For the love of words

Words are used to express yourself, words are used to communicate... scrabble and expand your vocabulary!

Submitted by pekwan on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

* Lifestyle
* Scrabble Challenge at Starbucks
* Life



Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 02:15:00
Scrabble



REAL TALENT: Contestants working hard during the Scrabble Challenge at Starbucks
BIOLOGY teacher Intan Rahayu came up tops in the Scrabble Challenge at Starbucks after beating her opponents by a wide margin recently at Berjaya Times Square.

The 24-year-old teacher at Bukit Bintang Secondary Boys School has been playing Scrabble since her primary school days, mostly with her father at her home in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

“We played regularly as a family. Dad used to encourage this to foster stronger family bonds while improving the use of English. Now that I am married, I don’t play Scrabble very much, but I still practise my strategy with Dad whenever I visit my hometown,” she said.

Intan believes that Scrabble encourages players to learn new words and understand its meaning, leading to an increase in English vocabulary.

She took home a Scrabble Deluxe set and a Scrabble Dictionary by Collins as well as a Starbucks hamper containing vouchers, gifts and merchandise. Second and third prize winners were Tan Waye and Lee Bee Chu respectively, who each won a hardcover Collins Scrabble Dictionary and merchandise from Starbucks.

The Scrabble Challenge at Starbucks is a preamble to the World Scrabble Championship, which will be held at Zon Regency, Johor Baru from Nov 26 to 29. The biannual international Scrabble tournament will see over 100 of the best Scrabble players around the world vie for the title and a total of USD30,500 in prize money.

“The Scrabble Challenge is an avenue to feature Scrabble as a lifestyle game that can be enjoyed by people of all walks of life,” said Mattel brand manager, Kenny Lim.

He added that the game promotes communication and interpersonal skills between players, which is missing
when one plays online or video games.

Scrabble Challenge organiser, Song Kim Lian feels that playing Scrabble encourages friendship and camaraderie between players.

“I think Scrabble is an excellent game, not just to allow its players to develop skills in English but also to have a bit of fun,” she said.

The mother of four first became a Scrabble organiser in 2004 when she was part of her children’s parent-teacher committee. She was asked to organise a Scrabble challenge, which she enjoyed doing tremendously. Since then, she has been organising tournaments and conducting Scrabble workshops for the young and old.

“It doesn’t matter if the player’s vocabulary is strong or weak, what’s important is to choose simple words that are daring with your word choices,” added Song.

Song has another tip for all Scrabble players — remember as many two-letter words as possible. It may just give you a win.

The Scrabble Challenge at Starbucks will continue to take place at selected Starbucks outlets within the Klang Valley and is open to all Starbucks patrons and the public.

Each challenge is limited to 40 players and beginners who are curious to find out more about the game are welcomed to join a short workshop before the challenge begins. Take part in the next Scrabbles Challenge at Starbucks Centrepoint, Bandar Utama at 11am on Nov 1, Bangsar Telawi 3 at 4pm on Nov 15 and Tropicana City Mall at at 4pm on Nov 22. Find out more at any Starbucks outlet.