SUN DAY – There are nearly 100 charter clubs and special interest groups at Sun City, and more activities are being thought up all the time. The latest? A crossword puzzle tournament.
If you run out to your driveway in your bathrobe early in the morning to grab the newspaper and do the crossword puzzle, this tournament is for you. If you set aside an hour or two to finish the New York Times crossword every Sunday, it’s ESPECIALLY for you. If your Christmas list starts with a request for a crossword puzzle book, this tournament is custom-designed for you.
At 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 30, crossword puzzle history will be made in the Prairie Lodge’s multi-purpose room. The first-ever crossword puzzle tournament in the Midwest will be held. It is the creation of residents Al and Dorothy Litwin and Carl Hupert.
The idea, according to Dorothy Litwin, comes from Will Schortz, the crossword puzzle editor of the New York Times. (If you are frustrated by those infernally difficult Times puzzles, it’s probably his fault).
“We have contacted him and obtained the idea, rules, and puzzles for a tournament. They do them in the East all the time,” Dorothy said. “We believe this will fit right in with all of the other activities we have here.
“Wherever we go, we see people working crossword puzzles, in books, magazines, and even in the Times,” she said. “We thought, why not start such a tournament here? We hope it will become an annual event.”
The rules are simple. Entrants pay a $12 fee to participate and receive a box lunch, and there are four series of puzzles, ranging from easy to challenging. Each series is timed on a clock on the wall, starting with 30 minutes for the first round. All competitors start at the same time, and winners are judged by how fast and accurately they complete a puzzle.
“Speed and accuracy carry equal weight, and points are awarded to each person for each round,” Litwin said. “Prizes will be awarded for the best performance, and we hope people will become hooked on this kind of an event. Players will sit at tables and will have shields set up around them so a nearby person can’t see what others are doing.”
For the past three months, residents may have seen a puzzle in the Lifestyles magazine. A blown-up puzzle was mounted in the Prairie Lodge lobby for residents to fill in. On March 22, a full-length film, “Word Play,” a documentary on the life of Schortz, was played. It also featured crossword solvers competing in the huge tournament held every year in New York and Connecticut.
“Schortz started these tournaments in the New York City area 29 years ago, and they have grown to be very popular,” Litwin said. “We’d like to see that happen here.”
“Just call the Lifestyles department or come to the CAM desk to sign up,” Litwin said.
So are you one of those super-expert puzzle solvers who can do a Times version in 30 minutes? Litwin was asked.
“Oh no, I just do it for the fun of it, the same way some people play cards or play a sport,” she replied. “We will have people of all levels of expertise and interest participating in our tournament.”
So, is crossword puzzle solving a sport? If it involves people competing with each other to see who is best, it must be.
So, tennis club, bocce ball club, bowling leagues, softball league, pickle ball group, cue club, golf leagues, bridge club, cribbage club, pinochle club, hand-and-foot groups, there’s a new sport in town – crossword puzzle solvers. Polish up your vocabularies, Sun Citians, and get ready to solve two-down and 34-across.
