NASSAU, Bahamas — Roy Seligman, 13, an eighth-grade student at Lyford Cay International School, on Sunday won the Bahamas National Spelling Bee for a fourth consecutive year, The Nassau Guardian reported on Monday, March 21.
He emerged victorious by correctly spelling “folio” in round 29, after nearly three hours of competition.
“I’m relieved that I won,” Roy told The Nassau Guardian. “Preparation was much more rigorous this year because it’s my last chance and I really wanted to do well in this bee, so I can have one more shot at winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee.”
He added, “I felt more at home on stage. I felt a lot more calmer because of experience. Experience is everything when you’re up on stage. If you’ve done it over and over again, then you won’t be as intimidated of the words and spelling them.”
Roy said “vilest” was the most challenging word.
When asked why, he replied, “It’s the type of word that you would gloss over if you’re looking through a list of words. But on stage, it’s tricky and I admit that it did throw me off for a bit.”
Roy’s coach, Katina Seymour, said Sunday’s competition was “surreal”.
“Even though we have been here in terms of familiarity, there is still not this complacency,” she said. “But there is always this anticipation and exception and desire to do very, very well.”
She said Roy’s experience on the international stage allowed for networking with other students and coaches.
Seymour said Roy also participated in online competitions.
“In terms of resources, we wanted to know a lot more about the roots of words,” she said. “We spent time with the origin of words and definition of words.” See complete article in The Nassau Guardian at https://thenassauguardian.com/roy-seligman-wins-bahamas-national-spelling-bee-for-fourth-year-in-a-row/
