Report from the All-India Scrabble Tournament held at Verna, Goa on 23rd and
24th April, 2005
by Fleur Dias
It was competitive sport at its best at the All-India Open Scrabble
Tournament held on the 23rd and 24th April, 2005 at the PC College of
Engineering, Verna, Goa. Organised by Fr. Agnel Ashram, Verna in
collaboration with the Scrabble Association of Goa, the competition had a
total of 38 participants from all over India -- Chennai, Cochin, Bangalore,
Mumbai, Haryana, Calcutta and of course, Goa. With a first prize of Rs.
20,000 and lots of other enticing prizes as well, the stakes were high.
A total of 15 rounds were played, eight on the first day and seven on the
second day. At the end of Day 1, the top contenders were Charles Carneiro
{Haryana}, Sherwin Rodrigues {Mumbai}, Akshay Bandarkar{Mumbai}, Ranganathan
C. {Chennai} and Irineu Gonsalves {Goa}. As Day 2 wore on, the list of the
top five kept changing with all the participants giving it their very best.
In the end however, it was 15-year old Sherwin who won the tournament and
walked away with Rs. 20, 000. A student of class 12, Sherwin was able to
maintain a persistent lead throughout the competition, taking on the might
of the other veteran contenders.
Chief Guest Mr. Vivek Kamat, Project Director, Dte. of Technical Education
handed over the winners' cheque of Rs. 20,000 to Sherwin Rodrigues. Fr.
Peter Martin Rodrigues, Managing Director, Agnel Technical Education Complex
presented the runners-up cheque of Rs. 12,000 to Mohan Chunkut (Chennai)
while Dr. R. P Adgaonkar, Principal of PC College of Engineering, awarded
the third prize of Rs. 8,000 to Ranganathan C. The winners of the fourth,
fifth and sixth prizes of Rs. 5,000/- 3,000/- and 2,000/- were Akshay
Bandarkar, Charles Carneiro and Jose de Abreu respectively.
There were lots of other special prizes and spot prizes as well. Darryl
Correa (Goa) won a spot prize for the highest non-bingo word using the
letter 'J', while Nancy Miranda (Mumbai) won a spot prize for the highest
word score using the letters 'AGNEL.'
Mr. Shaik Ahmed (Hyderabad) won two special prizes -- a complimentary 2-day
stay for two at Nanu Resort, and a stay for two at the Intercontinental
Hotel, Goa. Mr. J. Matthew (Goa) was awarded a Jet Airways hamper for the
closest loser in round six and Pramit Kamat was awarded a Jet Airways hamper
for the highest word score using the letter 'Q' in round eight.
After being awarded the prize money, a visibly elated Sherwin thanked his
family members, the organisers and his fellow participants, adding, "I would
love to come to Goa again next year." The event ended with a vote of thanks
by Mr. Simiao da Cunha. The entire event was compered by Tournament
Director, Mr. Freddie Dias.
Reporting by: Fleur Dias, Margao
