Iolani School student makes Round 2 of spelling bee
Video of Matthew Won's correctly spelling of "repechage." (QuickTime plug-in required.)
By Susan Roth
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — A seemingly cool and collected Matthew Won made it to the second round of competition at the National Spelling Bee last night.
Gannett News Service photo
Hawai'i's champion speller got his second chance by correctly spelling "repechage," which means a second chance in a trial heat such as an Olympic track event. The bee continues through tomorrow, with final rounds televised on ESPN.
Iolani School eighth-grader Matthew Won spelled "repechage" to advance to the second round of the National Spelling Bee.
The spelling bee, sponsored by Scripps Howard, aims to help students increase their vocabularies and become more expressive — as well as improve their spelling.
Matthew is one of 248 competitors, who range from 10 to 15 years old. His father, Reed Won, said he and his wife, Angie, have been carefully watching the 14-year-old Iolani School eighth-grader because he had been extremely nervous at the state finals.
Matthew, an honor student and voracious reader who loves writing fantasy and science-fiction stories, has been preparing for the state and national bees throughout the school year. After 15 rounds, he won the state championship April 1 by spelling "apoplexy," a sudden paralysis caused by the breaking or obstruction of a blood vessel in the brain.
"He studies every chance he gets," said Reed Won. "He looks at printed lists of words; he spends time with his coach, Jane Romju; he studies lists off the Internet; and he records a lot of stuff. The competition is both aural and oral. You have to hear the word, so he says it, then he spells it. He's constantly listening to tapes."
www.spellingbee.com, 74th annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee.
On weekdays, Matthew studied about two hours a day and on weekends, anywhere from 14 to 20 hours, his father said.
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"He doesn't sleep that much," Reed Won said. "Sometimes he can get very obsessive."
Matthew also finds time to enjoy video games and laser tag.
"He's taking it one round at a time, but he really does have the aspiration to go all the way," his father said. "He wants to win for his school."
Matthew's trip is sponsored by The Honolulu Advertiser.
Students were given a list of more than 3,000 words to study. The first round was made up of words on that list.
The remaining rounds can include any word found in the dictionary.
The winner receives $10,000 in cash, a $1,000 U.S. savings bond and an encyclopedia set.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story credited another news agency for the picture of spelling bee contestant Matthew Won.
