By Bill Straub
Scripps Howard News Service
The words got tougher -- much tougher -- during the second public round of the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Wednesday but both representatives from Greater Cincinnati proved up to the task.
Madeline Stevens, 14, an eighth grader at Batesville (Ind.) Middle School was presented with the challenge of spelling the word "coacervate,'' meaning, as the announcer explained, an aggregate of colloidal droplets held together by electrostatic attractive forces.
Despite the confusing definition, and after practicing how to pronounce the word and asking for its origin -- Latin -- Madeline persevered and spelled it correctly, halting after the COA to compose her thoughts.
Tino Delamerced who, like Madeline, is sponsored by WCPO-TV, channel 9 in Cincinnati, was presented with the word "pogrom,'' a Russian-Yiddish word meaning the massacre of helpless people. After asking for alternative pronunciations -- there were five -- Tino quickly spelled the word without hesitation.
Both Madeline and Tino must now wait to determine if they qualify for the third round, which begins on Thursday. Selection will be based on performance during the two public rounds and a written test that participants took during Tuesday's session.
This year's Scripps National Spelling Bee attracted a record 293 spellers to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington DC for the event sponsored by The E.W. Scripps Co., which also owns WCPO-TV channel 9 in Cincinnati.
