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Scrabble tourney benefits literacy group
Event planned for Feb. 25
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Forsyth County News

At a glance

• What: Words with Forsyth: A Scrabble Tournament

• When: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Feb. 25

• Where: Lanier Technical College Forsyth Conference Center, 7745 Majors Road.

• Cost: $10 for recreational play and $20 for competitive play. Proceeds benefit Literacy Forsyth

• Register: www.literacyforsyth.com or by calling Annaliza Thomas at (770) 876-2011. Deadline is Feb. 22.

Organizers of a first-time event are hoping for plenty of wordsmiths.

Literacy Forsyth, a community nonprofit that provides educational opportunities to adults, will hold Words with Forsyth: A Scrabble Tournament on Feb. 25 at the Lanier Technical College Forsyth Conference Center.

Annaliza Thomas, executive director of the organization, said all proceeds from the event will help adults who need to get their General Education Development, or GED, diploma.

“Every year we hold an adult spelling bee for our overall programming, but the Scrabble tournament will be a special fundraiser for our county’s GED program,” she said.

Literacy Forsyth helps Lanier Tech’s Adult Education Center with funding for GED instructors, materials and test fees.

Thomas said funds from the tournament featuring the popular board game will be used to help offset rising costs of the exam itself.

“The cost of the test will be almost doubling next year, so we want to be able to help more people who might not otherwise be able to take it,” she said.

According to U.S. Census information, there are about 12,000 adults in the county who don’t have a high school diploma, Thomas said.

“Hundreds are studying right now to try to get their GED and we want to help them,” she said.

The tournament will offer two categories: recreational and competitive.

Recreational will be geared toward less experienced players, she said.

“People as young as 13 can sign up to play, so we didn’t want teenagers going against people with 50 years of Scrabble experience,” Thomas said.

The cost to participate in the recreational division is $10, while it’s $20 for competitive play.

“We’ll have some different prizes in the competitive category,” she said.

All play will be one-on-one, Thomas said, and will include two 50-minute rounds.

First-round scores will determine pairings for the second round. The highest scorers will then face one another in a final round.

Anyone interested in participating is asked to register online by Feb. 22.

Thomas said the fee can be paid with a credit card or through PayPal. She’s hoping for a strong turnout.

“We hope for at least 60 people to play, which would be 30 games going on at once,” she said. “We’d like to hold these tournaments throughout the year.”