WASHINGTON — No one has mastered the look of spelling-bee despair better than 10-year-old Veronica Penny.
The Canadian with the long blond hair buried her head deep in her hands each time she was presented with a word Thursday at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She did it not once, not twice, but three times — the third time for a full 20 seconds — while contemplating the word “paleethnology” in the quarterfinals.
“It looks like she’s going to cry,” said her mother, Pam Penny. “But she’s not. She’s just thinking.”
So, yes, the moment of drama had a positive outcome. Veronica flawlessly spelled the word — it has to do with the study of early humans — putting the first-time participant from Ancaster, Ontario, among 45 spellers who advanced into Friday’s semifinals, thus earning a spot on national television.
The 81st edition of the bee began early in the day with a record 288 spellers in a competition that has truly hit the big time, inspiring movies, books and a Broadway musical. ESPN will again broadcast the semifinals, and today’s two-hour finals will be aired live in prime time on ABC.
Thursday began with the preliminary round, when all the spellers received their one guaranteed moment in the spotlight. There was the familiar mix of moments comical and nerve-racking as boys and girls ages 8 to 15 tackled words such as “ambuscade” and “Manhattanese.”
While the spellers who survived Thursday’s rounds were happy to remain in the running for the title, many expressed an increasingly common sentiment that reflects the bee’s popularity.
“I’m glad,” said Matthew Evans of Albuquerque, “to have made it to ESPN.”
Local spellers
Broomfield resident Jake Smith, 13, remained in the Scripps National Spelling Bee after four rounds, while Alec Ryan Smith, 11, of Highlands Ranch misspelled “spatiography” in the second round.
Jake, an eighth-grader at Aspen Creek K-8 School, advanced to round five. To get there, he correctly spelled “clairaudient,” “ampulla” and “decorum.”
Jake is sponsored by the Daily Camera in Boulder.
Alec Ryan Smith, a sixth-grader at Summit View Elementary School, was sponsored by the Rocky Mountain News in Denver. He gave the spelling “spaciography” for “spatiography.”
