2010 National Scrabble Championship Rotisserie

It's back, and better than ever! In conjunction with the 2010 National SCRABBLE® Championship, it's the Rotisserie! Highly addicting, almost as fun as that crossword game all us crazy qats like to play. How does it work?

Rules

1. Pick three players each in Division A, B, and C . Those players form your "team."
2. Each division is divided by two "rotisserie lines", set by dividing each division into 3 equal parts and locking that down at a certain date (July 18th, in the case of this event).
3. In each division, one of your selections must be from a different portion of the division, set by those rotisserie lines.
4. The team with the most wins wins. It's as simple as that. Ties are broken by spread.

The Rotisserie entry that collects the most wins will take home a generous first prize; the total number of entries will determine additional prizes.

The preferred payment option is a check to the address given in the email you'll receive when you register your team. Please make sure your entry is postmarked by Saturday, July 31st, 2010. NO LATER. I must RECEIVE all postmarked entries by Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 11:59 PM EST. After July 31st, do not attempt to send me a payment by snail mail. After then, I'll only take payments via PayPal. If you happen to send in an entry that gets lost in the mail, you must pay me via PayPal. I will gladly void and destroy your check if it happens to turn up at a later date. If your payment is not received before the event begins, your entry will be voided. The sooner you send your picks in, the better.

The roto will open on Sunday, July 18th, 2010. Register your team online here. You will receive a confirmation email address with instructions on how to change your team if you so desire. It's essentially your receipt. Stay tuned to this page, as we'll continue to update it with details, a full list of teams and complete results!

Rotisserie FAQ

1. May I participate in the Roto if I'm not playing at the National Scrabble Championship this year?

   Of course!

2. How much is it to play? How do I pay?

   Div ABC $15 USD, $.76 processing fee if paying through PayPal
   
   Payable by check, or by PayPal with a $.76 processing fee. When you make your team, you wiill receive an email that contains an address to which to send your check.

   I am unable to attend the NSC. If you will be attending the NSC, you may pay in person prior to the event, no later than 10 PM on Friday night. Matthew Hodge will be available from 4 PM to 10 PM on Friday, August 6th. He will be responsible for collecting any fees at the tournament, turning them in to Ryan Fischer, and compensating our NSC contact, before any prizes will be paid out. If you are a remote entry, acceptable arrangements must be made to pay in advance.

3. What is the entry deadline?

   Picks and funds are due by 10 PM on Friday, August 6th.

4. What's the rake?

   85% is returned as prizes. The other 15% goes to Ryan Fischer and the other helpers for the work that went in to writing the Perl and PHP scripts to make the Roto run as smoothly as possible, and for handling the many inquiries that come with the territory. View the Roto Picks page for up-to-the-minute estimates of the prize pool!

5. Do I have to pick myself?

   If you think you've got the goods! It's quite a good feeling when you find other people have picked you, too!

6. Can I have more than one Rotisserie entry?

   As many as you want! I've capped the system at 5 entries, though, but if you wish to add more, contact me, and after you've paid for the ones you've got, I'll allow it. This is basically an effort to reduce entropy in the system, which, as we all know, leads to chaos.

7. How do I keep up-to-date on my team's progress?

   Along with tournament reports, John Chew has tweaked TSH to generate roto reports, which can be found under event coverage. Closer to the event date, this page will be updated to provide a link there.

8. When and how will the winners be paid?

   John Chew's TSH program has made the roto infinitely more efficient, but there will still be a 72-hour waiting period before checks go out so we can double-check the results.

9. What if one of my picks drops out late or shifts within the roto placement late?

   That Rotisserie selection will automatically default to the highest-seeded player in that pool of players. You may alter your team at any time up until 10:00 PM Friday night.** If one of your picks starts the tournament but does not finish, your roster will not be adjusted to another player. Choose your team carefully!
   
   Also, please note that it is your responsibility to make sure your team picks stay within the Rotisserie Line boundaries. You are only allowed one pick per group. The available players/ratings used will be finalized when the divisions are seeded: using the July 21th 2010 ratings list. No one registering for the NSC after that time will be available for selection.

You have more questions? Contact Ryan Fischer.