Niwot Elementary fifth grader Cooper Edwards discovered a talent for spelling last year, but wasn’t quite prepared for the high-pressure experience of spelling in front of a big audience at the regional bee.
“It was new for me, so I didn’t know what it was going to be like,” he said. “I got out really early last year. I wanted to try to go further this year.”
He fulfilled that goal, securing his spot in the national competition by winning first place at this year’s Boulder Valley Regional Spelling Bee, held March 16 in Boulder. Tejas Raman from Boulder Country Day School won second place, while Hamish McMillen from Southern Hills Middle School took third.
Edwards’ victory hinged on his correct spelling of “crocus,” a genus of seasonal flowering plants. Other words he faced included virtuoso, millisecond, tomography and embassy.
“At the start of every spelling bee, I’m nervous but then I just go with the flow and start having more fun at the end,” he said.
Along with practicing in front of an audience, Edwards’ study strategy included using the Scripps app, Word Club. He also worked with teacher Audrey Lenger on root words. He said the most challenging tended to be words with French origins.
“I don’t like those because they have a lot of vowels,” he said.
Edwards said he wasn’t expecting to win at the regional competition, but plans to continue to spell competitively and is excited for the experience of participating in the national bee.
“It’s a great opportunity, and I’m going to make the most of it,” he said.
Raman, an eighth grader who lives in Longmont, competed in the national spelling bee in 2022, making it to the semifinals. He said he got into the spelling bee as an avid reader and continued to compete because it’s something he enjoys.
“Reading is one of the most effective ways to gain an understanding of spelling patterns,” Raman said.
But, he added, reading isn’t enough.
“It’s great to read, but once you get to a certain level, it’s wise to begin to study the word lists and the dictionaries,” Raman said.
Raman tried to practice 10 to 20 sets of words a day to prepare on the days he wasn’t in school, but said it was more challenging to fit in practice during school. Along with the spelling bee, he competed in Boulder Valley’s regional science fair — winning best in show in the junior division — and worked on a community service project.
His recommendation for future competitive spellers is to start by expanding their vocabulary. While the regional bee tends to require memorization, Raman also found that studying word patterns and roots was one of the most effective strategies at the national level.
“They should read and learn about new words,” he said. “When you see a new word, try to understand what it means. That will build intuition about how to spell a sizeable number of words.”
While his spelling bee days are over, Raman said he plans to help his younger brother study for competitions. Raman is planning to attend Niwot High in the fall, where he will be enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program.
“Learning about spelling is definitely going to be beneficial for the future,” he said.”A lot of people say, ‘we have autocorrect.’ But I think it’s still important to have knowledge of spelling.”
