 SMK Infant Jesus Convent 25 MAHALATHCHME RAMODARAN F F1 26 VERONICA FERNANDEZ F 27 NUR ZAHIRAH BINTI RHAZALI F F1 SMK Sri Pengkalan 28 AHMAD RAYYN AYDIN BIN AHMAD RIAZ M F4 SMK Tinggi St. David FAMI 29 CHOW ZHUO XUE M F2 30 AHMAD RAZYN RIZQIN BIN AHMAD RIAZ M F1 FAMI 31 ARIANA ONYINYECHUKWU DANIEL F F2 Kolej Genius@Pintar UKM Negeri 32 DANIAL HAZIQ BIN ASNIZAN M Sembilan 33 ALIYAH CHIOMA DANIEL F F1

34 MUHAMMAD SYAHMI BIN MOHD SUHAIMI M Y6 SK Sikamat

35 GALVIN SINGH BHULLAR A/L HARVINDER M Y5 SK Sikamat Negeri SINGH Sembilan 36 MUHAMMAD AMSYAR ARIFF BIN MOHD M SYUKRI 37 NUR AMAANEE BINTI CHE AZMIN F 38 VIANA ELISHA RAJ A/P VIMAL RAJ F 39 ANNA NATASHA MOHD KHAIRIL F F2 Tunku Kurshiah College 40 AHMAD ADIB ARHAM BIN AHMAD SUFFIAN M F3 SEMSAS Kuantan Pahang 41 GOH YU FEN F F1 St. George's Girls' School Pulau Pinang 42 DRESDEN LIM ZHAN LE M Y6 SJKC Chee Vun Sabah 43 DERICKA LIM JING YOU F Y3 44 MUHAMMAD FARID IRFAN BIN ISMAIL M F2 SBPI Gombak Selangor 45 KOH YING JAY M Y6 SJKC Damansara 46 SCOTT LER HUI YI M 47 DHANESH A/L SUBRAMANIAM M Y5 SJKT Kajang 48 THARSHAINI A/P SUBRAMANIAM F Y3 49 ZHARIF SORFINA BINTI ZAKI F Y6 SK Desa Pinggiran Putra 50 AIDAN NATHANIEL HO ERN YU M Y6 SK Taman Megah 51 JYOTSNAA KUMARENDRAN F 52 PATRICK HENG BING XI M 53 VYASA DHEVA NITHYANANDAN M 54 JEYSSTAN KUMARENDRAN M F1 SMK Bandar Utama 4 55 SHAREENNI A/P SUBRAMANIAM F F2 SMK Convent Kajang 56 THARINI HARIHARAN F F5 SMK Convent Klang 57 AADHI SHANKARA NITHYANANDAN M F4 SMK Damansara Jaya 58 JARETH MAH ZHEN SEONG M 59 EIRFAN BIN RAZMAN M F3 SMK Damansara Utama 60 ALI IMRAN BIN HISHAM TALIB M F2 61 LIM JAY LEEN F 62 KESAVAN SIVABALAN M F3 SMK Jalan Bukit 63 JOSHUA AYDEN LIM M F1 SMK La Salle 64 ROHAN RAMASH LAKHWANI M F1 SMK Lembah Keramat 65 LOGESWARAN A/L KUMARESAN M F3 SMK Sungai Pelek 66 NURIN FAZILA BINTI MOHD FAZLI F F2 SMS Kuala Selangor 67 NAVISH RAMASH LAKHWANI M F4 MBSS Kuala Lumpur W.P. Kuala 68 TENGKU ARIFF SHAH BIN TENGKU SHAHRIR M F5 SMK Aminuddin Baki Lumpur 69 GEEVITA NAIR A/P KRISHNAN F F4 70 NISHALAKSHREE A/P KALAISELVAM F 71 KYAN TEO CHING-WEI M Y9 Wesley Methodist School 72 TASHWIN ENGAD RAVANA M Y8 Kuala Lumpur (International)

Appendix 3 : Overal Results

Standing Full Name Level Win Loss Spread 1 TENGKU ARIFF SHAH BIN TENGKU SHAHRIR Final 12 4 1183 2 EIRFAN BIN RAZMAN Final 11 4 608 3 ANNA NATASHA MOHD KHAIRIL Semi Final 8 5 435 4 KYAN TEO CHING-WEI Semi Final 7 5 252 5 ALI IMRAN BIN HISHAM TALIB Qtr Final 5 2 568 6 AIDAN NATHANIEL HO ERN YU QtFinal 5 3 105 7 ARIANA ONYINYECHUKWU DANIEL Qtr Final 4 3 590 8 DRESDEN LIM ZHAN LE Qtr Final 4 2 361 9 JARETH MAH ZHEN SEONG Round 16 3 2 273 10 JEYSSTAN KUMARENDRAN Round 16 3 2 102 11 AVINESH JAYAGANES Round 16 3 2 -27 12 NAVISH RAMASH LAKHWANI Round 16 3 2 -302 13 ROHAN RAMASH LAKHWANI Round 16 2.5 2 -152 14 AADHI SHANKARA NITHYANANDAN Round 16 2 2 -18 15 GOH YU FEN Round 16 2 2 -251 16 KESAVAN SIVABALAN Round 16 2 2 -312 17 MUHAMMAD FARID IRFAN BIN ISMAIL Round 32 1 2 -85 18 NURIN FARISHA BINTI MOHD FAZLI Round 32 1 2 -129 19 TASHWIN ENGAD RAVANA Round 32 0.5 2.5 -111 20 AGHALYA A/P NAGESHVARAN Round 32 0 2 -18 21 KREESAN A/L BATHMANABAN Round 32 0 2 -24 22 ALIYAH CHIOMA DANIEL Round 32 0 2 -128 23 DERICKA LIM JING YOU Round 32 0 2 -210 24 SHAREENNI A/P SUBRAMANIAM Round 32 0 2 -249 25 KAVENA M. AVALANI Round 32 0 2 -256 26 VYASA DHEVA NITHYANANDAN Round 32 0 2 -262 27 ALEXIS KOH QIIAN Round 32 0 2 -276 28 JOSHUA AYDEN LIM Round 32 0 2 -288 29 PATRICK HENG BING XI Round 32 0 2 -307 30 MAHALATHCHME RAMODARAN Round 32 0 2 -309 31 CHOW ZHUO XUE Round 32 0 2 -331 32 FITRAH AMANI BINTI MOHD KHAIRUL AKMAL Round 32 0 2 -350

Standings Based on Initial Group-of-8 Stage (Excluding those who proceeded to the next round)

Standing Full Name Win Loss Spread 33 NURIN FAZILA BINTI MOHD FAZLI 4 3 523 34 JAISHNAVI JAYAGANES 4 3 447

35 NURR QAIREENAA RAI BINTI ARIFZ AZZWAN 4 3 312 36 VERONICA FERNANDEZ 4 3 286 37 KOH YING JAY 4 3 248 38 JOEL TEH HAO MING 4 3 90 39 JYOTSNAA KUMARENDRAN 4 3 61 40 AHMAD ADIB ARHAM BIN AHMAD SUFFIAN 4 3 21 41 THARINI HARIHARAN 4 3 -62 42 GALVIN SINGH BHULLAR A/L HARVINDER SINGH 4 3 -294 43 NUR SORFEENA BASIRAH BINTI MOHD HAIRUL SHAH 3 4 472 44 MUHAMMAD HAZIQ BIN ABDULLAH 3 4 383 45 ZHARIF SORFINA BINTI ZAKI 3 4 368 46 RAHUL M. AVALANI 3 4 -62 47 NUR FATIN ALISHA BT MANIZAM 3 4 -451 48 LOGESWARAN A/L KUMARESAN 2 5 -143 49 DANIAL HAZIQ BIN ASNIZAN 2 5 -264 50 DHANESH A/L SUBRAMANIAM 2 5 -270 51 GEEVITA NAIR A/P KRISHNAN 2 5 -416 52 YASHICA A/P TINAKARAN 2 5 -490 53 SCOTT LER HUI YI 2 5 -595 54 CHOW KAH YEE 2 5 -790 55 AHMAD RAYYN AYDIN BIN AHMAD RIAZ FAMI 2 5 -794 56 NUR AIN FARISYA BT MOHD FASHA 2 5 -832 57 CHOW YOK YANN 2 5 -950 58 NISHALAKSHREE A/P KALAISELVAM 1 6 -164 59 AHMAD RAZYN RIZQIN BIN AHMAD RIAZ FAMI 1 6 -709 60 CHOW ZHUO YE 1 6 -793 61 LIM JAY LEEN 1 6 -879 62 KHESISH BHAVESH MAVANI 1 6 -952 63 TANMAY BHAVESH MAVANI 1 6 -1239 64 NUR JANNAH BINTI DAUT 1 6 -1635 65 MUHAMMAD AMSYAR ARIFF BIN MOHD SYUKRI 1 6 -1805 66 MUHAMMAD SYAHMI BIN MOHD SUHAIMI 1 6 -2180 67 MUHAMMAD AQIL BIN HAIRUL MUDZAMIL 0 7 -1162 68 NUR ZAHIRAH BINTI RHAZALI 0 7 -1378 69 MUHAMMAD AFIF AZMIL BIN SHAMSUL KAMARUL ADZMIN 0 7 -2100 70 VIANA ELISHA RAJ A/P VIMAL RAJ 0 7 -2165 71 NUR AMAANEE BINTI CHE AZMIN 0 7 -2259 72 THARSHAINI A/P SUBRAMANIAM 0 7 -2343

Appendix 4 : Standings as Per Categories

Under 18

Standing Full Name M/F Ager School State 1 TENGKU ARIFF SHAH BIN TENGKU M 17 SMK Aminuddin Baki W.P. Kuala SHAHRIR Lumpur 2 JARETH MAH ZHEN SEONG M 16 SMK Damansara Jaya Selangor 3 NAVISH RAMASH LAKHWANI M 16 MBSSKL W.P. Kuala Lumpur 4 AADHI SHANKARA M 16 SMK Damansara Jaya Selangor NITHYANANDAN 5 THARINI HARIHARAN F 17 SMK Convent Klang Selangor 6 GEEVITA NAIR A/P KRISHNAN F 16 SMK Aminuddin Baki W.P. Kuala Lumpur 7 AHMAD RAYYN AYDIN BIN M 16 SMK Tinggi St. David Melaka AHMAD RIAZ FAMI 8 NISHALAKSHREE A/P F 16 SMK Aminuddin Baki W.P. Kuala KALAISELVAM Lumpur

Under 15

Standing Full Name M/F Age School State 1 EIRFAN BIN RAZMAN M 15 SMK Damansara Utama Selangor 2 ANNA NATASHA MOHD KHAIRIL F 14 Tunku Kurshiah College Negeri Sembilan 3 KYAN TEO CHING-WEI M 15 Wesley Methodist School W.P. Kuala Kuala Lumpur (International) Lumpur 4 ALI IMRAN BIN HISHAM TALIB M 14 SMK Damansara Utama Selangor 5 ARIANA ONYINYECHUKWU F 13 Kolej Genius@Pintar UKM Negeri Sembilan DANIEL 6 JEYSSTAN KUMARENDRAN M 13 SMK Bandar Utama 4 Selangor 7 AVINESH JAYAGANES M 13 Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka 8 ROHAN RAMASH LAKHWANI M 13 SMK Lembah Keramat Selangor 9 GOH YU FEN F 13 St. George's Girls' School Pulau Pinang 10 KESAVAN SIVABALAN M 15 SMK Jalan Bukit Selangor 11 MUHAMMAD FARID IRFAN BIN M 14 SBPI Gombak Selangor ISMAIL 12 NURIN FARISHA BINTI MOHD F 15 MRSM BALING Kedah FAZLI 13 TASHWIN ENGAD RAVANA M 14 Wesley Methodist School W.P. Kuala Kuala Lumpur (International) Lumpur 14 KREESAN A/L BATHMANABAN M 15 Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka 15 SHAREENNI A/P SUBRAMANIAM F 14 SMK Convent Kajang Selangor 16 KAVENA M. AVALANI F 14 SMK Infant Jesus Convent Melaka 17 JOSHUA AYDEN LIM M 13 SMK La Salle Selangor 18 MAHALATHCHME RAMODARAN F 13 SMK Infant Jesus Convent Melaka 19 CHOW ZHUO XUE M 14 SMK Tinggi St. David Melaka

20 FITRAH AMANI BINTI MOHD F 14 Kolej Yayasan Saad Melaka KHAIRUL AKMAL 21 NURIN FAZILA BINTI MOHD FAZLI F 14 SMS Kuala Selangor Selangor 22 VERONICA FERNANDEZ F 13 SMK Infant Jesus Convent Melaka 23 AHMAD ADIB ARHAM BIN M 15 SEMSAS Kuantan Pahang AHMAD SUFFIAN 24 LOGESWARAN A/L KUMARESAN M 15 SMK Sungai Pelek Selangor 25 DANIAL HAZIQ BIN ASNIZAN M 13 Kolej Genius@Pintar UKM Negeri Sembilan 26 AHMAD RAZYN RIZQIN BIN M 13 SMK Tinggi St. David Melaka AHMAD RIAZ FAMI 27 LIM JAY LEEN F 14 SMK Damansara Utama Selangor 28 TANMAY BHAVESH MAVANI M 13 SM St Francis Melaka 29 MUHAMMAD AQIL BIN HAIRUL M 13 SMK Bukit Baru Melaka MUDZAMIL 30 NUR ZAHIRAH BINTI RHAZALI F 13 SMK Sri Pengkalan Melaka

Under 12

Standing Full Name M/F Age School State 1 AIDAN NATHANIEL HO ERN YU M 12 SK Taman Megah Selangor 2 DRESDEN LIM ZHAN LE M 12 SJKC Chee Vun Sabah 3 AGHALYA A/P NAGESHVARAN F 11 SK Convent Infant Jesus (2) Melaka 4 ALIYAH CHIOMA DANIEL F 12 Kolej Genius@Pintar UKM Negeri Sembilan 5 VYASA DHEVA NITHYANANDAN M 12 SK Taman Megah Selangor 6 ALEXIS KOH QIIAN F 12 SK Convent Infant Jesus (2) Melaka 7 PATRICK HENG BING XI M 12 SK Taman Megah Selangor 8 JAISHNAVI JAYAGANES F 11 SK Convent Infant Jesus (2) Melaka 9 NURR QAIREENAA RAI BINTI F 11 SK Convent Infant Jesus (2) Melaka ARIFZ AZZWAN 10 KOH YING JAY M 12 SJKC Damansara Selangor 11 JOEL TEH HAO MING M 11 SJK (C) Chung Hwa (2B) Johor 12 JYOTSNAA KUMARENDRAN F 12 SK Taman Megah Selangor 13 GALVIN SINGH BHULLAR A/L M 11 SK Sikamat Negeri Sembilan HARVINDER SINGH 14 NUR SORFEENA BASIRAH BINTI F 12 SK Tun Syed Ahmad Melaka MOHD HAIRUL SHAH Shahabudin 15 MUHAMMAD HAZIQ BIN M 12 SK Kampong Gelam Melaka ABDULLAH 16 ZHARIF SORFINA BINTI ZAKI F 12 SK Desa Pinggiran Putra Selangor 17 RAHUL M. AVALANI M 12 SK St Francis Melaka 18 NUR FATIN ALISHA BT MANIZAM F 11 SK Bachang Melaka 19 DHANESH A/L SUBRAMANIAM M 11 SJKT Kajang Selangor 20 SCOTT LER HUI YI M 12 SJKC Damansara Selangor 21 CHOW KAH YEE F 12 SJKC Keh Seng Melaka 22 NUR AIN FARISYA BT MOHD F 11 SK Bachang Melaka FASHA 23 KHESISH BHAVESH MAVANI M 12 SK St Francis Melaka

24 NUR JANNAH BINTI DAUT F 12 SK Bukit Tembakau Melaka 25 MUHAMMAD AMSYAR ARIFF BIN M 11 SK Sikamat Negeri Sembilan MOHD SYUKRI 26 MUHAMMAD SYAHMI BIN MOHD M 12 SK Sikamat Negeri Sembilan SUHAIMI 27 MUHAMMAD AFIF AZMIL BIN M 11 SK Bachang Melaka SHAMSUL KAMARUL ADZMIN 28 VIANA ELISHA RAJ A/P VIMAL RAJ F 11 SK Sikamat Negeri Sembilan 29 NUR AMAANEE BINTI CHE AZMIN F 11 SK Sikamat Negeri Sembilan

Under 10

Standing Full Name M/F Age School State 1 DERICKA LIM JING YOU F 9 SJKC Chee Vun Sabah 2 YASHICA A/P TINAKARAN F 10 SK Convent Infant Jesus (2) Melaka 3 CHOW YOK YANN F 10 SK Convent Infant Jesus (2) Melaka 4 CHOW ZHUO YE M 10 SJKC Keh Seng Melaka 5 THARSHAINI A/P SUBRAMANIAM F 9 SJKT Kajang Selangor

Selected Photos 1. Technical Briefing

2. Monitoring of Games

3. Google Sheet for Entry of Results

4. The Finals

NYSC IN RETROSPECT

There have been a variety of Scrabble competitions held in the country, organized not just by MSA but by others as well notably by ASTAR, Scholar’s Scrabble Club, PJ Sports Club and Mattel. But one competition that stood out and had always been something that our youths always eagerly looking forward to is the competition to find the champion among them in a particular year who would then automatically secured a place in that years’s world youth championship.

Thus, in actuality our youth championship came up out of necessity – as a qualifying tournament to get the champion who would then represent the country to the world youth scrabble stage, the World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC). Depending on the quota assigned to us by WESPA, the champion and sometimes up to top 5 in the championship automatically secured berths in the WYSC. The remainder would be selected via another qualifying torunament or just on the national rating basis. Those who qualified would be exempted from entry payments; while others may still participate but have to pay the entry payment if they fall outside the quota.

Scrabble scene amongst the youths had been one of spurred enthusiasm and zest. In any scrabble event organized, they would make up the numbers and form the bigger crowd compared to the adults. In part they were drawn to take part in the events for the ”co-cu” marks they would be rewarded with over their other academic achievements. The interest for the game among schoolkids saw a spike after CIMB sponsored the Scrabble-for-Schools programme in 2010. In 2014, the Ministry of Education agreed to include Scrabble in their National English Carnival held in Kuantan. It is therefore not surprising to see the number of youth players gradually built up each year as they in turn enthused their class or schoolmates to take up the game. Generally the NYSCs were held in a shopping mall and due to space constraint the number of participants had to capped to around 80 or so on first-come-first-served basis. However, whenever the event was held in a bigger area like a school hall then a bigger crowd could be catered for. Thus when the tournament was held in SMK Aminudin Baki KL in 2019, participation saw a record of 152 players. For full list of players in the NYSCs please refer to www.penster.com.my.

The national youth championship started in 2006, the year the inaugural World Youth Championship was to be held in Australia. This first tournament, then referred to as Malaysian Youth Scrabble Championship, had a huge field, attracting 84 participants. Gan Yi En took the honour to be the first Malaysian youth champion and so went on to represent Malaysia in the WYSC, alongside 9 others who qualified through a subsequent determining tournament. Thence on, our youth championship, renamed the National Youth Championship (NYSC) in 2015 was held on annual basis in good time prior to the hosting of the WYSC. Our youth champions from 2006 to-date are listed in the table below.

It is worth noting that there had been repeat champions - twice for Ong Suanne and Tan Xin Wei and three times for William Kang and Tengku Ariff Shah. While many of the champions and particiapnts in previous years’ youth championships stayed on to actively play the game within the MSA community, sadly many, for reasons of their own, stayed on the sideline and hardly participiated in our events. We certainly look forward to their ”return” !

Top 10 MYSC/NYSC Finishers

2006 1. Gan Yi En 6. Chin Hon Yew 2. Loh Vern Sern 7. Brian Lim Daqing 3. Tan Jun Hong 8. Sarah Sim Chui Chin 4. Sean Chung 9. Yap Jay Shen 5. Cedric Stewart 10. Wendy Lee Suk Ling 2007 1. Ong Suanne 6. Alvin Lau 2. Khoo Beng Way 7. Gan Han Yang 3. Benjamin Cheong 8. William Kang 4. Ramaraj Sundraraj 9. Sean Chung 5. Scot Chung 10. Tan Boon Aik 2008 1. Ong Suanne 6. William Kang 2. Khoo Beng Way 7. Sean Chung Chin Shiu 3. Ker Jen Ho 8. Chin San Song 4. Ramaraj Sundraraj 9. Jagan Narayanan 5. Alvin Lau Yuen Ann 10. Chang Ching Wei 2009 1. William Kang 6. Looi Yuh Feng 2. Scott Ching Chin Wei 7. Chang Chin Yet 3. Ker Jen Ho 8. Muhammad Nasrom 4. Markus Loke Qi En 9. Lau Jian Ning 5. Tan Kar Hee 2010 1. William Kang 6. Jagan Narayanan 2. Vinnith Ramamurti 7. Gan Han Yang 3. Markus Loke Feng 8. Cheong YiWei 4. Looi Yih Feng 9. Wong Han Wey 5. Arvinran Rajendran 10. Mohd Shazwan Aidid

2011 1. Cheong Yi Wei 6. Arvinran Rajendran 2. Vinnith Ramamurthi 7. Looi Yih Feng 3. William Kang 8. Lim Mao Fong 4. Jagan Narayanan 9. Chang Ching Yet 5. Ignatius Wong 10. Arunan Sethu 2012 1. William Kang 6. Ong Zhuhan 2. Choo Zi Wei 7. Lee Tsien Kim 3. Cheong Yi Wei 8. Arun Maniam 4. Prema Maniam 9. Kenneth Wu Min Jin 5. Cheong Yi Hua 10. Elvan Yeoh Yan Shin 2014 1. Wan Muhd Akid Ameri 6. Alif Akmal Mohd Hashim 2. Danial Faris 7. Muhd Aqil Azhar 3. Muhd Ridhwan M Nasir 8. Jonathan Aidan Royan 4. Muhd Amirul Hakim 9. Wong Zhi Yong 5. Tengku Ariff Shah 10. Muhammad Alif Iman 2015 1. Tan Xin Wei 6. Muhd Alif Iman 2. Ahmad Taufiq Azakuan 7. Azhaamirul bin Warno 3. Tengku Ariff Shah 8. Mohd Arif Akasyah 4. Muhd Ridhwan Nasir 9. Keeran Bathmanaban 5. Tinash Rawin Drak 10. Muhd Aqil Azhar 2016 1. Tan Xin Wei 6. Mohd Amirul Hakeem 2. Ahmad Kashful Akmal 7. Muhd Azraei Iqbal 3. Muhd Alif Iman 8. Muhd Zabir AzrRedzal 4. Khor Jia Wynn 9. Tengku Ariff Shah 5. Adib Muhkriz Abd Malik 10. Ahmad Taufiq Azakuan 2017 1. Tengku Ariff Shah 6. Adib Mukhriz Abd Malik 2. Keeran Bathmanaban 7. Megan Raj Sethu 3. Ahmad Kashful Akmal 8. Abu Hazeeq Fikri 4. Khor Jia Wayn 9. Aadhi Shankara 5. Jareth Mah Zhen Seon 10. Muhammad Faiq Haikal 2018 1. Tengku Ariff Shah 6. Dzariff Izzat Muis Alim 2. Eirfan Razman 7. Akhila Mohanaselvan 3. Ali Imran Hisham Talib 8. Amerenthiran Anantha 4. Aadhi Shankara 9. Keeran Bathmanaban 5. Anna Natasha M Khai 10. Jareth Tan Mah Zhen Seon 2019 Top 10 Next Top 5 from Secondary School

1. Khor Jia Wayn 11. Eirfan Razman 2. Tengku Ariff Shah 12. Tan Zi Kang 3. Aadhi Shankara 13. Yalleni Gunenthiran 4. Khor Jian Wynn 14. Marcus Wang Zhe Qi 5. Keeran Bathmanaban 15. Kyan Teo Ching-Wei 6. Jareth Mah Zhen Seon 7. Edmond Yong Tek Jin 8. Ang Yi Qun Next Top 5 from Primary School 9. Tashwin Engad Ravana 10. Nur Syuhada Izrin 16. Ariana Onyinyechukwu Daniel 17. Anna Natasha Mohd Khairil 18. Ali Imran bin Hisham Talib 19. Muhammad Farid Irfan bin Ismail 20. Titus Anand Gunaseelan

NYSC Champions 2006-2020

Year Champion Age School 2006 Gan Yi En 17 SMK St Francis, Melaka

2007 Ong Suanne 15 MGS Singapore

2008 Ong Suanne 16 MGS Singapore

2009 William Kang Wei Liang 14 SMK Subang Utama, Selangor

2010 William Kang Wei Liang 15 SMK Subang Utama, Selangor

2011 Cheong Yi Wei 15 Singapore

2012 William Kang Wei Liang 17 SMK Subang Utama, Selangor

2013 (NYSC not held)

2014 Wan Muhd Akid Ameri 17 SM Sains Kuala Selangor

2015 Tan Xin Wei 14 Jit Sin High School, Penang

2016 Tan Xin Wei 14 Jit Sin High School, Penang

2017 Tengku Ariff Shah b. 13 SMK Aminuddin Baki, Kuala Lumpur Tengku Shahrir

2018 Tengku Ariff Shah b. 14 SMK Aminuddin Baki, Kuala Lumpur Tengku Shahrir

2019 Khor Jia Wayn 17 Jit Sin High School, Penang

2020-21 Tengku Ariff Shah b. 16 SMK Aminuddin Baki, Kuala Lumpur Tengku Shahrir

As could be observed, over the years, our youth championships had been dominated by boy players except for the early years when Ong Suanne became the first girl youth champion in 2007 and again in 2008. We hope that our girl players take heed of this and get spurred to work hard towards breaking the dominance. We do have strong girl players as could be seen from the recently concluded NYSC where we had two girls in top 10. They could prove to be formidable in the coming NYSC !

Selected photos of our youth champions

Ong Suanne: 2008 William Kang: Cheong Yi Wei: 2009/2010/2012 2011

Wan Muhd Akid Ameri: 2014 Tan Xi Wei: 2015/2016

Khor Jia Wayn: 2019 Tengku Ariff Shah: 2017/2018/2020

NYSC 2020 Pictures

Monitoring players

Player in a game

Interesting Boards

Footnote : I would like to express my sincere thanks to many of our members who have helped giving me valuable inputs for this write-up; in particular En. Razman bin Samsudin and YM Tengku Shahrir bin Tengku Adnan for the well researched data. I apologize if there has been any factual mistake or omission. – Mohammad Ali Ismail