Windermere native spells on national stage

Some children are born to play a sport. Ava Allen was born to spell. 

When she was a baby, a piece of art depicting the letters of the alphabet hung on the a wall in her nursery. That piece of art helped spark an early interest in language, Allen’s mother, Lynelle Lawrence said.

“She used to ask for me to take the art off the wall and put it on the floor, and she would trace the letters with her fingers,” Lawrence said. “(She) taught herself to read with flashcards by the time she was 3.”

Allen, now 14, is home-schooled and participates in an academic homeschool program with Libertas Academy. She fulfilled a childhood dream when she competed in the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee from May 29 to 31. She had been preparing for the Bee for a number of years. 

“It was my first time (competing) at the national level,” Allen said. “I’ve been (competing in) the spelling bee since I was five. In sixth grade, I came in third place on the county level for Orange County. And then in seventh grade, I got second place and moved on to the regional (spelling bee). Then this year, I came in first place at the county and went on to regionals.”

Although she made it to the regional spelling bee this year, she didn’t win. To compete at the national level, she applied for the Scripps “RSVBee” program to get a wild-card invitation. This was the first year that Scripps used RSVBee program. This year was the largest National Spelling Bee because of the RSVBee program, Lawrence said.

“It (RSVBee) was designed specifically for areas like ours where it’s super competitive and you may have several national-caliber spellers,” Lawrence said. “Orange County — apparently — is one of the largest school districts in the nation. … We live in a super competitive area in terms of getting to the national (spelling) bee.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee starts with a written exam the morning of the first day. Results of the exam are kept secret until before the finals begin. Competitors then spell on stage after the written exam on the first day and spell on stage again on the second day. After the second day of spelling, the exam results are used to help determine the finalists from the competitors who have not “spelled out” onstage. Allen was just shy of competing in the finals when she tied for 42nd place. The top 41 spellers got to compete in the finals, Lawrence said.

“She just missed the cutoff (score for the exam),” Lawrence said. “She didn’t actually spell out at the national level. … The written test was super hard this year.”

Allen said preparing for the bee required more than just knowing had to spell the words.

“You have to study the etymology (of words),” Allen said. “You study language patterns … and then (you study) definitions and language of origin.”

“The written (exam) is half spelling (and) half vocabulary,” Lawrence said. “So you have to start studying vocabulary, as well. The written test was so hard that they gave all the spellers branded packs of tissues so that they could cry while they took the test. Everyone had a pack of tissues waiting for them at their assigned seat.”

As a rising freshman, this year was the last time Allen was eligible to compete. However, she is not finished with spelling bees. She plans to continue her love of language by coaching the next generation of spellers.

“Eighth grade is the last year for eligibility,” Allen said. “I really want to be a spelling coach next (year) and help other kids make it to the national bee, because I feel like I’ve just learned so many things that I could help teach other people.”

For now, Allen can take a break from spelling. Lawrence said she’s requiring a month break to unwind and decompress.

“At the end, it got extremely intense,” Lawrence said.