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Thanks to Murray Landon and John Baird, instant results from all SNZ tournaments are now available after each round of games finishes, from this link: Elixs Results
46th SNZ National Championship
This took place at Burnside Bowling Club in Christchurch on King’s Birthday Weekend and it was a
terrific venue – thanks to Christchurch Scrabble Club. Thanks also to Laura Griffiths for these photos.
Below: This year’s winner was Howard Warner (GM) with Alastair Richards (GM) as Runner-up, and Joanne Craig (GM) in third place.
B Grade (below left): Cicely Bruce (GM) 1st, Liz Fagerlund (GM) 2nd, Murray Rogers (E) 3rd.
C Grade (below right): Anne Goldstein 2nd, Ben Tu’itahi 1st, George Dodd 3rd.
D Grade (below Left): Jenny Litchfield 3rd, Lev Roch 1st, Cooper Ashley 2nd.
E Grade (below right): Colleen Link 1st, Maheu T-Pole 5th, Simon Casey 4th, Marion Ross 2nd,
Megg Hewlett 3rd.
Christchurch Club was the recipient of the Team Winners below. Ann Scatchard was presented
the Georgie Trophy for Most Improved Player by Suzanne Liddall on behalf of the SNZ.
Below: Howard with his winning Trophy, Lynn Wood with the Eileen McLean Trophy (for the
most tournament games played), and Blue Thorogood with the High Game Trophy (596 points).
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Below: Outgoing SNZ President Cathy Casey presented Howard Warner with the prestigious
Life Member Badge for his services to SNZ, and Milestone Badges were awarded by Incoming
SNZ President Murray Rogers to Lynn Wood (Gold – 6000), Lawson Sue (3000)…
…continued below: Yoon Kim Fong (2000), and Jane Walton (1000). Lawson Sue won the SNZ
Photo Contest with his entry ‘Have you ever played an …….?’. Sue McRae was Runner-up
and also won the People’s Choice Award with ‘When you just want to eat your words…’.
see the finalists for both awards: People’s Choice Photos.
Below: Cathy Casey was presented with a wee gift from Murray Rogers for her work as former
SNZ President, and Val Mills (former editor of Forwards) and Lyres Freeth (former layout designer)
also received a token of recognition for their dedicated work over the years. Lyres’ husband
Alastair accepted on her behalf. 
Sunday night dinner was hosted by Misceos in Fendalton with fantastic food and company. 
Ārepa (Te Reo Māori transliteration of the word alpha) sponsored their Brain Drinks for the
duration of the tournament and were highly sought after for our Brain Sport! Thanks Ārepa!
2026 South Island Championship
Lewis Hawkins (GM) won the South Island Championship in Christchurch recently, and also secured the Brecciated Jasper Trophy for the most unusual word from the Christchurch Scrabble Club. His winning word was BAIJIU which is a new CSW24 word for an alcoholic Chinese drink.
It is with sadness that we share news from Graeme (Whangārei Scrabble Club) that his mother, Allie Quinn, has passed away.
Allie was a much-valued member of the Scrabble community – a competitive player, and for many, friend and mentor across the board.
She was one of seven women to be made a Life Member of Scrabble New Zealand. Her name is also part of SNZ tournament history: since the 1987 Nationals, she held the record for the most consecutive bonus words in a single game – five in a row.
Allie’s contribution to club life spanned decades. She served as the founding Secretary of the North Shore Scrabble Club from 1985, and was later a founding member – and Secretary of the Whangārei Scrabble Club. At the club’s 20th anniversary tournament in 2025, she was there as an onlooker— her presence very much part of the fabric of the club.
Whangārei remembers Allie fondly: for her contribution to the game and for the encouragement she gave so many players over the years. She loved the game of Scrabble. Her wordplays of Scottish words never ceased to amaze.
A guid player. She played wi’ skill and left us richer for it. Weel played, Allie – lang remembered.
We extend our sincere condolences to her son Graeme and Allie’s extended family.
A funeral service for Allie will be held on Thursday at 11:00am at Hunt Street Church, Whangarei.
2026 Masters Report
Runner up was Lewis Hawkins on 18 wins. At the age of 8, Lewis was the youngest person ever to participate in a NZ tournament.
The livestreamed games were recorded so can be viewed at…. Scrabble NZ on YouTube
Howard Warner (left) holds the Masters Shield next to presenter, SNZ Vice President Murray Rogers. Lewis Hawkins (centre) with the 2nd place trophy. Andrew Bradley (right) receives third prize from Murray.
NEW TOURNAMENT RECORD BROKEN!
At the recent Rotorua tournament in Feb/March, Chris Tallman and Howard Warner broke the record for an SNZ Club Tournament – Highest Combined Score of 1125. Chris was the winner with 673 pts and Howard had 452 pts. It was the 13th game (lucky for some!) Jennifer is in the photo because it was her board, and she looks very matchy matchy (although that isn’t actually a word!)
Cicely Bruce of Whangārei is NZ’s inaugural Womens’ Scrabble Champion
Cicely Bruce of Whangārei has become New Zealand’s first Women’s Scrabble Champion. The inaugural tournament, held in Auckland this past weekend drew a field of Grand Masters and experienced players from New Zealand and Australia. Cicely won 15 of her 16 games, ahead of Anderina McLean of Whanganui on 13 games and Joanne Craig, a New Zealander living in Sydney, also on 13 games.
The nail-biting final day was livestreamed with commentary from expert international Scrabble players. Thousands of viewers tuned in from all over the world to share the excitement, including expert players and non-Scrabblers.
Winning the 2026 national women’s title is a great start to the year for Scrabble Grand Master Cicely. She was also a member of the winning NZ team last year which won the Trans-Tasman Championship from Australia for the first time in 14 years. Cicely is an experienced international player and played in several overseas tournaments last year including the World Seniors Championship in Berlin; the Continental Championship in Budapest; the Queensland Championship and the Australian Women’s Championship in Townsville.
Reflecting on her win, Cicely says, “I had no expectation of winning when up against top players from New Zealand and Australia. Particularly when also competing was Joanne Craig, a very highly rated player and the current Australian Women’s Champion. However, the stars aligned and the tile gods were kind and I was thrilled to come out on top. I am also very pleased that the inaugural title went to a New Zealander, and I hope to defend it next year.”
The SNZ Inaugural Women’s Champs was held on 10-11 January 2026 and consisted of a Swiss-draw format. Follow the players’ tournament progress on the Elixs link above, and watch the live streaming of some of the games on Day 2 with this link: YouTube
Back L-R: Jena Yousif WRE), Lorraine Van Veen (IND), Cathy Casey (WRE), Su Walker (IND), Tara Hurley (MTA)
Middle L-R: Val Mills (MTA), Jenny Litchfield (WRE) – Tournament Organiser, Joanne Morley (ROT), Frances Higham (IND), Suzanne Liddall (WRE), Merelyn Fuemana (MTA), Jeanette Grimmer (ROD), Betty Ericksen (ROD), Clarita Jarvane (IND)
Front L-R: Joanne Craig (IND), Anderina McLean (WAN), Cicely Bruce (WRE) – Women’s Champ 2026, Jane Taylor (AUS), Carmel Dodd (AUS), Liz Fagerlund (MTA)
Scrabble NZ is happy to award Lewis Hawkins the lifetime title of Grandmaster. Lewis has qualified with three top-10 post-tournament finishes this past year. He ranked 10th after Masters on 20 April, 9th after Nationals on 2 June, and 9th after the Canterbury Open on 7 September. He is currently ranked 8th in NZ.
Important announcement – at the 2025 AGM, we officially changed our name to Scrabble New Zealand
Mount Albert hosts an inaugural Beginners’ Tournament
Mt. Albert Club held a newbies grade (which attracted 8 beginners) on Sunday, 5 October concurrent with our annual Spring Tournament. It was a big success, thanks to the team effort from many of the club members that helped out in some way. These included:
- Liz Fagerlund, who corresponded with interested members of the public and coordinated the newbies grade and the main tournament
- Julie Atkinson, who did a superb job directing the beginners – teaching them the ins and outs of competitive play along the way
- Alexander Gandar, who designed our lovely ad poster
- Ben Tu’itahi, who contributed funding towards advertising
- Mike Currie, who MC’ed the tournament and introduced all the new players, and treated them to a very in-depth Scrabble poem (with help from Lawson Sue)
- Calum Henderson and George Dodd, who helped out with scoring on Sunday given our scorer on Saturday, Melissa, played in the newbies grade on Sunday
- Chris Tallman provided the prize money for the newbies grade and handled the advertising
Left: 1st Place – Melissa McKenna – 5-0, +769 with a 434 average and 5 bonus words! 2nd Place – Jern Siong – 3-2, +322,
3rd Place – Spencer Woolrich – 3-2, +121, 4th-8th place – Rachel Woodworth, Isabella Ashby, David Wu, Paige Young, Sameen Laiq.
All our beginners seemed to enjoy themselves, and were encouraged to watch our “professional” games when they had time and to interact with us during breaks. Sameen (17) and his brother Aheeb (14) also got some free coaching from our youth stars Cooper and Maheu. We hope to see some of these newbies come back for more, and to do this again some time soon!
The following is a document created by Murray Rogers for the SNZ Youth Scrabble Committee as a reference for the general public, educators, tournament organisers and club players – to help promote youth involvement. Please feel free to share any or all information as appropriate.
Benefits-of-Playing-Scrabble-for-Youth
Check out the widespread public interest in the New Zealand Scrabble scene in Media coverage.
Anyone, regardless of age or ability, can join one of our many friendly NZ Clubs, enjoy playing Scrabble with others, and improve their game. See who has been winning the recent club, independent or national Tournaments.
To contact Scrabble NZ, email playscrabblenz@gmail.com
SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark of J.W. Spear & Sons, England (a subsidiary of Mattel Inc.) within New Zealand and the rest of the world (except North America).