Salt Lake Valley Spelling Bee

Today was the Salt Lake Valley Spelling Bee, and it was outstanding! My sister placed seventh, but at least she has next year. The champion's winning word was hedgehopper. Until a news article and/or the spellers' profiles are released, I will not mention the champion's name due to privacy.

The head pronouncer was three-time Salt Lake Valley Champion (and 5th Place at the National Spelling Bee in 2013), Vismaya Kharkar.

When I did the Bee, I remember only receiving a T-shirt and a certificate. Now the Salt Lake Valley has a new sponsor, the spellers received more:

• Bee Keeper, with information about each speller: Where they went to school, their grade, the college they want to go to (a lot of spellers had the University of Utah and Brigham Young University), and what they want to be when they grow up. 
• A medal for participation.
• A T-shirt with the 2013 National Spelling Bee Championship word: knaidel

Back then even the championship speller received a few awards, a Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, and of course a trip to Washington, D.C. for the National Spelling Bee. This year the champion received a trophy, a Webster's Third New International Dictionary (2002), a few awards, and of course the trip to D.C. 

After the Bee, I talked to the champion, and we discussed the materials that would be very useful: Hexco Products (these are very pricey, but they are very beneficial), How to Spell Like a Champ, Consolidated Word List, etc. I also told him useful sites and other resources. Vismaya also gave him advice for what to look forward to at nationals. 

Good luck to him and all the other spellers!

Update on the Bee/Current Life

There have been great regional bees, including one that happened in Missouri. There were ninety rounds, in two days (separated by two weeks). After all those esoteric words, the winning word was definition. 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/08/us/spelling-bee-marathon/

Also, Vanya Shivashankar, sister of 2009 Champion, Kavya (winning word: Laodicean) is returning to nationals.

http://www.kansascity.com/2014/02/13/4821348/olathe-12-year-old-vanya-shivashankar.html

My sister got first place at her district bee (all the campuses of her school in the Salt Lake Valley), and she's moving on to the Salt Lake Valley Spelling Bee, which will be on Saturday, March 22 (more details to come soon). Their spellers were amazing, especially at the end when the last four spellers kept going for several rounds without misspelling any word. She won with the word suture \ˈsü-chər\ (Latin to French to English, noun: a strand or fiber used to sew parts of the living body)

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/suture

Current Life

I had the state math contest today, and the test was difficult, but I am surprised that I was able to solve some of the really difficult problems. I tried my best, and I hope I did well.

All is going well with choir, orchestra, solo performances, etc., and I'm currently preparing for an opera next month with the Lyric Opera and the Utah Philharmonia, along with my choir. I've also been composing/arranging. Some of the music theory I've done, have had words I remember from the Bee (and other music. Some have been used at the National Spelling Bee, such as attacca \əˈtäkə, -akə\ (Italian; verb imperative; attack at once - used as a direction in music at the end of a movement to begin the next without pause), so when I'm composing I have to try to figure out how to segue \ˈse-(ˌ)gwā, ˈsā-\ (Latin to Italian; verb imperative; proceed to what follows without pause - used as a direction in music into the next movement, or part (depending on the type of work). I've been teaching flute and voice, as well.

With school, I'm working hard to keep my grades where they are and/or raise them. AP classes and Concurrent Enrollment are difficult, but I've found ways to manage my time for all my other activities.

I'll write more when I can. For now, good luck!

Update/Spelling Bee Season 2014

I have been busy lately with school and many other activities. My sister just got second place at her school bee today, and she's going to district (which is just all the other campuses of her school; she goes to a charter school, which has several campuses). If she wins that, she'll go to the Salt Lake Valley Spelling Bee. Speaking of the spelling bee in the Salt Lake Valley, we almost did not have a sponsor. A few weeks ago, the valley finally got a sponsor for the Bee.

Some regional bees already have determined who they are sending to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Judging from this year's school list, they included words such as don't and bella voce. The words from the Spell It! are pretty much the same from prior years.

I am excited for this Bee Season! Good luck to everyone!

Arvind Mahankali is the Champion!!!!!!!!!

His word was knaidel (dumpling) - a Yiddish derived German word. "The German curse has turned into a German blessing," him and his brother said.

Congratulations to all spellers! This was a great Bee!

Second place goes to Pranav Sivakumar, third goes to Sriram Hathwar, fourth to Amber Born, Vanya Shivashankar and Vismaya Kharkar tied for fifth. Grace Remmer, Chetan Reddy, and Syamantak Payra tied for seventh. Christal Schermeister placed tenth, and Nikitha Chandran placed 11th.

We hope to see Vanya, Sriram, and Syamantak next year!

Now that the Bee is over, what will you do? Study, relax? Grace said she's going to practice her violin and viola more, and Arvind said he's going to study Physics!

What am I going to do? Summer Reading for AP Literature; Summer assignment for AP US History, planning to write a children's opera (the music, at least); choir recording; practice flute, piano and voice; compose and arrange music; coach my sister and young friends for the Bee (if I have time); study languages; go on several vacations; youth camp; definitely a lot more!

Here are the results:
http://public.spellingbee.com/public/results/2013/round_results

I'm signing off for the 2013 Bee now! See you next year (or in a few weeks).

Congratulations, Vismaya!

She placed fifth! Great job, Vismaya and Utah!

Arvind just received dehnstufe - a German word, and he gets it. He received Jugendstil and misspelled it in 2011, and schwannoma in 2012 and misspelled it, too.

Could co-champions happen tonight? Possibly. Three remain: Arvind, Pranav, and Sriram (who was first eight when he came in 2008).

Good luck to these three!

I Will Post After Each Round or After the the Bee

Championship Finals Have Begun