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Do you have any idea what the words "psammophile," "moorhen", "Murraya," "odylic," "cernuous," "palama," "pendeloque," "aiguillette," "bougainvillea," "auslaut" and "erysipelas" have in common?
They are the winning words in the Scripps National Spelling Bee going back to 2019, when officials declared an eight-way tie for first place.
And while it is not possible to predict the word this year's champion will be asked to spell, it's a safe bet that all of the words that will be part of the 96th national bee will present a challenge to the 245 spellers who make up this year's field.
It's a roster that will include Brheanna Daiz Boyles. A 12-year-old fifth-grader at Buckeye South Elementary School, Boyles won her spot in the national competition on March 9, when she stood at center stage in the auditorium at Buckeye North Elementary School and correctly spelled the word "fastuous," an adjective meaning ostentatious or showy, to win the Jefferson-Harrison County Regional Spelling Bee Presented by the Herald-Star.
The national bee will take place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in the Washington, D.C., suburb of National Harbor, Md., and just earning the right to be a part of it is an accomplishment. According to Scripps, which has sponsored the event since 1925, millions of pupils from across the United States and other parts of the world began preparing for the bee when school opened in August. They survived classroom, school, district and regional competitions to win their spots.
Make no mistake, the bee is a serious competition -- the champion will receive $50,000 in cash, a commemorative medal and the Scripps Cup. The winner also will receive $2,500 in cash and a reference library from Merriam-Webster, $400 in reference works from Encyclopaedia Britannica, a $350 prize package from SugarBee Apple and $1,000 in Scholastic dollars to be donated to the school of the champion's choice.
Even more important than the spelling, though, will be everything that makes up Bee Week, which runs Sunday through Friday.
There will be opportunities for Boyles and her family to make new friends and participate in tours of the Washington, D.C., area and many other activities.
Preliminary rounds in the competition will run from 8 a.m. to 7:40 p.m. Tuesday, with the quarterfinals scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday. Those rounds will be telecast on Ion-Plus. Semifinals are scheduled to run from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday, with the finals scheduled for 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday. Both of those rounds can be seen on Ion.
Boyles, the daughter of Rhea and Stephen Boyles of Rayland, will be one of 103 girls participating in the national bee this year. There will 141 boys (one person chose not to answer the question from Scripps.)
She will be one of 18 fifth-graders. The majority of the participants -- 108 -- are eighth-graders. There will be 72 seventh-graders, 38 sixth-graders, six fourth-graders and three third-graders. Joining Boyles will be 45 12-year-olds. The majority of the field -- 89 spellers -- are 13 years old. There also will be 69 14-year-olds, 26 11-year-olds, eight 10-year-olds and five 9-year-olds. The youngest speller will be 8, and the oldest will be 15.
Other spellers from our region in the national event will include Marissa Gatewood, a 13-year-old seventh-grader from Salem Junior High School, and Drake Finnicum, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Bellaire Middle School.
The Jefferson County Educational Service Center and the Herald-Star have presented our region's spelling bee since 1985. Ron Sismondo, the director of curriculum and professional development at the service center, again coordinated the regional bee. Sponsors included Tri-State Financial Services, Special Tactics and Rescue Training, Borden Office Equipment, PNC Bank, the Mingo Junction Knights of Columbus, Encino Energy, Gary W. Cain Realtors and Auctioneers, Ascent Resources and the Ohio Lottery Commission. Additional support comes from national prize donors, including Merriam-Webster Inc. and Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Academic competitions such as the spelling bee help to bring out the best in young people, and they teach important skills. Thanks to hard work and dedication, Brheanna Boyles has been able to reach the elite level of spellers, and we wish her well as she heads to Washington.