Library Executive Director Lynn Verge presided over the 20 players who had each paid a minimum of $50 in pledges to participate in the non-competitive event. Library staff matched up players according to skill level.
NDG resident Sandra Johnston registered at the last minute and surprised herself with her skill, winning over 300 points in the first game. Her high score was thanks in part to Montreal's world Scrabble champions Joel Wapnick and Dave Boys, who wandered around the room watching the games and suggesting, for a $5 donation, a winning play that earned the players 50 bonus points.
After exercising their grey matter in the first game, players were invited to, as mere mortals, challenge the champions who played up to six players simultaneously. But both champions were kept busy keeping up with their contenders.
David Boys is a top Canadian Scrabble expert. His awards include the World Scrabble Championship) in London, UK, in 1995, and the Canadian Scrabble Championship in 2003. He also finished third in the WSC in both 1991 and 1999. Ironically the programmer lost a match in 2007 to a computer. Nonetheless the Dorval resident has played in over 1,800 tournament games, winning about 67 per cent and earning over $40,000 in prize money.
Scrabble champ Joel Wapnick is known for winning the 1999 World Scrabble Championship and reached the WSC finals again in 2001. The professor of music at McGill University also won the US National Scrabble Championship in 1983 and the Canadian National Scrabble Championship in 1998, along with a string of other events. Since his career began in 1976, he has played in at least 1,971 tournament games, winning about 64 per cent and earning approximately $75,000 in prize money. Wapnick has also published three books on Scrabble, the most recent of which is How to Play SCRABBLE like a Champion (Puzzlewright Press, 2010).
