At age 13, Amanda Burke seems a little young to be thinking about retirement. But the record five-time National Spelling Bee finalist is getting ready to put away her word lists and Webster's.
"I've been doing this since the second grade," the Gate City, Va., eighth-grader said. "I have had some great experiences. Every year it's new - anything can happen. But I'm thinking I'll retire after this."The 1996 National Spelling Bee is the last one Amanda can compete in, since eighth grade is the eligibility cutoff. But high school contests could keep her orthographic skills sharp through her senior year.
"I'm going to do one forensic spelling competition in a few weeks, but then that's it," she insisted. "It's time to do something else."
The two-day, 69th annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee was to get under way Wednesday with 247 pupils ages 10 to 15, from fourth grade to eighth, who won regional contests nationwide and in U.S. territories.
During Round One, the children, taking turns in alphabetical order by state, are asked to spell words from a list they were given weeks ago; they're usually the hardest of the competition, selected from the 1996 Paideia and the Additional Words section of the 1996 Sponsor Bee Guides.
Words given during the other rounds through the Thursday finals are taken from Webster's Third New International Dictionary, a 14-pound monument to the English language and its many roots, from Greek to Germanic.
When a contestant misspells a word, a bell rings and the youngster is sent off stage into the Comfort Room. Tissues, snacks and a hug from Mom or Dad can be found there - along with a dictionary for double-checkers.
"Most kids handle it pretty well," said Jeff Hess, a Bee spokesman. "We've never had a fainter, but we have had a few who come off stage and get sick. You know, nerves and all."
The winner will receive a loving cup, $5,000 from the Scripps Howard news organization, a $1,000 U.S. savings bond from Merriam-Webster, a Compaq personal computer and other prizes, including four round-trip tickets from United Airlines for travel within the continental United States.
The 1995 winner, Justin Tyler Carroll of Wynne, Ark., isn't competing this year because as a ninth- grader he is no longer eligible.
For the first time, the field includes a profoundly deaf youngster, 11-year-old Jimmy McCarthy, who goes to school in Land O'Lakes, Fla.
The sixth-grader can detect some sound when he uses both hearing aids. And he will wear a radio device to let him better hear the word announcer. Jimmy's interpreter will then mouth and sign the words he must spell - giving the definition of those that don't have specific signs; there are about 400,000 words in the dictionary but only 40,000 in sign language.
When Jimmy spells a word, he'll sign it and say it for the judges.