Bahamian spelling champ stumped by hukilau

Wed, Jun 15th 2011, 11:36 AM

Hukilau -- give yourself a pat on the back if you've heard this word before, know what it means, or even how to spell it.  A hukilau is a way of fishing invented by the ancient Hawaiians, and is also the world that stumped Bahamian spelling bee champion Sujith Swarna and ended his run at the 2011 Scripps National Spelling in Washington, D.C.

After successfully spelling vellication (which means a local twitching or convulsive motion of a muscular fiber, especially of the face) and badinage (which means frivolous banter) Swarna stepped up to the microphone for his third word which turned out to be hukilau, to a dead silence in a room before thousands of people, and the nervous energy of the other spellers in the air. 

The Hawaiian noun was tough enough to cut the spelling whiz's "buzzy" dreams short in the third round.  The coveted spelling competition was won by 14-year-old Sukanya Roy of Pennsylvania.  She took 20 rounds to take the win, correctly spelling cymotrichous (an adjective used to describe something having wavy hair).  Twelve-year-old Laura Newcombe of Ontario, Canada and 11-year-old Arvind Mahankali of New York finished second and third, respectively.

Despite bowing out of the competition much earlier than he had anticipated, during the third round, the journey the eighth grade Bahamian champ took to place 42nd out of 275 spellers during the two-day, was enough to make the abrupt ending well worth the time.  The 13-year-old student at Forest Heights Academy in Abaco said he expected there to be some competition and that maybe it would be a little like the popular spelling bee centered film "Akeelah and the Bee" but he wasn't expecting just how diverse and different it would be.

"[The Scripps National Spelling Bee] was a lot more than I expected.  I was expecting a lot less people and maybe the first couple of words to be a bit easier at first.  I also didn't expect the hotel we stayed in to be that big.  It's not like Akeelah and the Bee.  The experience is different.  You don't have time to be nervous or worrying about the crowd or the cameras like you saw in the movie.  You are more focused on your word and hoping to get one that you know.  It was great!"

He prepared for the competition by reading books on the competition, studying the tips, word lists and the roots of different languages. By virtue of winning his district bee in Abaco, Swarna advanced to the Nations which he won to represent The Bahamas at the Scripps National Bee in Washington.

"I noticed that the spelling bees got harder as I went further into the competitions. The first one was easy, the national spelling bee was a little harder and the Scripps was really hard. I wasn't expecting just how different the words would be," said the shy youngster.

He says if he had the opportunity to do it again he thinks he would do a lot better because he would know what the words are like, know how to study better.  Unfortunately, he won't have a second opportunity at the Scripps Bee as he will be too old to participate.

From as early as first grade, Swarna says he's been a good speller and through encouragement from his teachers, he was inspired to enter his school's spelling bee.  He really got serious about entering the national spelling bee as a sixth grade student. After placing in the top three for two years in his district spelling bee, the third time was the charm for him.  He not only won the district competition, but went on to the national competition where he outspelt the other contestants for the opportunity to compete in Washington.

Although he did not win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Swarna says he enjoyed the opportunity and appreciated the experience. The shy 4.0 grade point average student says the competition has taught him to not be afraid of public speaking.

He also says there was a lot more to the experience than he imagined, and once he got past the tension and excitement of the actual event there were a lot of other things happening that intrigued him.

"The bee week was an amazing experience.  It was a lot of fun ... the first day we got to know other spellers," says Swarna.  "To make it interesting we got a book called the "bee-keeper" with all the names of the spellers and what they liked.  We were supposed to get as many signatures from them as we could.  On the second day we went to a barbeque, it was fun ... soame people danced, some people played sports, some sang and played games.  Everyone got to know each other and make a lot off friends.  And a tour guide to the location showed us different sites along the way."

Out of all the sites he was able to see Swarna says he was most happy to see amazing places he had previously only heard about like the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Capitol Hill and the Smithsonian Museum.

Remembering his time in Washington he says will be an experiences he will not forget.  And whoever represents The Bahamas next year he wishes them luck.  His advice to that person is to just be ready, and to have as much fun as they can.

"It is important to study the spelling tips online, rules of the competition and look up as many words as you can.  You have to be willing to sacrifice a lot for this.  There is a lot of time you will have to give up and you may not even have a lot of fun because you have to study a lot, but when you make it and get to go to Bee Week just have as much fun as you can.  I had a lot of support from my parents [Shirin and Benerji Swarna] and my school.  When I felt tired they encouraged me and tested me.

Now that the buzz is over Swarna hopes to focus even more on school and participating in his hobbies which include playing with his Border Collie Bessie and playing the piano and guitar.  From here on he hopes to achieve even bigger dreams of becoming a heart surgeon and a part-time musician one day.

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian

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