Play Scrabble and Support Literacy in Canada 

Do you like playing word games—online or in real life? Would you like to change lives through literacy? Join us at the 19th annual Scrabble for Literacy event in support of United for Literacy, formerly Frontier College. Teams of four play the word game and compete for the highest score. The two highest scoring players will then face off in the Championship Game on Thursday, March 9, 2023, at Steam Whistle Brewing in Toronto. This is a three-on-three match with premier Scrabble competitors and actors Bea Santos from Murdoch Mysteries and August Winter from Women Talking. 

John Chew is the CEO of the North American Scrabble Players Association and is an expert and advocate for the game. In 2021, John received the 2021 Peter Gzowski Award for his support of adult literacy. John has volunteered as the scorekeeper and Scrabble expert making sure game play runs smoothly since our first event 19 years ago! We are so happy that he will be with us this year as we return to in-person play.  
Last year’s online tournament finalists were Natalyn Sadsad and Sumedha Chawla. The have both played at Scrabble for Literacy events since 2016—and they used to work together—so it was an especially fun reunion. We hope to see them this year. 

In addition to fun and challenging gameplay, there will be entertainment, contests, and a great chance to connect with other people who support literacy in Canada. We look forward to seeing you and encourage you to invite your friends and family. 

New This Year! 

For the first time, we are combining online play on the Scrabble GO app with in-person tournament play at Steam Whistle Brewing in Toronto. We can’t wait for the live event—our first since the start of the pandemic!  

Read on to find out how to be part of the fun. 

How to Play 

The online tournament on the FREE Scrabble GO app starts Monday, February 27 and runs to Friday, March 3 at 3pm Eastern Time. The winner of the online tournament will be invited to play in the live championship celebrity game. If this person lives outside of the Greater Toronto Area, we will provide a one-night stay at a downtown Toronto hotel and round-trip economy class airfare from anywhere in Canada. 

The in-person tournament takes place Thursday, March 9 at 5:30pm at Steam Whistle Brewing, 255 Bremner Blvd., Toronto. The fee to play is $150 to play online or $200 to play both in person and online. This can be a one-time payment, or you can fundraise with your friends, family, and colleagues to raise the money. Proceeds benefit United for Literacy’s work across Canada, from coast to coast to coast. For more information or to sign up to take part in Scrabble for Literacy, please go to our website or contact Events Manager Jennifer Chow.