It looks like this topic got purged at some point in the past, but I guess it's time to start it up again because this year's National Spelling Bee is coming up: early rounds air Wednesday from 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. Eastern on ESPN 2, and Thursday from 10:00 A.M. to noon on ESPN 2 (although that may be a repeat of Wednesday's coverage), and then the final rounds air from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. on ESPN.

And for you major spelling bee fans, ESPN Classic is repeating the final rounds of the 1996, 1998, and 1999 spelling bees from midnight to 6:00 A.M. Eastern Sunday night/Monday morning. (Apparently, since there's a "Cheap Seats" episode with the 1997 spelling bee, the one with Rebecca Sealfon, they're not going to put the full coverage of that one on the schedule.)

Good call on starting up this thread!

Serious spelling-bee viewers should rent the Academy-Award nominated* documentary "Spellbound", which follows eight young teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee. It's a heartwarming, funny documentary, and it makes you appreciate hard work and the American dream.

For more info, see the Internet Movie Database listing and watch the trailer at apple.com. *It lost out to "Bowling for Columbine" for Best Documentary.

Also recommended reading are two columns on ESPN.com's Page2: one from spelling bee host Chris McKendry, and the other from Bill Simmons, the Sports Guy. His running diary is hilarious!

ETA: I'm serious about that italicized endorsement; I'm a pretty cynical guy myself, and "Spellbound" left me feeling good.

I agree that Spellbound is an excellent primer to the NSB. Every time I watch it, I think "When is the next one?" Of course, I'll bet watching the actual spelling bee will drive you crazy, wishing you had background on all of the finalists! I wonder if any of the Spellbound kids will be in the finals this year around. That would be nice.

PS: When you look for it, make sure to get the 2002 Documentary, not the 1945 Hitchcock film. Both great movies, but only one gets you excited about the NSB. Oh, and Spellbound was easily a better documentary than Bowling for Columbine, but it's hard to win when you've got Hollywood politics at play in AMPAS.

Good call on starting this up. I was looking at the official website, specifically their full schedule, and noticed that round one on Tuesday is a 25-question spelling test. Wednesday is rounds two through four - apparently they announce the results of round one and round two together. So I guess the kids are guaranteed at least one chance to get up to the mike and spell something, before they sort things out and get serious starting with round three. ESPN coverage then starts with round four.

Bump. Anyone watch today? Anything interesting happen?

I saw some of it yesterday, when they went from 65 to 64 spellers. I saw about ten words and could only spell roulade properly. The Jamaican kid who got elimated was much more soft-spoken than last year's girl, who I thought seemed pissed off every time she spelled. I thought they mentioned last year that their coach trains them all to have the same demeanor on the stage. I guess this kid didn't listen.

edited to add: I just got back from physical therapy & spelling bee access. One of the kids fainted while it was his turn to spell a word! He keeled over to his left, stayed down a few seconds, stood up and spelled the word correctly. The next time he was up (round 7) they gave him a stool to sit on, and he's still in it. Don't remember his name, but I'm rooting for him to win. It was a sight to see - I'm sure news stations will replay it, even if he doesn't win.

Great Bee this year. The Fainter, Akshay, was the brother of the 2002 champion, who they kept cutting to watching on the sidelines. Akshay wound up second. He'd use up all of his allotted time, then always manage to spell the word. Until his miss, which I was surprised by. It was a German word with a "vee" sound, which said "W" to me. He spelled it with a v instead. Part of the problem was the new time rule; since he'd used up his two minutes twice already, they gave him only 90 seconds.

Even though everyone was rooting for Akshay, the winner, David, managed to win over the crowd by the end. He kept covering his face with his giant yellow placard, and then he was crying as he spelled his last two words. If he had missed, I'm afraid neither one would've been able to continue.

My favorite word of the day was "vinegarroon" (type of scorpion).

The funny thing about the broadcast is how it's closed-captioned. Whenever a word is pronounced, the captioner types '[word]', as in [contestant says word] or [pronouncer says word]. Makes life simpler for the captioners.

BWAH...the National Spelling Bee is the ultimate nightmare for closed-caption stenographers! It's like a sign-language signer brought in for a speech given by John Moschitta, the world-record fast-talker from the FedEx and Micro Machines commercials...or by Ann Curry, the breathless, fast-talking newsreader on the TODAY show, if you've seen the feedback she gets on that TWoP forum.

I only managed to watch the last thirty minutes of it, but yay David! He seemed so sweet and poised throughout the final rounds and his mother was so proud of him. He also clapped for everybody.
I was wondering why Akshay got the stool to sit on. I was stressed out for him at the end when he had the strict time limit. He also looked like he was going to throw up at any minute, but imagine the pressure of having to follow his champion brother.

It was a great spelling bee, and I saw Akshay faint. To be honest, that scared the hell out of me and I had to stop studying for the test for the moment. I wanted him to win because they said it would the first time siblings won the bee. About the new rule, I actually like it, but the 30 sec rule after the bell, it needs to go. Have three minutes to ask whatever question you want, then you can spell the word. But have a time limit of 60-90 secs. David is a proven champion, although I thought he was going to faint as well with the eyes and heavy breathing, hey that kids. And yes, let me make this unaminous, Spellbound is a great documentary and everyone should see it. I also recommend the bonus section, where they are now. They're still doing great after the competition, especially the drummer kid who makes weird faces.

Who says tough guys don't compete in spelling bees? My man fainted, got up, dusted himself off and spelled a word I never heard of correctly. The disturbing thing was that not a single adult in the building got up to help that boy when he fell. They didn't move a muscle. Only one girl started to walk over to him before he got up.

I watched the last hour or so in prime time replay. I was so glad the fainter got second - he did so well. I remember his brother from two years ago. They both seem to have that robotic thing going on. There was another boy who finished between top ten and five that I was hoping would win. I forget his name, but he was a little white kid with ears that stuck out a lot. David was great too, so I am pleased with the result. I was wondering what the closed captioners did, but my TV doesn't have that option, so thanks for the report.

The fainter, Akshay was interesting to watch. Right after fainting he got right up and spelled his word. How could he have been so focused mentally to not lose his word but so physically drained that he fell down? And he barely moved his lips when spelling. I thought perhaps that none of the kids helped him out because he's competition; they gotta maintain being cutthroat.

What I didn't understand was that Akshay kept his hands in his pockets while walking to the microphone. I would expect that it takes extra energy to walk in that manner. And yet the judges allowed him to sit in a stool even though he made no extra effort to maintain focused? I think that the stool was appropriate, but the kid made no extra effort to retain the focus. But I agree that the time limit killed him. In that way, I feel sorry for him, but not too much.

I liked David because when it was down to the championship words, Akshay I thought was using the stool to his advantage and the other kid with glasses reminded me of Milton from Office Space.

Theoretically, it should be possible for them to give the word list to the captioners ahead of time. ESPN obviously gets the words in advance, since they have the graphics showing the correct spelling and definition that they put on the screen while the kids are spelling.

Some of the words, though, should be familiar to captioners in the first place...to name two I remember from the championship list, "oyez" and "lagniappe," which aren't that unusual. (Yes, I am a captioner, but not a live captioner...whew!)

I knew a word like "lagniappe" would come up at some point, because every year they have a New Orleans word come up. Akshay was the first speller I recall getting one of them correct. They really should study a list of 10-15 words like "roux," "beignet" and "lagniappe" in preparation.

Does anyone remember the name of that cute little kid (I believe of Indian descent) from last year (I think)? He was always extra talkative when he'd get his word. I remember him saying something like, "Is it just me or am I getting all the French words?" I want to say he was one of the youngest kids left in the group and finished pretty high, but didn't win. I was thinking he'd be in it again this year, since he was so young, but didn't see him.

The cute boy from last year is Samir Patel. He made the finals this year as one of the favorites, but went out in one of the earlier rounds.

I watched the repeat of the final rounds tonight. I am so happy David won, though I also liked the kid from North Carolina who talked real fast and got excited after every word he got right. As for Ashkay, I felt sorry for him, as he looked miserable and scared the whole time, and his father looked a bit menacing. The boy that got third talked like the nerd from American Splendor and seemed eerily similar to the chess player type kid in Spellbound.

The announcers need to expand their vocabulary. They described everyone as being nervous and having a poker face, and the latter wasn't true at all. David, however, did have a good poker face until the end when it was obvious he knew the words. Yeah, David.

Yeah, he was on The Great American Celebrity Spelling Bee, acting as the celebs' "lifeline" of sorts. He was hilarious, albeit a touch overconfident (even if deservedly so).

Thanks! Bummer. I was looking forward to seeing him. Very cute. A bit cocky, yes, but entertaining nonetheless.

Ashkay? creeped me out. Sorry, I know he's just a kid, but he has this fairly deep voice and then his lips did not move at all. It was like he was a puppet. And puppets and clowns = childhood trauma.

I thought that the winner showed a great deal of personality and I was happy that he won.

David was on Letterman last night. I haven't seen it yet, but I taped it. He doesn't normally have the spelling bee winner as a guest.

So...no one else thought Ashkay faked the whole fainting thing? I just don't believe anyone could hop right back up like that and spell the word perfectly. I'm not sure why he'd do it, though -- did he think it'd buy him more time? Or was it just to get attention? It was definitely hilarious -- I watched it about ten times on TiVo.

It did crack me up how no one came up to help him. Maybe they were worried it would get him disqualified?

I thought David was adorable.

The girl who spelled next did bend down to ask him if he was okay. They're probably schooled that they're not to leave their seats for any reason, and these are kids who listen to rules. There could have been a fire in that building, and they would have stayed seated.

I think the winner may have thought it was a stalling technique, but he's not going to come out and say it.

I also totally thought the kid faked it. For one thing, people usually fall forward when they faint, not to the side. But more than that, the wide-eyed expression on his face just seemed forced to me.

Mad props to the girl that went to help him, though. She may not have been crowned champion, but she was truly the big winner that day. Her parents should be proud.

Add another person to the list of people who think he fainted. I know the last time I fainted, I couldn't pick myself up like that in no time flat. I had to just lay there for a minute or two. That and I had like three people to help me get up. The rest of the kids in class just sat there until my teacher told them to go play computer games.

So at the Jr./Sr. bonfire, my friend and I were talking about this whole spelling bee thing (yeah it was boring) and she too thinks the whole thing was fake.

I caught this when it was repeated. I have never found a spelling bee so enthralling to watch! Some of the words that they give these kids are so incredibly difficult and I've never heard them before. I tried to spell along with them and got some right.

David, the winner, was adorable. He was so emotional when he spelled his last word. What a cute kid! That Ashkay kind of creeped me out, too. He seemed rather robotic, and I thought that if he got a chair to sit in, everyone else should be able to sit down, too. The kid with the glasses and the ears that stuck out (I think he finished in 3rd place) annoyed me because the announcer was saying all of his school achievements and then said "Can you say 'genius?'" I feel horrible admitting this, but from that point on, I was rooting for him to lose.

I saw some clips from last year's competition and was cracking up at the black girl with the accent spelling the word "aplustre." She asked so many questions about the word, and asked the same questions over and over! "Is it ah-plustre or uh-plustre? Is it aplust-ree or a-plust-ray?" The judges kept on telling her to just spell the word. I wonder if her length in spelling the word led to them adding the finishing time limit in this year's competition.

That girl is from Jamaica. I remember her very clearly. Apparently all the Jamaican spellers are coached by the same man, who drills into them the way to ask for things from the pronouncer. They always say sir or ma'am each time they ask a question, and always say thank you afterwards. I know there are a lot of regional accents throughout America, but I think they give a bit more leniency to the Jamaican kids with regards to pronunciation because some words really are pronounced completely differently there from standard American English.

I like this. Those are the type of smart people that you will NEVER EVER find on BET.

By way of bumpage;

Indy Star: Spelling champ has enjoyed taste of c-e-l-e-b-r-i-t-y life: 'Before, I was just some ordinary kid.'
And afterwards, David Tidmarsh still seems like an ordinary, likable kid. My favorite bit:The National Spelling Bee is Wednesday and Thursday of this week. I hope to watch a little.

[.]

Can't wait!

If the over/under on the kids with mustaches is set at two(as Statboy suggests), I'm goin' over.

God forgive me, but it might be the prospective 'stache count that gets me to tune in. That, and the hope of seeing any creepy freakout from a speller like that finger-smelling girl mocked so mercilessly on Cheap Seats.

wow that was crazy.

The final three going round after round.

My favorite part was when the 'S' fell down when the final three were in the middle of their fifty rounds.

(And I actually spelled two words right! 'Domra' and 'epideictic'! I feel smart now.)

Damn, I forgot about the bee this year! I wish it was a bit later in June. I didn't venture into the sport forum yesterday because I didn't want to be spoiled about French Open results, so I didn't get reminded. I would advise all fans of the spelling bee to get yourselves to NYC and see this show.

So, I finally got to see Spellbound. Well, I've got it on TIVO and I watched part of it this morning. I'll watch the rest tonight.

I LOVE the spelling bee. I'm so glad to know that I'm not the only one in the world who totally watches when it's on. Anyone know when it will be on this year?

Not sure about the television coverage, but this year's spelling bee is May 31-June 1.

I shouldn't watch. I'm the geek who usually won these things, but I was never encouraged to even try for Scripps. Oh well.

I was so scared when I saw this thread active and thought I had missed this year's Bee. I think the coverage is live, so it should be on TV June 1.

I just saw this headline on Yahoo! News. Yay!

ABC to Show Spelling Bee in Prime Time


I was going to post a link to the story, but for some reason I can't get it to link correctly.

Yahoo article. Nope, no pressure at all.

So instead of being on in the afternoon, they're going to make the kids spell at night? That stinks.

Yeah, way to whore out your event, Spelling Bee people.

I am dismayed by these changes. I just know ABC is going to shit all over this broadcast with packaged profiles of the spellers and all kinds of bullshit. Seriously, the Spelling Bee was one of the last raw sporting events left in this world, and now it's going to end up like the Olympics before too long.

At least it's live...when I first read that I thought it was tape delayed, and I was about to damage something.

I know I sound like a psycho but the Bee is probably my favorite TV event of the year. I'm kind of obsessed with it.

The only good thing about this is it coincides with Samir Patel's inevitable victory this year. That kid is a Spelling Bee star, and he is no doubt ready for prime time.

Wow, ABC is desperate from some summer ratings, huh? I love watching the Spelling Bee each year, but I liked it better on ESPN. They probably got some money from Starbucks to show it since not too many people went to see "Akeelah and the Bee" this weekend.

Samir Patel had better win this year because I don't know if I can take it if he loses.

Who was the girl a few years ago (it could have been as many as 5 or 6 years ago, I can't remember) who, well, was rather strange in her spelling style... She'd get the word, ask all the usual questions, then when she was ready to spell, she'd put her hand over her mouth and you could hear her whispering the spelling to herself... Then she'd start with the first letter, go back to hand over mouth, second letter, hand over mouth, third letter, hand over mouth, etc.

She was also sort of mimicked by Molly Shannon in one scene as Mary Katherine Gallagher (at a spelling bee) on at least one ep of SNL.

She had long stringy dark hair, very pail, anyone know her name? She was just fascinating to watch. I can't remember if she ever won the Spelling Bee or not though.

Roller Girl, you're thinking of the legendary Rebecca Sealfon.

Oh my God...you made my day, Soymilk! Thank you! That's TOTALLY her! She rocks.

Has anyone else seen Akeelah and the Bee? It's a movie currently playing in theaters starring Laurence Fishburne & Angela Bassett (but no Ike & Tina references). It's a fun if a bit predictable film that's a must for all spelling bee fans. Scribbs Bee is heavily featured, but geek that I am, I was noticing all the subtle differences. Like they don't say the number of the bee (no 25th Annual), and the speller's placards don't say the name of a newspaper, just their city and state with their number. Also, the shirts look to be identical to what the real spellers wear, but they actually fit the kids instead of being enormous on all of them.