Previewing this weekend's tournament in Charlottesville, VA

It's hard to believe it's been almost 4 years since the last time we hosted a CoCo tournament in Charlottesville, VA. It's even harder to believe how much both the Scrabble world and the real world have changed over that time.

Our first Charlottesville tournament took place over the weekend of Nov. 13, 2021. To set the scene for you: It was the 4th CoCo tournament ever. We had just come back from the pandemic, and the whole weekend had a palpable "we've just come back from the pandemic" vibe to it. We were all still in the early stages of learning how to be humans again. People still hadn't shaved off their ridiculous pandemic beards (I'm looking at you, Castellano) or kicked their troubling pandemic drinking problems (I'm looking at you, self). Everyone there had one thing in common - we were just thrilled to be there, at a tournament again, amongst each other again. At one point toward the end of the event, no less than 7 of us burst into a spontaneous group hug. It was that kind of weekend.

Fast forward by 4 years, and a lot has changed. Life has normalized quite a bit; CoCo tournaments have normalized quite a bit, too. People have resumed going out in the world and seeing people and doing things, just like old times. And they've started playing Scrabble tournaments on the regular once again. This Charlottesville event isn't our 4th tournament ever - it's our 97th, or something like that, I might have miscounted. In other words, it doesn't have the same OMIGOD IT'S A TOURNAMENT feel to it that the first Charlottesville did, but hey. We're looking forward to an excellent weekend of Scrabbling nonetheless.

I'm from Charlottesville originally, and it's always exciting to host people back in my old hometown. This is where I grew up, and I have countless fond childhood memories here. It's where I first learned to ride a bike, where I acted in school plays and, incidentally, where I first picked up a Scrabble tile. So it's always a special occasion when I get to go back and sling a few tiles once again.

I'm looking forward to having a raucous crew of Scrabblers descend upon town and join me. We've got a nice field of... 14ish, I think? Maybe 13? Not sure exactly - we're still finalizing the entrants list, and we could potentially use a 14th player to even up the field, so hit me up if you're interested in being that. In any event, we've got a fun group coming together, heading to a fun college town to play at a fun venue.

Speaking of which, I'm psyched for this venue. It'll be our first time hosting a tournament at Random Row - dubbed "Charlottesville's community brewery," this local small business offers award-winning craft beers, scrumptious pizzas, and a festive environment complete with hordes of football hooligans. It's sure to be a lively weekend of Scrabble and other festivities at RR.

So - let's do this! The second-ever CoCo tournament in Charlottesville, VA gets underway on Saturday morning. If you're one of the 13-or-14-ish people registered this weekend, I look forward to seeing you there. If you're anyone else, no worries - you can still follow along with all the action online, as always. Either way, let's get ready to rumble.