Another year of the National Spelling Bee approaches, I,
like many other ardent fans of the Bee (which I learned today is not meant to
be the “bee” like a bug but a “gathering” of people, in this case to spell
words), are scanning the list of semifinalists that remain in the competition
after today’s preliminary rounds. While trying to understand how the requisite
Jamaican speller didn’t make it this year (They make it EVERY YEAR! It’s the
addition of the vocab testing, I tell ya! It’s gotta be the vocab testing!)
most of the expected names are on there, I harken back to what made “Spellbound”
the documentary, “The American Bee,” and each annual nationally televised
spelling bee great every year: the stories. It’s impossible not to forget Nupur
Lala’s story of how she beat out 3 7th graders at her local competition
in 1999 just to qualify, nor how Kerry Close won in 2006 while pictures of her
sailing and running with her dog in surburban New Jersey played in the
background, nor the drawls of Marshall Winchester practicing spelling with his
family in South Carolina. These are the stories that we’re interested in at the
Spelling Bee, kids that we can relate to. Personally, I know each time the “National
spelling bee list of spellers” is posted each April or so, I immediately scan
1.) which favorites from last year are back, then 2.) who is representing
Camarillo, CA or Dupage County, Illinois, where I’m from. I also actually read
the biographies because they bring a real-life story to what otherwise would
just be a numbered contestant in a whole list of names.
This year, among the semifinalists, we have
1.)
Katharine Wang, from Shanghai, China (man, is
China trying to send representatives to every event in the world?) who candidly
admits she “fails at sports.” Lol, welcome to my world, and thank you for being
humble.
2.)
Himanvi Kopuri from Denver, Colorado (was just
there, great mountain views) participates in “Math Kangaroo programs” and “Brain
Bowl.” Man whatever those are they sound intense.
3.)
Anuk Dayaprema is from the European PTA, seems
like a military school. His hometown doesn’t even have a second part, just “Vincenza.”
Actually definitely seems like a threat despite never having seen him before,
seems his discipline and maturity should play a factor regardless of
experience.
4.)
Grace Remmer. Favorite. Definitely will get a
video cuz she apparently lives Disney World. ESPN covered that story and will
be rooting for Grace to get to prime time this year, I’m sure.
5.)
Alia Abiad: everyone should have a 96-year-old
great grandmother, just for the wisdom.
6.)
Piper Winkler: excellent name choice, mom and
dad. Also goes to Elgin Academy, close to where I grew up. Sentimental favorite
for me.
7.)
Vanya Shivashankar: we’ve known her story since
2008 (only started competing in 2010 after sister Kavya won in 2009) but this
may be the first year she’s a serious contender; she’s got a luxury most top
spellers wish they had: a 3-year window to win.
8.)
Emily Keaton: everything about her says
Kentucky. Always nice to have a southern presence in the bee.
9.)
Gokul Venkatachalam’s favorite book is “Crocodile
Tears, the eighth novel in the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. Lol,
fairly specific book choice there, no? For the record, I also liked the 10th
novel in the Redwall series “Marlfox.”
10.) Ashwin
Veeramani: More and more, we see spellers’ siblings from previous years
participate, and a bunch of these spellers beat out their siblings in regional
bees to get to the National Spelling Bee. This year we have both the 2009 and
2010 winners’ siblings in the field. Meanwhile, my own sister forsake my advice
to do the spelling bee and played Pokemon instead.
11.) Shayley
Martin: says she helps her family raise chickens and maintain a greenhouse
where they grow fruit and vegetables. That is awesome! And talk about
diversity, this year we have a farming kid from Riner, Virginia in the field
(no pun intended!)
12.) Sophia
Limacher: perfect prototype for a darkhorse candidate to make the finals,
making the trek way out from the Pacific Northwest (Seattle) in the first year
at the Bee, but a perfect score at the 2010 National Latin Exam shows
dedication.
Finally, we have the story of Sriram Hathwar and Arvind
Mahankali, the two (apparently ) good friends who have literally grown up
together at the bee for the last 5 years. (Sriram was in the semifinals of the
Bee in 2008! SIX BEES AGO!) They’ll be sitting next to each other at the bee
tomorrow and basically going head to head round after round, until (I predict)
they meet in the finals. It’s been a great story for both, as year after year
they contend for the title and get even better at spelling, until this year, it
all comes to a head, the Sriram Train v. the Arvind Express, mano a mano.
Unlike other 5-year favorites who just got unlucky at the wrong time, I believe
one of these guys is walking up to the mike and getting the last word, sealing
his story in spelling bee lore. It’ll be
a great one.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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