FUN’s the word at kids’ Scrabble tournament [photos]
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Kyseem Taylor, 10, and Tashan Watson, 11, of Richard R. Wright elementary play Scrabble in a tournament at school district headquarters Wednesday afternoon. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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John Green, known as "Johnny Scrabble" to Philly kids participating in the ASAP program, is a volunteer and former professional scrabble player. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Philadelphia public school elementary students play Scrabble in a tournament at school district headquarters Wednesday afternoon. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Retired Philadelphia teacher Judith Fink helps Jayairra Fox, 7, add ‘window’ to the board. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Second graders are taught to play Scrabble at school district headquarters Wednesday. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Second graders are taught to play Scrabble at school district headquarters Wednesday. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Rachel Goa, 12, and her sister Lexi, 11, say Scrabble helps them make friends. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Fifth graders get creative at the ASAP Scrabble tournament. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Nathaniel Rapley, 9, takes a break from playing to stretch on the scrabble rug. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
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Kids at the ASAP Scrabble tournament say that making friends is a great benefit of the game. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
Elementary school students from more than 20 Philadelphia district schools participated in the annual ASAP (After School Activities Partnership) Scrabble Winter Classic Tournament Wednesday at school district headquarters.
Ten-year-old Kyseem Taylor from Richard R. Wright school said he participates because he’s smart. “I want to show the world I’m smart,” said Taylor. “I’m going to beat Johnny Scrabble.”
ASAP volunteers like John Green, aka “Johnny Scrabble” were on hand with Webster’s official Scrabble dictionaries to settle word disputes. Green is a former professional Scrabble player, and is wearing a hoodie with “Scrabble” written across the chest.
Green started playing the game while he was serving 24 years in a state penitentiary, although he says he’s loved words since he was in elementary school. His favorite word is quixotry: a wild, visionary idea.
As soon as he came home ten years ago, he entered himself in national Scrabble tournaments, and loved it. But for Green, nothing is better than seeing the faces of the kids as they learn. “This is better than food, better than parks, better than being anywhere in the world,” he said.
Rachel Gao, 12, from Fell Elementary agrees as she plays with her sister, Lexi, 11. Gao says she loves to learn new words and make friends, and that’s good for her future. She hopes one day to become a “space teacher.”
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