Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Which word would spell victory for youths in Nevada bee?

Spelling bee

Adwoa Fosu

The top 35 spellers in Nevada compete Saturday in the state spelling bee. The winner, Daniel Taylor, will be Nevada’s representative in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.

A-n-x-i-e-t-y.

That is what filled the air Saturday morning as the top 35 spellers in Nevada gathered in the theater at Bishop Gorman High School for the annual state spelling bee.

Under the glow of the yellow stage lights, the contestants, who ranged in age from 11 to 14, awaited their chance to earn the distinction as Nevada’s representative in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. The Greenspun Media Group sponsored the Nevada contest.

Some fiddled their fingers as they as sat, anticipating the long walk to the mic, where pronouncer Kendall Tenney would deliver a word that would seal their fate.

What had begun as a competition among thousands of children from across the state at the schoolwide and districtwide level had almost come to an end. The only thing standing in the way of these contestants and a trip to D.C. were words.

“It’s a little intimidating that they can spell these words — some I’ve never seen — but they’re all just regular kids,” spelling bee director Melinda Brown said.

The competition words are provided by Scripps. Every state bee is given the same packet of words.

One by one, the contestants showed their skills, at first spelling words such as “nostril” and “chipotle.”

With each round, however, the words became increasingly difficult as the contestants were faced with the likes of “klompen” (clog shoes from the Netherlands), “umlaut” (a mark used over a vowel) and “sevruga” (a large, primitive fish).

In order to help determine spelling, participants could ask for a word’s definition, alternate pronunciation and origin. They could also ask to hear the word used in a sentence.

The competition also included a vocabulary round in which contestants had to choose the best definition for a word.

For every nervous child on stage, there was an even more nervous parent in the audience.

Whispered cheers and claps permeated the theater as contestants walked back to their seats after correctly spelling a word.

Sympathetic sighs followed those whose spelling bee run had come to an end.

“I’ve gotten used to (the nervousness) now,” said Manodnya Vakil, mother of third-place finisher Eshaan Vakil. “It’s a very high-pressure competition, but there’s an element of luck.”

Her son, a student at Clark County’s Hyde Park Middle School, prepared for the event by reading for at least two hours every day.

His choice in books spans a wide field of interests, from 1913’s "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu to Homer’s "Iliad."

“I’ve been reading my entire life, so a lot of words I’ve accumulated through knowledge,” said Eshaan Vakil, who learned how to read before he could walk.

Whenever he comes across an unfamiliar word, he first attempts to figure out its meaning by using the context around it.

Afterward, he and his parents look up the word’s definition.

Onstage, where his resources are limited, Vakil likes to ask for a word’s origin.

“I’ve associated certain roots and spelling with origins of languages,” he said.

Although he was disappointed with his third-place finish, Vakil was ready to begin preparing for next year’s competition. His parents, however, were “extremely proud” of his accomplishment.

After Vakil’s elimination, the competition came down to Douglas County’s Daniel Taylor and Ethan Goroza of the Diocese of Las Vegas.

In the final stage, the contestants had to correctly spell a championship word in addition to a normal regulation-round word in order to be named the winner.

For Taylor, the championship word was “boson,” a scientific word describing a particle that follows Bose-Einstein statistics.

The eighth-grader will travel to Washington in May to compete in the national competition.

Brown, who has been directing the state bee for the past nine years, believes programs such as these are important to keep around.

“There are so many opportunities for kids in athletics and so much emphasis put on winning (in athletics),” Brown said. “Many kids out there challenge themselves intellectually, and they should be rewarded for that.”

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