Director Harps On Grassroots Scrabble Dev

The Technical Director of
2013 Scrabbulympics, Emmanuel Oyeleke, has in Lagos said the grassroots development of scrabble was key for its growth as a sport.
In a statement made available to newsmen Oyeleke said there was the need for a shift of emphasis from elite players to grassroots scrabble development.
“Emphasis should gradually shift from the adult game play to the youth and children scrabble education.
“This catch-them-young approach has the multiplier effect of engaging the youths and creating a means of livelihood for them.
“From this, there will be a source of gainful employment to the owners and teachers of the new scrabble academies which will spring forth,” he said.
Oyekele said the sport was a good tool for education, saying “no youth will ever look back once he picks appreciable interest in the game, because competitive scrabble has some elements of addiction’’.
He said a prospective player must dedicate an ample amount of time to studying new words and reading diverse genres of literature in order to be a good player.
“This automatically broadens his horizon and there is hardly any subject or lexicon he will not be able to discuss,” Oyeleke said.
NAN reports that Scrabbulympics is a scrabble competition being organised by the Lagos State Government.