200 Young SCRABBLE® Experts to Vie For $10,000 Top Prize at the 2011 National School Championship April 15-16 In Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla., March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Student word wizards from all over the US and Canada will vie for the $10,000 top prize at the annual National School SCRABBLE® Championship (NSSC).  The event will take place at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort in Orlando, Florida, April 15-16.   All contestants are 5th-8th graders and play in teams of two.  

Defending champions are eighth graders Bradley Robbins and Evan McCarthy from Windham, NH.  Other favored teams this year are from Texas, California, North Carolina and Toronto.

It takes a lot of hard work—on and off the SCRABBLE® board—to get to the Nationals.  Fifth grader, 11-year-old Midori Salgado of Apex, NC Salem Elementary School has sat patiently and watched from the sidelines as her big brother Erik competed in the last two Nationals. This year Midori will finally get a chance to compete herself and possibly face her brother in the competition.  

Many students help raise money for the trip to Orlando.  Dinah Fuller's four Eastern Greene Middle School teams from Bloomfield, IN held multiple fundraisers to help defray some of the travel expenses.  The Woburn Word Wizards out of Woburn, MA fundraised and received corporate donations. According to their coach Cynthia Fordham, "everyone—me, the kids going, the kids that aren't going, the parents, other library staff and now even a fair portion of the Woburn population—are really psyched about the upcoming tournament!"

Many of these student competitors will go on to play – and often defeat — adults in rated SCRABBLE® tournaments and the annual National SCRABBLE® Championship.  

Praised by parents and educators alike, the School SCRABBLE® Program is an innovative teaching tool that has helped teach over a million kids in over 20,000 schools nationwide spelling, vocabulary, math, dictionary use and more.

To learn more and watch a fun 4-minute video about the National School SCRABBLE® Championship, go to www.schoolscrabble.com.

Play begins at 2:00 PM with 3 rounds on Friday, April 15th and all day Saturday, April 16th.  Finals will be approximately 3:00 PM on Saturday, followed by the Awards Ceremony.

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SOURCE National SCRABBLE Association