NATIONAL BEE Practice has made perfect for spellers in Washington

The Vindicator bee winner was eliminated in the first round.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Jodie Singer knows commitment. She also knows ecclesiology and machicolation and many other more difficult words.
But to get an A in the nation's spelling bee, you better start with "c" -- commitment. That means knowing more than how many of those nettlesome m's and t's are in the word.
It means practice, whenever you can fit it in, even if you have to learn myxomatosis and tournedos with a younger brother's foot in your face.
Jodie, 11, is one of 251 pupils to advance to the 76th Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee, beginning today in her hometown of Washington, D.C.
Her goal is to clear the first round, which means getting one word right.
Not a low expectation, she says, just a realistic one. Her competitors faced tougher words in their states, and many have competed at the national level before. Two spellers, Sai Gunturi of Texas and Kelsey Swaim of West Virginia, are attending their fourth national bee.
"I know people are expecting a lot," said Jodie, a sixth-grader with a smile full of braces. "I know I'm probably not going to win -- I'm not. But other people who have no clue how hard the nationals are, how hard the words are, they think I'm a really good speller. They think I'll do really well. It's a lot of pressure."
Last year, it took 11 rounds to declare a winner.
Valley spellers
This year's spellers range in age from 8 to 15, although most are 13 and in eighth grade. The majority, 167, attend public school, including The Vindicator Regional Spelling Bee winner, Kelly Morckel. The 14-year-old eighth-grader at West Branch Junior High School is the first West Branch pupil to win The Vindicator's bee in its 70-year history. She misspelled jicara in the first round, spelling it h-i-e-k-a-r-a., this morning. Jicara is a cup or bowl made from the fruit of the calabash tree.
Devinne Dietz, representing Columbiana County, survived the first round, spelling quebrada. Michael Talanca, representing Trumbull County, was eliminated in the first round, misspelling chiral, which means designating or of a three-dimensional form, as a molecule, that cannot be superimposed on its mirror image. Michael spelled it c-a-i-r-o-l.
Among the competitors today are 19 who have had at least one sibling participate in a previous national bee. The winner's main prize will be $12,000, and all other spellers will receive a range of cash awards depending upon their performance.
Strategy
As for Jodie, on her way to the finals she practiced a 500-word list so much that she could spell many words after hearing one syllable. The sheet went wherever she did, including on a trip to the ice rink, where her mom, Carrie, quizzed her as they put on skates.
After winning the District of Columbia contest in March, Jodie stopped spelling for two weeks, a break she now regrets. Oculogyric, dolichoid, serrulate -- the words stacked up.
So the practice returned, at home and at school, around Hebrew school, dance class, Girl Scouts, homework and, naturally, "American Idol."
One day, while her 5-year-old brother Adam napped, Jodie breezed through her words. Then came fomorian.
Head in hand, eyes closed, she concentrated.
"Is it a ph?" she said. "Is it an f?"
Such trial and error won't be allowed on stage. A speller may ask, however, for a word's definition, pronunciation and other relevant clues. The best spellers are word detectives, not memorizers, said 1981 champ and bee Director Paige Kimble.