Anxious spellers approached a panel of judges, each student too tall or too short for the microphone stand.
Many inscribed letters on their palms with their fingertips as they spelled out loud. Their voices quivered as they stood in front of the judges.
The IU Media School and IU School of Education sponsored the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee on Saturday at the Monroe County Public Library.
The winner of the competition, seventh-grade Tara Ganguly of Tri-North Middle School, will be going to the national competition in Washington, D.C. in May.
The regional bee consisted of elementary and middle school students from Brown, Monroe, Morgan and Owen counties. The bee lasted 20 rounds.
Director of the bee Teresa White said this bee was longer than any she had ever been to before. She said it was a testament to how well-prepared the students were.
There were a total of 27 spellers at the bee. Each one was a champion at his or her respective school.
Ganguly was last year’s runner-up in the same competition.
She was finally able to claim the victory when she correctly spelled the championship word, “nautical,” after 20 rounds of competition.
As the pronouncer gave her the final word, Ganguly smiled as she easily spelled it.
“I was kinda stressed out and worried,” Ganguly said after the competition. “I wanted to do well.”
Ganguly said she studied for a month for this competition.
Contestants were eliminated one by one until there were only four spellers remaining.
Then the judges and announcer conceded that moving ahead to more difficult words would be necessary.
The regional bee used to be sponsored by local newspapers, but due to print media’s decline in funding, Scripps has sought universities to sponsor regional bees, White said.
It becomes the regional sponsor’s job to organize the bee and to raise money for prizes which include airfare, lodging and meals for the trip to nationals for the victor and one family member of his or her choosing, White said.
Along with the trip to the national capital, the winner received a copy of Merriam-Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, a 2016 United States Mint Proof Set and other prizes.
Ganguly said she is excited for Washington, D.C. and her hardest word to spell was “vengeance.”
Judges at the bee included IU Media School faculty Gena Asher, Tom French and Anne Kibbler.
The pronouncer for the regional competition was Herald-Times retiree Allan Murphy.
The competition was recorded by Community Access Television Services and will air soon.
