The Funk and Wagnalls Collegiate Dictionary was used to rule on challenges, and the official word judge was Skolnick's then-wife Carol.
Carol's sister, Shazzi Felstein, who would later finish in ninth place at the first North American Invitational tournament, won the first preliminary round with 1,321 points over three games.
The New York City Championship was thereafter held annually, jointly sponsored by Selchow and Righter and the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.
The first national tournament was the North American Invitational, held May 19–21, 1978, in the Presidential Suite of the Loews Summit Hotel in New York City.
Since then, the championships have been held in various U.S. cities (chosen more or less based on a rotation between five regions: southeast, southwest, northeast, northwest, and central).
[5] The 2022 event, the first under the new SPC identity, was held in Baltimore on July 23–27, and was won by Michael Fagen, a data analyst from Quebec.
[7] In 2013, John O'Laughlin, creator of the Quackle software program, won the division with a 24–7 record, winning $2,500 and claiming his first NSC divisional title.
[8] Past world, national, and Canadian champion Adam Logan won the division easily in 2014 with a 23–4 record and four byes.