The Oakland Press this past week sponsored an event that offered suspense, some drama and plenty of keen competition.

For me, it was the second activity of the month that was part of would I call Academic March Madness.

No, this past Sunday wasn’t a sporting event, although the competition can be just as intense as a game in the popular NCAA March Madness Basketball Tournament.

The contest I’m talking about is much more cerebral than basketball but that doesn’t mean it takes any less amount of skill and preparation.

The Oakland Press Regional Spelling Bee was conducted with 93 youngsters competing from throughout Oakland County.

The Bee was at The Oakland Intermediate School offices and saw the young spellers go more than four and a half hours, with Mahati Vavilala finally being declared the winner. It took almost 20 rounds for the Novi Middle School eighth grader to outlast her opponents.

I was the chief judge and one of three for the contest. As I’ve written, I was honored to be a judge for the Auburn Hills Optimist Club Oratorical Contest earlier this month.

I’ve been a spelling bee judge for the past several and helped out in some way since The Oakland Press started sponsoring the regional spelling bee in 1995.

Every youngster was a winner Sunday because they had to be the top speller from their respective elementary or junior high school to advance to regional competition.

For Mahati, there’s much more excitement coming her way. As a regional winner, she advances to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. June 1-2. There are cash and merchandise prizes for youngsters who finish at all levels but the top prize is a not too shabby $30,000 scholarship.

It’s a fantastic experience for a youngster and his or her family. I was fortunate to be able to cover the national bee for several years in a row and the contest is conducted in an exceptional manner. It’s well organized and one wonderful feature, the youngsters are treated to outings in the Washington area. Although competition is only two days, the youngsters usually arrive the previous Sunday and spend a terrific week sightseeing and enjoying our nation’s capitol.

Yes, there’s a lot at stake, as I’ve mentioned, from the $30,000 top prize cash winnings all the way down. And consequently, there’s a lot of studying to do. To prepare for even the regional level, students normally study daily for several hours.
No doubt all of the national contestants, which will number around 350, will spend a good portion of their week studying for the competition.

But all of the spellers would be wise not to just focus on the bee. They should remember that they will be competing against the best of the best and they should take solace in knowing that where ever they finish, it was a terrific accomplishment.
Also, if the spellers and their parents are smart, they’ll make the most of the opportunity to see Washington.