Previewing 2 CoCo events over Labor Day weekend

The start of a new Scrabble season is upon us. The 2024-25 season culminated in a flurry of summer major championships - and now, with all that in our collective rear view mirror, we move on. Scrabble never stops. There's always the next tournament. There's very little time to bask in the glory of this summer (if you performed well) or wallow in your misery (if you didn't) - either way, you move on to the next one.

And for many players, including some on each side of North America, the next one is coming right up. Labor Day is upon us, and the CoCo is sanctioning tournaments on both coasts over the holiday weekend. In the West, we're looking forward to a big multi-day Scrabble extravaganza in Portland, OR, and out East, we've got a pair of 1-days on the docket in Slingerlands, NY.

The Portland event is co-sanctioned with WGPO - it's their major West Coast event for the year, and that means a sizable injection of sponsorship money as well as a great deal of prestige. The player community out West has taken notice, and we've got 16 entrants lined up for the Collins division, ranging all the way from some of the top players in North America to a couple of outright CSW newbies. This event will feature 28 games in total - a 20-game main event on the heels of an 8-game early bird - so there is absolutely no shortage of Scrabble to be enjoyed.

The Slingerlands events come courtesy of Terry Kang, who's been a CoCo director extraordinaire for 3 years running. Terry's flagship event each year is Champions Cup, which attracts top experts from all over the world, but this weekend, she's offering something a bit more low-key. It's a pair of 1-day tournaments - open to everyone, whether you're a top player or a Collins newcomer. At the moment, we're looking at 6 players each in Saturday's 7-game tournament and in Sunday's, though the entrants lists might still be shaking out a bit.

Happy tiling to all! To those who have stepped up to organize and direct these events, we thank you. To all those who are competing over the boards this weekend, we wish you good luck. Let's make this Labor Day weekend a good one.