Wes Underwood is looking forward to representing The Bahamas at the 2023 Scripps Spelling Bee, but his excitement is tempered with the knowledge that the competition will be tough. And has reached out to previous four-time national champion Roy Seligman, the only Bahamian to earn a semi-finals berth, for tips.

"I have actually already reached out to him [Roy] and plan to get some tips," said Wes, 13, who took two days off after his win.

"You could never study too much," said the Samuel Guy Pinder All Age School eighth-grade student.

"I've downloaded my dictionary app and will begin studying that."

While he is already looking ahead to Scripps in May in Washington, D.C., he still looks back to his recent win, which he said means a lot.

"[The national win] is very special to me because of the many hours of hard work I put in. This is something I will never forget, and a memory I will cherish forever."

Wes won with the word "syntrophism".

The win means even more to Wes, who has entered spelling competitions since first grade, but in his final year of eligibility advanced past the district spelling competition to claim the national title.

He was also pleased to take the win for his school.

"It means so much to my school because my school has never ever had a student win the district spelling bee to move on to the nationals. And for me being there for the first time for my school and island, winning felt amazing.

"I still can't believe I actually won," said the son of Natalia and Yancy Underwood.

Wes said he was nervous going in, but knew that he had studied hard.

"I knew that the competition would be tough, especially against the private schools, and coming from such a small island and school, and it being my first time there."

Upon his return to Spanish Wells, Wes said he was met by his peers who he said screamed and cheered for him and offered congratulations. He said his teachers also expressed how proud of him they were.

Navidia Mills, Samuel Guy Pinder All Age School principal, said they have plans underway for a celebration in Wes' honor.

"It just goes to show that great things can happen in the government school," she said of his win. "This is a small school - hard work, perseverance and determination paid off for Wes."

In only her second year at the school, Mills said she learned that Wes made attempts at spelling bees from first grade and was proud to see that he finally broke through.

"He always wins the interhouse spelling bee competition, and this year would have been his last opportunity to participate at district level and at the national stage, and he won," she said.

Wes also credits his mother with encouraging him.

"My mother knew that I was a good speller from a young age and she pushed me to succeed," he said.

After the competition on New Providence, Wes said he went to Baha Mar that night and bought candy.

When not learning words, Wes said he enjoys basketball, video games, playing piano and saxophone, and eating desserts. He said he also enjoys school and tries his best to do well in all his subjects. He also loves solving the Rubik's Cube and other puzzles.

The 26th Annual Bahamas National Spelling Bee Final Competition was held on March 19 at the Breezes resort on Cable Beach.

Wes out-spelled 23 other contestants for the win. Maria Sanchez, 14, an eighth-grade student at St. Andrew's International School, finished in the runner-up position.

Ty Williams, 11, a sixth-grade student at Genesis Academy, finished third.

Wes is headed to the Scripps competition at which Roy Seligman has set an impressive bar.

The 93rd Scripps competition in 2021, saw Roy as the first Bahamian to advance to the finals of the prestigious competition since The Bahamas began competing at Scripps in 1998.

Roy tied for fourth place with three other spellers. He had previously competed at Scripps in 2019 and tied for 51st place.

His impressive run took place one year after Scripps was canceled in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first time the spelling bee had been canceled since 1945.

Scripps' Spelling Bee Week takes place from May 28 to June 2 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbour, Maryland.

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