Sanchali Heads to the National Scripps Bee

When someone mentions the Scripps Spelling Bee, what comes to mind? Endless lists of words you aren’t sure exist? Grueling days spent wading through word roots and origin languages? I am here with eighth-grader Sanchali B. to demystify the world of spelling, and reveal the secrets of a pro speller. Sanchali not only won the Lakeside spelling bee in February, she won the King/Snohomish County Regional Spelling Bee, and is heading to the national competition in Washington DC in June. 

Q: Have you always been interested in words and spelling?

A: I didn’t know much about spelling until 7th grade, when I placed 3rd in our school spelling bee. As for words, I always liked to read… and I talked to my parents about it too. They told me when I was a toddler… we had these huge posters of the Gujarati and English alphabets and I would stare at them for hours. 

Q: Do you think being bilingual is an advantage at spelling bees?

A: I can’t speak Gujarati, but I can understand it. Being bilingual is a pretty big advantage. Honestly, Latin is probably the most useful language to take if you’re thinking about participating in spelling bees. Tons of the spelling words are from Latin or Greek.

Q: Could you explain what the Scripps Spelling Bee is, and how to get in?

A: The Scripps Spelling Bee is a national spelling bee, though there are some kids from other countries too. First, you must win the school bee. Then, you have to take an online test to go to the regional bee. If you win that, you go to Scripps!

Q: Was this process stressful for you?

A: I didn’t study for the classroom bee, but for the school one, I memorized one page of words. I won, and was like “shoot, now what?” I looked at the words on the additional pages, and memorized half of them. Afterwards, I went to the regionals and none of the words I studied were there. I started to stress more, and I did not think I would win.

Q: How do you feel about attending the Scripps Spelling Bee?

A: I mean, it’s cool I’ve made it this far, though I don’t plan on winning, because those kids have practiced for years, but I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be a cool experience. 

Q: Did you expect to get into Scripps, or get that far?

A: I didn’t expect to win the classroom one! Winning the school bee was awesome. I thought there was no way I’d pass the online test, let alone win regionals, so this was pretty surprising.

Q: What are you planning to do to prepare for Scripps?

A: I have a spelling coach. He scares me, but he does know a lot. He lives in Ohio, and I call him once a week to practice. Then he sends me a list of the words and roots we covered. Apparently, everyone has a spelling coach. The main focus is learning Greek and Latin roots. There’s also this thing called “new Latin,” which is basically where Greek and Latin have a demon child and everything is ruined forever.

Q: What kind of words are in the bee?

A: Greek, Latin, French. English, of course. There is minimal Hindi/Sanskrit, but a lot of German. I’m probably screwed for the word meaning rounds…

Q: You mentioned rounds with definitions just now, so I’m wondering what kinds of rounds are in Scripps.

A: School bees are just spelling; the online tests are half spelling, half vocab; the regionals were all spelling, and the nationals have spelling, and if you spell the word right, they ask you a vocab question. And then it’s like an alternating format. 

Make sure to watch ESPN on June 1st to see Sanchali hopefully spell her way to victory!