The Dawn in Education Spelling Bee reaches the entire nation, with participants from schools in Skardu, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Multan, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi battling it out for the title of the National Spelling Bee.

The 15th Dawn in Education National Spelling Bee Championship had 8,100 contestants from 900 schools all over the country and it came down to 27 finalists, with nine in each age category (9-11, 12-14 and 15-17).

There are also two main rounds in the finals — ‘Choose your category’ and ‘Rapid bee’. Another round, the sudden death or elimination round ‘To be or not to be’ round, is played between students who tie.

The first round ‘Choose your category’ had four main categories to choose from such as ‘Dawn’, ‘Animal world’, ‘Silent letters’ and ‘Geography’. One was not allowed to choose a category more than two times. The ‘Rapid bee’ round required quick thinking as each contestant had 40 seconds to spell as many words as they possibly could within that time.

Holding one’s own

“We were a part of the same team during the 15th Dawn in Education National Spelling Bee Championship, but during the final round in Karachi, we were competing against each other,” says Aamna Ahmed of Aga Khan Higher Secondary School, the competition winner in the 15 to 17 years age category. Aamna’s teammates in the previous rounds, Mahnoor Jamil and Samir Mustafa Sheikh, were also in the final nine but competing individually.

For Aamna, now 17, this was the fourth appearance at the Spelling Bee. She started competing at 12, when she was a student of at Habib Girls School.

Aamna says, “Previously I had only reached the regionals, but this time I found myself in the finals after getting ahead in every round.”

When asked what makes her such a great speller, Aamna says that she is an avid reader, which helps. “Whenever I come across any new or difficult word, its spelling stays with me,” she explains.

“My experience has also given me a good ear. I can guess the spelling of words from the pronunciation. I also like etymology, the study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed over the years,” she adds.

“People ask me what is the use of the Spelling Bee? What they don’t see is how hard I work to improve my spellings and how much I like the study of words,” she says.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP REMATCH WINNERS 2019

Age group 9-11

National Champion: Hashim Talal Malik, Roots Millennium School, Pine Campus, Abbotabad

First Runner-up: Nael Ahmad Sheikh, Aitchison College — Lahore

Second Runner-up: Umar Asif, Garrison Academy For Boys, Tufail Road — Lahore Cantt

Age group 12-14

National Champion: Mominn Nabeel Nawaz, Aitchision College, Lahore

First Runner-up: Muhammad Taquee, EMS High School, Boys Branch H-11, Islamabad

Second Runner-up: Ozair Ahmed, EMS High School, Junior Branch F-11, Islamabad

Age group 15-17

National Champion: Aamna Ahmed, Aga Khan Higher Sec. School, Karimabad Morning Shift, Karachi

First Runner-up: Zaid Rayyan Khan, EMS High School Boys, Islamabad

Second Runner-up: Mahnoor Jamil, Aga Khan Higher Sec. School, Karimabad Morning Shift, Karachi

Published in Dawn, Young World, March 7th, 2020