The Finals!

I hope you were able to watch the finals on ESPN, it was a great competition! Keshav, his father and I tried our hands at spelling along with the spellers in the semifinals; I didn't bother even trying during the finals. These Kidd are just great spellers! It's apparent the they not only study spelling rules regarding language of origin, but the also spend time studying root words. There were several times when it was apparent that a speller really didn't know the word they were asked to spell. But, after asking for definition, language of origin, pronunciation and root words, they would take there best educated guess and sometimes get it right. Being a part of live television is interesting. They announce when they are in a "2 minute commercial break" and we'd get up and stretch, or hurry out to bathrooms or for water. We'd get the announcement about 30 seconds before we'd come back on air, giving everyone time to settle back down. And, they do come out with an "applause" sign right before we'd go back on air, so it seems that something must have happened while the commercials were on. When we were down to the last three spellers, we were in a 25 word countdown. If at the end of those 25 words there were still two spellers left, they would have become co-champions. This was the third year at the bee for Pranav, and the fourth year for Arvind and Sriram. Arvind was third last year and the year before. He said that both times he was eliminated by a German word and called it his German curse. When he got a German word as one of the last 25 words, we were all aware that if he spelled it wrong, he'd once again finish third! The audience let out a collective sigh and he chuckled, so we kind of laughed with him. This time he spelled it correctly. Then it was another German word that won him the Championship! He now calls it his "German blessing." I was very impressed by the work that these kids did and the poise they showed on stage. All three of the boys at the end are 13 years old, Pranav and Arvind are eighth graders and Sriram is in seventh grade. All of the finalists were in sixth grade or older; some of them have made it to the National Bee several years in a row. All the contestants deserved their chance here. Keshav is determined to come back next year. He has been inspired by the older spellers. I'm glad I had the opportunity to be here with him. Tonight's the banquet, then we all head for home tomorrow.