Madeline Stevens didn't win the Scripps 2009 National Spelling Bee, but she had a great time competing. Below, the eighth-grade student at Batesville Middle School shares her thoughts on the experience: It is time... All the preparations have been made. The stage is set and the cameras are rolling. The lights come on. At last, it is time for the annual gathering of word nerds from across the country and across the globe. This is an eighty-two-year-old American tradition broadcast live to your television screen. This is Wordstock.
This is the National Spelling Bee.
Some of the spellers have been here twice, thrice, four times before. Others, like myself, are first-timers. I am in the eighth grade, my last year of eligibility. It is my first and my last year in this magnificent contest. Let us stroll through the streets of Spellville, shall we?
On the first day is the Great American Barbecue. All the spellers and their families load onto buses and are driven to a place of food, fun, and festivities. There is a buffet and picnic tables; inflatables, volleyball, and soccer; arts n’ crafts, softball, and of course, karaoke. (It can’t be a party without karaoke!)
All throughout the week, spellers approach each other with the same request: “Will you sign my book?” The autograph book, or “Bee Keeper”, has a page for each and every speller. They go in alphabetical order by state and contain pictures, hometowns, and fun facts about each speller. When asked to sign, you simply swap books, go to your page, and add your John Hancock next to your picture. What a great way to meet kids from all over! Among the signatures in my book are kids from such exotic places as South Korea, China, New Zealand, and Minnesota. (The Minnesota kids all say it’s a bit cold back home.)
The next day starts with the Round One computer test. You go into a room full of computers, each one with little walls around it to prevent cheating. It is dead silent in there. The only sound comes from fingers tapping away on keyboards. Even with that, it is still so, so quiet. They give you headphones and you click on a button to start the test.
The words range in difficulty from “freckle” to “onychorrhexis”. You click to hear each of the fifty words (only twenty-five will be counted) recited in Dr. Jacques Bailly’s trademark monotone. They have the definition, part of speech, language of origin, and a sample sentence. All you have to do is type the word in the little box. After fifty words, you slip out of the room, quiet as a mouse.
The next day is the Preliminaries. This is where everyone gets to spell two words onstage. Each word is worth three points, and they add that to your score out of the twenty-five score words from the computer test. Here you sit on that famous stage, and at least one round this year was broadcast on espn360.com.
The experience is just electrifying. You’re on a big, high stage with hundreds of people watching you, and as you hear everyone else’s words all you can think is “Ohmygosh what if I get a word like that at least I’m not getting that word thank goodness I won’t get that word I should’ve studied more hey I could spell that word uh-oh my turn...”
They have three “x”s marked on the floor of the stage, one behind the other. There are always four people out of their seats; three on the “x”s and one at the microphone. As you stand on the stage you’re still thinking, but it’s not quite as jumbled. Then it’s your turn. You step up to the microphone. It is completely silent except for cameras going off. There is a pause, and your mind suddenly goes as blank as fresh copy paper. Then Dr. Bailly leans forward into his mic and gives you your word.
“Coacervate.”
“Coacervate?”
“Yes.”
You ask for the definition, part of speech, language of origin, can you use it in a sentence, may I have the language of definition, please? Part of sentence?
Then the gears start turning again. Is is coacervate or coascervate? SC or C? Maybe it’s S, no that’s not it what is it then is is c or sc c or sc c’mon think think think...
Once you settle on a spelling that seems right, you lean towards the microphone as cameras flash and judges wait patiently and thousands of eyes are all fixed on you.
“C-O-A...” Uh-oh. Here goes. “...C-E-R-V-A-T-E. Coacervate.”
The judges nod, and you return triumphantly to your seat. You’re not holding the trophy yet, but you’re one step closer to the ultimate glory a word nerd can achieve.
And this is just the tip of the National Spelling Bee iceberg. Even though I didn’t advance past the Preliminaries, I know that after this come the Semifinals and the Championship Finals, which are shown on TV. So if you’re wondering what to watch, flip to the National Spelling Bee. They’re not just word nerds. They’re dictionary dynamos with a passion, a purpose, and a dream. By: Madeline Stevens
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