Battle of the badges: Police, fire officials tilt at Scrabble

The police department sent in a ringer.

Commissioner Charles Ramsey couldn't make it (he's in Denver), so Deputy Commissioner Charlotte Council took on Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers in a Scrabble throwdown.

They "squared off" for a ceremonial game late this morning at the Free Library on Logan Square, kicking off a citywide effort to get more students under Scrabble's "spell."

Each official was assisted by a 15-year-old sophomore from the High School for Engineering and Science.

Ayers, helped by Briana Douglas, pulled too many vowels. Council, assisted by Khaleef Burns, had the good fortune to pull plenty of consonants, and laid down the snappy words "yap" and "zip."

A few dozen students from the High School for Engineering and Science and the Science Leadership Academy looked on.

No fight to the final letter, the friendly match was called after about 20 minutes - though Council declared that she "absolutely" won.

Guess that's two in a row for the women, since last year Mayor Nutter got taught a thing or two by Arlene Ackerman, city school district superintendant.

Ayers left the game in good humor, saying he had been "delighted to sit with the students and have some intelligent fun."

Throughout October - a.k.a. "Philly Plays Scrabble Month" - children and adults alike can play at the 17 branches of the Free Library, honing their skills for a tournament on Nov. 14.

It's the first such set of matches to be held on a Saturday, in hopes of attracting more young players than the previous evening tournaments did, said Emily Goss, program coordinator of the After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP), the nonprofit coordinating the stepped-up initiative.

That contest, open to unranked players, will offer $100 gift certificates to the winner in each of three divisions: grades 3 to 8, high school, and adult.

ASAP aims to duplicate the success that chess has had with city kids.

Scrabble had over 60 clubs last year, with about 700 children playing weekly at schools, rec centers, community cents and libraries, she said.

But chess has more than 250 clubs.

In January, ASAP is launching a Scrabble league, modeled after one that already exists for chess.

ASAP gets funding from foundations, individuals and corporations, and its Scrabble program is sponsored by PNC Bank, Verizon, Comcast, Hasbro and the National Scrabble Association, Goff said.