Alastair Richards and Lyres Freeth came together through Scrabble. Here they are four years later, married and preparing to test each other at the Masters in Whanganui. Photo / Jesse King
Alastair Richards and Lyres Freeth came together through Scrabble. Here they are four years later, married and preparing to test each other at the Masters in Whanganui. Photo / Jesse King
The word game Scrabble brings many different feelings to those who play it.
Some experience the thrill of competition, others enjoy the strain it puts on the brain and some are just happy to get out of the house.
But for two people playing at the New Zealand Masters Tournament at Jane Winstone Retirement Village in Whanganui, the game brought them all of that and so much more.
It brought them love and that is worth a whole lot more than just six points.
Alastair Richards and Lyres Freeth met at a competition in Hamilton in 2012.
"We didn't play against each other. I was leading for most of the tournament and he was coming second. He overtook me to win and that's how we met," Freeth says.
The top 24 Scrabble players in the country came together in Whanganui to take each other on over three days of action for the New Zealand Masters Tournament. Photo / Jesse King
"I didn't know anything about him except that he was a good player from Australia. The next day there was a youth Scrabble coaching event and we got to know each other more."
Following the event, Richards returned to Brisbane, where he had about 18 months of a medical degree left to complete at the University of Queensland.
The two stayed in touch through Facebook and Freeth would occasionally visit.
They were friends for four years before Richards completed his training and moved to New Zealand to begin working as a doctor in Auckland.
A year later, they got married.
Freeth says they have similar personalities.
"We're both a bit introverted, but we have similar interests. We both like gardening and we're learning to ski together at the moment.
"He's really good at Scrabble, one of the top players. He's also just a really nice person and we get along really well."
They also work in the same sector as Freeth is a dietician working in primary healthcare.
The couple got into Scrabble through their parents, Freeth following in the footsteps of her mother Rebecca and Richards observing mum and dad Karen and Paul.
Heading into the Ryman Healthcare Masters in which New Zealand's top 24 players face off, Richards was ranked one and Freeth five.
Richards said he started playing Scrabble when he was five.
"I was playing in tournaments when I was seven. Obviously I was not good at all at that stage, but eventually I got better," he said.
"In my late teens I started becoming one of the top five in Australia and started winning some tournaments."
Eventually, Richards reached number one in Australia and the game has taken him to countries such as Thailand, India, England, Malaysia, Singapore and Poland.
Richards is currently ranked 14 in the world, but said it can be challenging to maintain a top spot.
"I don't have too much time with work now, so it's about maintaining where I am and keeping up with the words.
"I was supposed to be working tomorrow, but I had to take time off. We drove down on Friday and we're driving the six-plus hours back on Monday afternoon."
