Regina Bish misspells her word in round six of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., yesterday, which knocked her out of the competition. Regina finished tied for 16th place. - Photo by Bill ClarkJamaica's Spelling Bee champion, Regina Bish, finished tied for 16th place at the 80th Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., yesterday.
Regina started the day with 58 other spellers and moved on to round six by spelling 'chromotrichial' which means 'pertaining to the colouring of hair'. Thirty-three spellers made it to that round after a little over two hours and 20 minutes. Unfortunately, she misspelled 'sardanapalian' which means 'excessively luxurious or sensual'. Had she spelled the word correctly, she would have made it to the championship round last night.
"I still feel good. I'm a first timer and I beat 18 repeat spellers including Samir (Patel) who was here five times. Plus, I fell out on a word that I had never seen before, so I feel comfortable," said Regina afterward. Even veteran coach, the Rev. Glen Archer, had trouble finding the word's origin. Regina admitted she was a little nervous at the beginning of the competition because she was unsure what words she was going to get, but gradually calmed down.
proud of her performance
Karin Cooper, The Gleaner's corporate affairs and marketing manager who represented the company at the competition expressed pride in Regina's performance.
"Regina has displayed the dignity, brilliance and discipline that The Gleaner tries to foster in our children through its many educational programmes and products. Of the 15 spellers who made it to the championship round, 11 of them had competed at least twice before," Mrs. Cooper said. Regina, her mother Janice Manning, coach Rev. Archer and Mrs. Cooperwill return to the island on Saturday.
