Competition was in the air in Kingston Ont., over the weekend as the city played host to two major tournaments of a unique variety.
It was a dichotomy of competition as the Limestone City welcomed the Canadian Scrabble Classic and the Dodgeball Ontario Provincial Championship tournament.
“It’s the game, it’s the love of language, the love of words. People love playing this game again and again, but also it’s the comradery, it’s the community,” said Josh Greenway, the chair of the 2023 Canadian Scrabble Classic.
Scrabble enthusiasts from as far away as Saskatoon or down into the states travelled for the tournament, which featured over 80 players from beginners all the way to world champions.
Competitor Heidi Robertson said the game involves so many different facets, and that it’s so much more than just knowing words.
“Just having a sense of what’s available, what’s on your rack, what’s on the board, there’s visual-spatial reasoning that happens on the board, like the geometric flow of how the words come out,” she said.
It wasn’t just bragging rights on the line either as some of the major games boasted prizes up to $1,000, with some of the higher profile games livestreamed online for all to see.
Meantime, a stone’s throw away on Queen’s University campus, Dodgeball Ontario was hosting its 2023 provincial championship tournament.
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The Phantoms came all the way from Hamilton to test their mettle.
Tyler Vaughan says his two cousins got him into the sport, and he’s enjoyed it so far as a rookie, and has picked up a few tips on how to stay alive in the game.
“Staying alive? Dodge. Dip, duck, dodge, dive and dip. Yeah, that’s what it is,”
The game is a test of many things: agility, strength, accuracy, teamwork and a good old fashioned will to win.
The Phantoms said they came into their noon-hour game as the underdogs, and battled hard in the first half.
Vaughan said that he’s regained a feeling he hasn’t had for a while since joining the team.
“I love to compete. it gets my blood going, it makes me happy.”
As the saying goes, if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.
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