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Dakar rallies Scrabble contenders | Dakar rallies Scrabble contenders |
(about 5 hours later) | |
By Piers Edwards BBC News, Dakar Senegal may conjure up images of the singer Youssou N'Dour, the Dakar rally or perhaps the football team's successful 2002 World Cup display. | By Piers Edwards BBC News, Dakar Senegal may conjure up images of the singer Youssou N'Dour, the Dakar rally or perhaps the football team's successful 2002 World Cup display. |
Yet for Ndongo Sylla, his home nation is just another word that can be rearranged in different ways - whether that be 'agneles' (lambed), 'glanees' (gleaned), 'langees' (nappies) or 'sanglee' (strapped). | Yet for Ndongo Sylla, his home nation is just another word that can be rearranged in different ways - whether that be 'agneles' (lambed), 'glanees' (gleaned), 'langees' (nappies) or 'sanglee' (strapped). |
Sylla, 29, is that Senegalese rarity - a world champion - whose titles have come in Scrabble, a board game where competitors score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles. | Sylla, 29, is that Senegalese rarity - a world champion - whose titles have come in Scrabble, a board game where competitors score points by forming words from individual lettered tiles. |
Scrabble champion Ndongo Sylla is an advisor to the Senegalese president | Scrabble champion Ndongo Sylla is an advisor to the Senegalese president |
He is competing in the 37th Francophone Scrabble World Championships, which are taking place in Senegal this week. | |
Some 600 competitors have travelled from 21 countries to the capital, Dakar, where they face the task of beating the hosts. | Some 600 competitors have travelled from 21 countries to the capital, Dakar, where they face the task of beating the hosts. |
In 2000, Ndongo Sylla and his partner, Arona Gaye, became the first Africans to take a world title when they won the Pairs section. | In 2000, Ndongo Sylla and his partner, Arona Gaye, became the first Africans to take a world title when they won the Pairs section. |
Since then, Senegal's standing has improved to the point where it took three of the four titles on offer at last year's world championships in Canada - not bad for a country with a 40% literacy rate. | Since then, Senegal's standing has improved to the point where it took three of the four titles on offer at last year's world championships in Canada - not bad for a country with a 40% literacy rate. |
National priority | National priority |
To say Scrabble is taken seriously in Senegal is an understatement. | To say Scrabble is taken seriously in Senegal is an understatement. |
The Sports Ministry now gives it the same importance as football, and has declared the championships - which have their own song - a national priority. Advertisement | |
Senegal's scrabble song | |
Meanwhile, Sylla's new fame has helped propel him to work for President Abdoulaye Wade as an economic advisor. | Meanwhile, Sylla's new fame has helped propel him to work for President Abdoulaye Wade as an economic advisor. |
"When your CV says you are a world Scrabble champion, that can be impressive for potential employers," Sylla says. | "When your CV says you are a world Scrabble champion, that can be impressive for potential employers," Sylla says. |
"I first met Wade in 2000 in Paris where I was studying economics", he adds. "I was Senegal's Scrabble champion and said I would soon be a world champion, and Wade said he would give me full support if I was. The next month, I did win." | "I first met Wade in 2000 in Paris where I was studying economics", he adds. "I was Senegal's Scrabble champion and said I would soon be a world champion, and Wade said he would give me full support if I was. The next month, I did win." |
"Since then, Wade has done plenty for Scrabble which is now at the forefront of Senegalese sport", says Sylla. | "Since then, Wade has done plenty for Scrabble which is now at the forefront of Senegalese sport", says Sylla. |
Training camp | Training camp |
In fact, the game is the West African nation's most successful - with Senegal boasting nine world titles. | In fact, the game is the West African nation's most successful - with Senegal boasting nine world titles. |
Scrabble is a religion here. Nowhere else in the world can you find such excitement and dedication to the game. French World Champion, Antonin Michel | |
And nothing has been left to chance as they host the championships, with the local players even undergoing a 10-day training camp. | And nothing has been left to chance as they host the championships, with the local players even undergoing a 10-day training camp. |
President Wade believes Senegal's successes in beating the French at their own language reveals the nation's untapped potential - although France's sole reigning world champion is keen to address that. | President Wade believes Senegal's successes in beating the French at their own language reveals the nation's untapped potential - although France's sole reigning world champion is keen to address that. |
"Incredibly, I was the only non-Senegalese to win in Quebec last year," says 31-year-old Antonin Michel. | |
"So I have huge pressure on my shoulders. But I'm pretty confident that six or seven of us can compete with the Senegalese. | |
"It's fairly simple why they are so good", says Michel. | |
"Scrabble is a religion here. Nowhere else in the world can you find such excitement and dedication to the game. After all, this is the first place where I have seen street vendors selling Scrabble." | |
Spectator sport? | Spectator sport? |
So perhaps it is unsurprising that the championships are being televised. | So perhaps it is unsurprising that the championships are being televised. |
But since games are played in near silence as participants decide how to best use their letters, Scrabble is an awful spectator sport - which might explain why the devoted competitors greatly outnumber spectators. Top players learn about 50, 000 words | But since games are played in near silence as participants decide how to best use their letters, Scrabble is an awful spectator sport - which might explain why the devoted competitors greatly outnumber spectators. Top players learn about 50, 000 words |
"We live in St Martin in the Caribbean, close to Guadeloupe and Martinique, and we have come over with people from both islands," says Dr Ribeau, an elderly French expatriate. | |
"The championships are a great way to meet Francophones from all over the world." | |
Guinea's Moussa Diasso agrees. "I love Scrabble because it's a game where I can improve my French," he says, adding that he hopes to raise Scrabble's profile back in his home country. | |
Having travelled from Africa, Europe and North America, the competitors are not just united by their love of Scrabble - which they take extremely seriously - but also by a shared desire to travel and meet people. | Having travelled from Africa, Europe and North America, the competitors are not just united by their love of Scrabble - which they take extremely seriously - but also by a shared desire to travel and meet people. |
Master the dictionary | Master the dictionary |
Of course, they also want to demonstrate their mastery of French, and the leading players go to mind-boggling lengths to finish on top. | Of course, they also want to demonstrate their mastery of French, and the leading players go to mind-boggling lengths to finish on top. |
"To be a world champion, you need to master 98-99% of the dictionary," says Michel. "I'm learning the words themselves, not their meanings, so that I can play any word during matches. Players like me master 50,000 words." | "To be a world champion, you need to master 98-99% of the dictionary," says Michel. "I'm learning the words themselves, not their meanings, so that I can play any word during matches. Players like me master 50,000 words." |
To put that into context, a university professor's vocabulary is believed to extend to around 15,000 words. | To put that into context, a university professor's vocabulary is believed to extend to around 15,000 words. |
Yet Francophone Scrabble players must now also know various words from the Senegalese dialect, Wolof, with 14 words having made it into the game's official dictionary - such as 'thiof' (a local fish) and 'xalam' (lute). | Yet Francophone Scrabble players must now also know various words from the Senegalese dialect, Wolof, with 14 words having made it into the game's official dictionary - such as 'thiof' (a local fish) and 'xalam' (lute). |
"It gives us pride to see our Wolof words accepted," says Sylla. | "It gives us pride to see our Wolof words accepted," says Sylla. |
It may also give the Senegalese an edge over their international rivals. | It may also give the Senegalese an edge over their international rivals. |
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