There are a lot of good people in Scrabble and I don't want to give the impression that I'm trying to condemn the players. I'm just warning all the newbies that the tournament world is an alien world to most people and should not be approached lightly. Very simply, once you lay down your first entry fee, you will have become a different type of player than you ever were before and for many there will be no going back to the leisurely, enjoyable game you thought you loved.
There are several factors that make tournament Scrabble different from home Scrabble, but four stick out as major factors that make it difficult for a tournament player to associate with casual enthusiasts. These are word knowledge, ratings, prize money, and cumulative spread.
The word knowledge required to play in even the lowest tiers of tournament Scrabble drives more new players out of the game than any other factor. The average person doesn't deal with words like AA, OE, and CEP. More than a few people will think you strange, a liar, or both, if you try to play them in a friendly game. But almost anyone who has played in more than a couple competitions can throw down words like ZERK and QINTAR without so much as an eye blink. Before long, words like STHENIA and CINEAST are so common that they seem boring. By the time you actually become a decent mid-level player, you're kicking yourself for missing such "obvious" words as REMORID and WOORALI.
As can be imagined, the higher you move in tournament play, the more difficult it is to play non-tournament level games. You may be satisfied with walloping your friends by a couple hundred points every game, but they'll quickly tire of being beaten on, especially by words they never could have imagined to exist.
Currently there is a movement underway to combine the North American and European lexicons (SOWPODS). While many of the top players are anxiously lobbying for the change, it will only make the gulf between players and non-players even wider and more daunting to cross. We already have trouble keeping people in clubs and tournaments when they try to understand the inclusion of words like XU, AG and CWM. Imagine how much more difficult it will be when we throw in ZO, EUOI, and EUOUAE!
Within the tournament community, probably the most divisive issue is the use of ratings. In the old, old days, there were no ratings and every tournament was played as an open field. Naturally, the better players would romp against the newer players, sometimes winning by several hundred points per game and hurting some egos. In an effort to make things more fair, ratings and divisions were introduced so that games would involve players of more equal abilities. To that end, the system has worked and newbies no longer have to face the wrath of a top Expert without a conscience.
The downside of ratings is that it has created a class system and introduced the concept of sandbagging. By a class system, I mean that people at tournaments literally judge each other on the basis of rating numbers. A higher-rated player expects and receives deference, and lower-rated players are looked upon with some disdain. When they are paired in the same division and the lower-rated player wins, look out! All too often the surprised winner will celebrate excessively and/or the disgusted loser will become angry, moody, and forget every tenet of sportsmanship.
The class system also becomes evident in the socialization patterns of tournament players. There are some good people at every level of Scrabble, but it's unusual for Experts to spend much time with Intermediate or Recreational players and vice versa. There is a definite feeling that it's expected for each group to stick with their own. At larger tournaments even members of the same club will start to avoid each other in favor of players within their own division.
The concept of sandbagging, intentionally keeping a rating lower in order to play in a lower division, combines the negative effects of the rating system with the greed for prize money. While it's not condoned, players at a borderline between two divisions will sometimes tank (intentionally play poorly) at a local tournament in order to lower their ratings in order to play down a level at a tournament with a larger prize pool. By the end of the tourney, these players are either smug and despised because they're winning, or moody and unsportsmanlike because their rating is taking a beating at the hands of "inferior" players. Either way, it's a bad scene.
Prize money brings out the worst in people in another way, as well. As hard as might be to believe, there are players who will cheat or push the boundries of gamesmanship in an effort to win a prize, even a small one. Tiles will be palmed, others will show up under the board or on the floor. Clocks will be hit out of sequence and letters drawn extra quickly to avoid challenges. Scores will be intentionally miscounted or misadded. Players will make misleading comments about their racks or overplay their body language to lure their opponents into changing their strategy. Other players will call for a director's ruling on every minor or imagined rules violation in order to distract or annoy an opponent. Again, if you thought your family was competetive and underhanded, you ain't seen nothing until you face an ethically-challenged tournament player.
The other factor I mentioned is the concept of Cumulative Spread. In tournament play, the tie-breaker for prize money is Cumulative Spread, often called "Cume". Because the spread can make such a difference, it behooves a player to win every game by as many points as possible. Having mercy on an opponent you are beating by 200 points actually becomes a liability because winning by 300 is better. Most players understand the concept and will reluctantly accept a drubbing, but there are some who will take the beating personally. If you don't have the type of personality that can accept being on the short end of a large spread, it may be wiser to stay away from the tournament scene because it will happen, probably sooner than later.
Now that I've created a negative picture of the Scrabble scene, let me change tacks and say that for a good player or an individual who enjoys challenges, there's nothing like the tournament world. Even at some of the lower levels, you are matching wits and minds with some of the most talented and intense word-game players in the world. Winning at this level takes enough talent, knowledge, nerve, and luck that every player who succeeds in the tournament world has to be seen as something special.
Just remember that before entering, you are joining an exclusive group. That exclusivity often makes it difficult to go back to the world you were in before. So be sure and be ready.