JG-TC.com > News > Top Charleston speller explores D.C. before next round of competition

TODAY'S HEADLINES

SPECIAL SECTION

ONLINE POLL

ONLINE EXTRAS

Shop Smart, Shop Local

SITE TOOLS

OTHER LINKS

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Tuesday, May 26, 2009 9:37 PM CDT
Top Charleston speller explores D.C. before next round of competition

By KENNETH LOWE, Staff Writer

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Scripps National Spelling Bee kicked off Tuesday, pitting 293 spellers from all over the country against a computer test to see if they qualify for the on-stage competition today.

Gina Liu of Charleston said she’s unsure how she did on the 50-word test, of which only 25 words will count toward her final score. The results — including which words were score words — will be announced today prior to round two.

The event has also allowed the spellers a chance to socialize with youth much like themselves. Each speller carries a little notebook with the pictures of every competitor in it. The goal: get everybody’s autograph. All over the hotel, small groups of spellers could be seen swapping names and talking. Gina’s book already contains signatures from all over the country, and even one girl from Guam.

Besides that, her family also had a chance to explore some of the nation’s capital Tuesday. The 12-year-old took a moment to snap a picture outside of the house where Abraham Lincoln died before she and her parents headed into the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.

Gina, who has a fascination for marine biology and the many undiscovered and unusual specimens of deep sea squid, said she had a good time.

“I like the fossils,” she said. “I just find it kind of amazing that they’ve been there in the ground for so long.”

Round two of the competition kicks off today at 7 a.m. central time and is scheduled to go until noon.

Those who remain standing will move on to round three, which is scheduled to broadcast live on ESPN360.com from 12:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. Semifinalists will be announced shortly afterward.

Contact Kenneth Lowe at klowe@herald-review.com or 421-7985.

Add your comments

*Member ID:
*Password:
Remember login? (requires cookies)
	Forgot Your Password?

Not already registered?
Then click Here.

Comment policy:

JG-TC.com encourages readers to engage in civil conversation with their neighbors. Comments that are submitted are not posted to the site immediately. They go into a queue to be moderated and may take several hours to be reviewed. Comments posted on Saturday may not be reviewed until Sunday afternoon.

In order to keep the page a set width, long lines (mostly long links) will be chopped. Try putting spaces in your links or consider using tinyurl.com to make a smaller link that you can include.

We will never edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to remove comments that violate our code of conduct.

No comment may contain:

* Potentially libelous statements; such as accusing somebody of a crime, defamation of character, or statements that can harm somebody's reputation.
* Obscene, explicit, or racist language.
* Personal attacks, insults, threats, harassment or inciting violence.
* Commercial product promotions.

If you have any questions, please contact our moderator.