There is a CS thread about the 8-way tie in the National Spelling Bee, which got me to wondering how many Dopers we have who have competed in spelling bees.
When I was in 8th grade I placed second in our school’s spelling bee and missed the chance to represent our school in the city-wide spelling bee. I still remember the word I lost on: “wondrous”. (I stuck an “e” in the middle.) It wasn’t until after I lost that I found out all the other competitors had received a packet of prep materials when they signed up. For some reason I never got one.
I came in third at my elementary school’s annual spelling bee. I spelled organization with an ‘s’ instead of a ‘z’. Apparently I was an anglophile before I even realised it
No, I’m not sure it is really a thing in the UK, I certainly never came across anything like it during my school years (far be it for me to blow my own trumpet but I would probably have been one of the students in the frame for that sort of thing if it did exist)
I posted in the other thread - I’ve always been one of the best spellers I know. Only recall 1 bee. Lost on the word “I” because I didn’t say “capital I”. Thought it stupid then, think it stupid now - 50 years later!
I never competed in a spelling bee precisely because I couldn’t imagine anything more tedious than preparing for it. How words are spelled–in itself–is not particularly interesting. Though I admire the winners, I think preparing for a spelling bee is waste of a child’s time.
A geography bee (as mentioned above) makes much more sense.
Made it past the first round in my school and placed 5th overall. I got eliminated on “ottoman” and it’s not as if I would have gotten it had the judge pronounced it correctly, but despite me asking her to repeat the word, she kept pronouncing it “Auto Man” instead of “autom’n” like I’ve always heard it pronounced, so that’s how I spelled it.
Ended up getting eliminated pretty quickly on “whisk” I spelled it “wisk” (like the laundry detergent). It’s especially annoying because I knew every other word presented. I like to think I would have won if I didn’t do laundry as a kid.
We had them in grade school. I would spell the word correctly but would forget to say the word after I spelled it. I thought that was a pretty stupid rule and lost interest.
I was VERY shy and quiet in elementary school so volunteering to be in the spelling bee wouldn’t even have occurred to me. My 4th-grade teacher came up to me one day and said, “you’re going to be in the spelling bee”. :eek: I didn’t protest because I was too shy! I was a good speller so that’s probably why she thought I should participate. We had no prep that I can recall. Everyone gathered in the gym one day and the spelling bee commenced. I remember being so nervous and scared. I don’t remember how many words I spelled correctly - it could have been a dozen or it could have been one. I do remember what I misspelled - bouquet. I remember my mind going completely blank like I had never even heard of the word. Bouquet? What’s a bouquet?
I think I spelled it with a “kay” at the end. It was over, thank God. I’m sure I was so relieved - it was better than winning.
2nd grade. Classroom of 50 souls. 46 pupils bit the dust, one-by-one. Fingernails were bitten. Teeth were gnashed. Fists were clenched. Tension thickened. The word “account” took out three of the remaining four. Myself included. Does that put us in second place or fourth place? Revenge was plotted against the winner. Catholics are not allowed to revenge. Confession was attended. Soul was cleansed. End of story.
I was almost always the last one standing in class spelling competitions. I was supposed to compete for my junior high’s bee, but was terrified of losing, so stayed home “sick” that day. The kid who had to go in my place lost in the first round.
Won my grade school’s spelling bee when I was in the 6th grade and qualified for the city wide spelling bee. Didn’t get to go, my mother thought spending the evening at the local tavern was more important.
Fortunately for me, my preparation was minimal. I’ve always been able to spell. My problem was getting up in front of everyone.
Anyway, I was the best speller in my school and it was no contest. I got 10th place in the regional qualifier for the National Spelling Bee because once they got down to the last ten they rearranged everything and I was front and center instead of in the back and I panicked. If it were a written test or I hadn’t had such stage fright I probably would have won.
For the record, the word I got out on was squalid. I went with two Ls because HOLY HELL LIGHTS CAMERAS GET ME OUT OF HERE flustered me. I knew I was wrong as soon as I said the second L but according to the rules there’s no going back.
I finished second in was it 7th grade? Maybe 8th grade? I don’t recall any prep materials, but we also didn’t have crazy-ass words like you see at the Scripps spelling be. I can’t remember how big the spelling bee was, but it was not just our school. Maybe our ward? I do remember a plaque with our Alderman’s name on it. Anyhow, the word I choked on was an easy one: “chronology.” I started out “C-H-R-O-N” paused for a breath or two, and I guess I had thought I had stopped after the second “O” and not the “N”, as I finished “L-O-G-Y” and was buzzed as wrong. I had no idea what I did, until I was informed I missed the second “O.” Stupid brain fart!
Fifth grade. Won the fourth-fifth-sixth grade spelling bee in the school. Winning word “potassium.” Went to the district-wide spelling bee and lost out on “aggregate” because I didn’t understand that what the word guy said was that same word.
At least I didn’t do what another contestant did and drop out on “yellow,” because ē was so nervous ē started with “W.” Ē knew how to spell “yellow.” I never liked the rule that you could rub out your answer and start over if you made a mistake. “W … no! … Y-E-L-L-O-W” should count as a correct answer.
