Five-Peats, and Possibly Six-Peats and Seven-Peats!/Do Not Underestimate What a Young Child Can Do

What does it take to be a five-peat? A lot of diligence, dedication, and time and effort. Not very many spellers become five-peats. This year, Nicholas Rushlow and Rahul Malayappan are the first five-peats since 2008, and both of them said that it is a lot of hard work! For example, Nicholas said that he spent hours studying, and ever since his first year in 2008, he never took a break from studying.

In a few years, we will probably see six-peats and seven-peats. Lori Madison (Age 6) is the youngest speller in the history of the Bee. This proves that you should not underestimate what a young child can do.

It is not just Lori, but others, as well. Sriram Hathwar was the other record holder before Lori, and he did very well his first year, even if he did not advance to semifinals. His second year, he was able to advance to semifinals, then he missed 2010, but he improved his ranking in 2011 tying for sixth. Unfortunately, he will not be heading to nationals this year, but we hope to see him in the upcoming years.

Other than the spellers, you may have seen Andrew Johnston on Britain's Got Talent and Jackie Evancho on America's Got Talent. They are amazing and beautiful singers, and they both placed very high. Someone younger than you can do better than you, but age does not matter.

Good luck!

Bee Week Has Arrived/Memorial Day/Fun Facts

It is time for Bee Week to begin, but let us begin with important business. Tomorrow is Memorial Day - a day to honor those who died for our country.

Here are some words in honor of this important day:

• patriotic
• honor
• flowers
• barbecue
• monument
• marines
• soldier
• memories
• unknown
• tomb
• battle
• legion
• cemetery
• remembrance 
• casualties
• ceremonies
• commemorate
• valor

Fun Facts About the Scripps National Spelling Bee: 

• It is the nation's longest educational program!
• The first National Spelling Bee (1925) only had nine spellers. This year, there are 278 spellers going participating, but the record was in 2009 (293 spellers). 
• The first winning word was "gladiolus", and last year's winning word was "cymotrichous". The Bee has come a long way since then.
• Bee Week has more than just spelling; it takes place in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, so I think you can assume what many spellers love to do: sight-seeing! Spellers also go to a barbecue on Memorial Day, they hang out with friends, they cheer for and congratulate each other, there is a banquet on Friday, and so much more!
• The official pronouncer of the the Bee, Dr. Jacques Bailly, was the 1980 Champion (winning word: elucubrate); The director of the Bee, Paige Pipkin Kimble, was the 1981 Champion (winning word: sarcophagus); One of the judges, Blake Giddens, was the 1983 Champion (winning word: Purim); another judge, George Thampy, was the 2000 Champion (winning word: demarche).

I will post more facts as the week goes along! For now, good luck spellers and "may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Most Spellers Will Arrive in D.C. Tomorrow!/Spelling Bee Trailer

Good luck, spellers! Most of you will be headed to the Bee tomorrow, and I cannot wait to watch the Bee!

Here is a Spelling Bee Trailer I Made in Honor of the Bee

8 More Days Until Spellers Arrive in D.C.

It has been a while since my last post! I have had a lot of testing, activities, choir performances, and student council elections.

Here are some study tips:

• Study word origins - roots, patterns, exceptions, and words from unknown and imitative origins
• Parts of Speech - patterns and exceptions
• Rules to Words
• Memorize rules, such as i before e, except after c, but there are exceptions to this rule, as well.
• Practice as if you were actually in a spelling bee (ask questions and think deeply)
• If this helps, do something while studying, such as video games, jump rope, Legos, basketball, and more!

Some Rules 

-Ent/-Ence and -Ant/-Ance

-ant and -ent: used to create nouns and adjectives, and -ance and -ence are used to create nouns. There are not many rules that will help with most of these words, so memorizing is the best way to go. 

• After a soft c (with an s sound) or g (with a j sound), use -ent/-ence (rubescent/acquiescence)
• After a hard c or g, use -ant/-ance. (mitigant/elegance)

-Ise, -Ize, and -Yze Ending

All of them have the eyes sound. 

-ise  is usually from French (abscise)

-ize (cause to form) is usually from Latin (systemize)

-yze is usually from Latin, which is found in the root -lyze meaning to produce or go under disintegration (acetolyze) and comes from the Latin root -lysis (decomposition; breaking down) 

If if an l is heard before the eyes sound, check to see if it is a variant of one of the verbs (-lyze), and if it is not, spell it -lize.

Good luck, and I will try to post more!

Consolidated Word List/Bee Schedule/Spelling Bee in the Summer

Thanks to the speller who gave me the link to the Consolidated Word List!

Consolidated Word List Please Read the Preface

Television Schedule (You can watch all on ESPN 3)
Preliminaries - ESPN3 - Wednesday, May 30 - 8:00 A.M. Eastern (I guess I have to be up before 6:00 Rocky Mountain Time; I will be watching and posting only before I go to school, so I will be able to watch for two hours. I will watch the replay when I get home)
Semifinals - ESPN2 - Thursday, May 31 - 10:00 A.M. Eastern (I will watch the replay before Championship Finals when I return from school)
Championship Finals - ESPN Thursday, May 31 - 8:00 P.M. Eastern

Speller Schedule
Most Spellers Arrive in D.C./Registration (Gaylord National Hotel) - Sunday, May 27
Memorial Day Barbecue - Monday, May 28 (I'm pretty sure it's on this day as they usually have it.)
Round 1 Test - May 29 - Various Times Throughout the Morning (I don't know if it's written or computerized this year, but they have returned to the fifty words, but only having twenty-five go to the full score)
Preliminaries, Semifinals, Championship Finals - See Television Schedule

Replays of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee
http://espn.go.com/espn3/spellingbee

The spelling bee continues throughout the summer, and it's not just spellers studying. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will be playing at Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Ivins, Utah (near St. George, Utah). For several years, I have been going to the Tuacahn Amphitheatre, and every show I've seen has impressed me, and I hope this show will impress me, too! I imagine the show is different every performance (It was nominated for six Tony Awards, and it won two, including Best Book). I guess it is going to be a great way to put my love for spelling and musical theater together!
Here is my post on the show, and keep in mind that it is not a review: http://annespellingbee.blogspot.com/2012/03/spelling-bee-musical.html

Good luck to all the spellers!

27 More Days Until Spellers Arrive!

Bee Week is almost here, and 278 spellers will compete for the championship. 

Here are some of the statistics according to the Scripps National Spelling Bee website.

• 136 boys and 142 girls
• One six-year-old (the youngest ever in Bee history), two eight-year-olds, one nine-year-old, thirteen 10-year-olds, 26 eleven-year-olds, 69 twelve-year-olds, 96 thirteen-year-olds, 67 fourteen-year-olds, and three fifteen-year-olds. The thirteen-year-olds always seem to have the highest number.
• One second grader, two third graders, three fourth graders, 24 fifth graders, 43 sixth graders, 94 seventh graders, 111 eighth graders. The eighth graders have the highest number.
• Most spellers go to public schools (193 spellers), next are private schools (39 spellers), then home (28 spellers), after are parochial schools (16 spellers), and charter schools (2 spellers). If my friend made it to the National Spelling Bee, there would have been three spellers from charter schools. 

Words that May Help at Nationals

It is important to review Spell It! and the Sponsor Bee Guides, because these will be helpful in Rounds 2 and 3.

In Rounds 4 and above, words will come from Webster's Third New International Dictionary Unabridged (2002). For the last few years, it seems as if words in these rounds come back four years or more after using them, but usually in a lower round. 

These words may be used this year:

huapango

opificer

oxylophytic

secernent

fauchard

reblochon 

thymele

ornithorhynchous

It is also very helpful to study the Consolidated Word List. This list hasn't been published since 2004. Please look up the list and study it! 

More Words:

randori

ichthyoid

chastushka

tzigane

szomolnokite

veszelyite

Tacitean

caixinha

katzenjammer

trichotillomania

marmennill

ethnarch

nicoise

Talavera

Meissen

Percheron

sunglo

soubise

It is also important to read. Right now, I am reading Pride and Prejudice, and the word panegyric is in the novel. Panegyric was used in Round 4 at the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Reading pays off! I also suggest reading Les Miserables, even if most of the words are French, but words such as oriflamme, devant, nisus, reredos, and many other words are in this in-depth but amazing novel.

32 More Days Until Spellers Arrive in D.C.!

One of my teachers once said, "Due dates are closer than they appear!", and since the National Spelling Bee ended last year, I knew it would come quickly. Now it is only almost a month away! If there is anything you want me to post about, please comment or email me at spellingchamp135@gmail.com. 

Some Tips:

• Before going on stage, do not absorb lists of words into your head that you will most likely not receive, especially during the Round 1 Test, Semifinals, and Championship Finals.
• Do not think about the bell when you are spelling a word, because if you think about it, you will be worried and most likely misspell your word.
• Think of all the possible spellings for the word you receive.
• If you do not know a word, use your knowledge of etymology patterns to figure out the spelling (this includes roots and combining forms).
• Block out the entire audience when you are spelling your word.
• Ask proper questions and think the entire time - you only have two minutes and thirty seconds to spell your word.

After my spelling bee career was over, there was a lot that I had moved onto other things such as high school, the Science Fair, returning to theater (professional and amateur), babysitting, leadership skills, music and audio recordings, filmography, return to dance, and so much more! During my Bee years I had choir, flute, other musical instruments, sports, and so much more, but after all that time, more activities were added, and I have had to keep a 4.0 GPA, or else the consequences would be severe. Think about what you will do after your Bee years, because life is not all about the Spelling Bee.

I thought everything would change after my spelling bee career, but very little changed. I have been more dedicated to my school studies more than ever, and I have been studying words still, even if it is no longer for the National Spelling Bee. There are many esoteric words I have to learn in my Biology, Math, English, Geography/Ancient Civilizations, and other classes. 

My sister, friends, and one of my cousins have been studying for the Bee, and one of these years I hope at least one of them will make it to the National Spelling Bee and possibly take the championship. 

I wish all spellers the best of luck and may you all do well!