Posted on: Saturday, February 19, 2005
Kapolei seventh-grader wins Leeward District spelling bee
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser Staff Writer
'EWA BEACH — A confident Anthony "Alika" Chantavy correctly spelled "encroachment" in the final round to win the Leeward District 2005 Spelling Bee last night at Ilima Intermediate School.
Eighteen students participated in the district bee. The seventh and final district spelling bee will be today at Kealakehe Intermediate School on the Big Island.
Chantavy said he had really studied hard for the contest. But in the end, the spelling bee was easier than he thought.
"I overestimated the difficulty," he said. "I thought it would be much harder."
"I'm not surprised," said Sai Chantavy, Anthony Chantavy's mother, who had been out shopping for a car during the spelling bee. "He's a good, good student. He doesn't speak much, but he knows very much."
The state finalists will receive prizes from Sears, Island Heritage, Consolidated Theatres and Enjoy Snacks.
The state champion will win a free trip for two to Washington, D.C., to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in June and a $100 U.S. savings bond from Jay Sugarman. Merriam-Webster will donate a Webster's Third New International Dictionary to the winner and a Merriam-Webster College Dictionary to the runner-up.
National contestants will compete for cash prizes ranging from $50 to $12,000.
Supporting sponsors are AIG Hawai'i, KFC, Burger King, 7-Eleven, CompUSA, and Aloha Airlines and Aston Resorts, who are providing travel and accommodations for Neighbor Island participants.
Other prize sponsors include Radio Shack, Dede and James Sutherland, the Hawai'i Court Reporters and Captioners Association and Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Chantavy, 12, a seventh-grader from Kapolei Middle School, and runner-up Patrick Comiso, a seventh-grader at Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, advanced to the Honolulu Advertiser State Spelling Bee, March 13 at the Paliku Theatre at Windward Community College.
