Champs in attendance

Champs in attendance

The 75th Vindicator Regional Spelling Bee drew 70 individual school champions from across the region to the Kilcawley Center at Youngstown State University on Saturday. Of the 70, only one speller had to be replaced by her school’s runner-up. Shannon Lytle from Volney Rogers Middle School was replaced by William Spencer.

Hundreds of words ready

The bee had a list of 500 words ready to be used to determine the regional grand champion but needed only 207 to get the job done. Nearly half of the spellers went out in the first round.

Being a good sport

John Umble, last year’s grand champion and this year’s runner-up, was again a perfect example of good sportsmanship. After spelling his word correctly in the first round, John found himself sitting at the end of a row of chairs so that every speller who spelled correctly after him had to pass by. He tried to give each one a smile and a “thumbs up” gesture. When he lost in the 25th round, he said the winner, Hannah Stang Gerdes, deserved the win. She was better able to interpret the pronunciation of that word that he missed, he said.

Contestant statistics

This year’s event drew 32 girls and 38 boys as school champions. For about 50 of them, it was a first-time appearance at the regional event. Last year, a boy won. This year, it was a girl.

Lots of R-E-S-P-E-C-T

The audience, as always, was well-behaved and attentive. They listened quietly while each speller performed and then applauded each one, whether they had spelled their word correctly or not. As the event wore on, many of the several hundred people in the room left as their speller was eliminated from the tournament. They did so quietly, showing respect for those still in the running.

Bee to be re-broadcast

Local television station WFMJ Channel 21, taped the spelldown for re-broadcast at a later date. Check your television listings for the date and time.

Something for everyone

No one goes away from the contest empty-handed. Every participant is handed prizes, including a collegiate dictionary, a T-shirt, a school champion certificate and other mementos. Second- and third-place finishers won additional prizes.

What the winner receives

As the grand champion, Hannah Stang Gerdes wins an all-expense paid trip for herself and a parent to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., at the end of May. She also receives $100 U.S. Savings Bonds from the Rotary Club of Youngstown, the Downtown Kiwanis Club and the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award. She gets a first-place trophy, a watch from Smith and Co. Jewelry Store, a floral arrangement from Burkland Flowers, a copy of “These Hundred Years — A Chronicle of the Twentieth Century” from The Vindicator and other prizes.