Talk:Katharine Close, 13, wins Scripps National Spelling Bee

Original reporting notes
Notes from me. A large portion of my notes were from watching the ABC broadcast and visiting the event.

Conversations with Cody Boisclair and Kendra Yoshinaga held via instant messenger. (I am LucidWaking)

(17:23:47) LucidWaking: So, reporter hat on, how is the Bee different this year than when you were in it? (17:24:10) CB: Lots more media attention, for one thing. It's on primetime over-the-air TV for the first time! (17:24:46) LucidWaking: Do you think that puts more pressure on the spellers? (17:25:00) CB: Also, it's truly become an international affair since last year. Yes, Jamaica was in it back in 1997, but now we've got Canadians and New Zealanders participating. (17:25:20) CB: And I do think, to an extent, that the increased attention puts extra pressure on the spellers. (17:25:40) CB: Not that people didn't watch it when I was there, of course; I had random people come up to me in the mall afterward and ask if I was that person from the spelling bee. (17:25:48) LucidWaking: ::grins:: (17:26:38) LucidWaking: Critics claim that the spelling bee isn't beneficial for kids, that it just enourages rote memorization and drill -- do you agree? Did it help or hurt your other academics? (17:27:11) CB: In my case, a lot of my memorization of the Bee word into its component parts, to find similarities to other words that I was familiar with. (17:27:26) CB: s/of the Bee/for the Bee/ (17:28:26) CB: Although I did do some drilling, I tried to find relationships to help me remember words, and even tried to analyze the words I was studying as I studied them. (17:28:40) LucidWaking: How much time did you spend studying? (17:29:05) CB: I honestly can't remember. I'd look at word lists frequently, but I can't remember specifically how long. (17:29:19) LucidWaking: ::nods:: (17:29:29) LucidWaking: Did your family help you study? (17:29:52) CB: Yes. Sometimes my mom would call out words and, upon my asking, the definitions, origins, etc., from W3. (17:30:55) LucidWaking: So, how do you look back on the experience -- what are the best thigns about having done it? (17:31:26) CB: I think the best thing about it was a sense of camaraderie-- for once, I really felt like I *fit in* somewhere. (17:31:44) CB: I was with people my age who were, by and large, 'on the same wavelength'.
 * wasn't* by rote; I was one of those people who tried to dissect the

(17:39:18) LucidWaking: So, how was this bee different for you than the previosu few years? (17:39:47) KY: It seemed a lot more rigid. (17:39:52) LucidWaking: How so? (17:40:00) LucidWaking: Do you think the increased media attention had a role? (17:40:04) KY: Probably. (17:40:55) LucidWaking: So I know you've been featured a lot in other media about the Bee -- do your friends and people you know make a big deal out of it? (17:41:39) KY: People I don't know very well seem to make a big deal about it, but my really close friends know that it's not a really huge part of my life. (17:42:01) LucidWaking: What is the biggest part of your life? (17:42:14) KY: I don't know... (17:42:17) LucidWaking: Do you learn most of your words from studying or just from reading and other things? (17:42:49) KY: Mostly studying. My mom sometimes finds words for me from books and magazines. (17:43:56) LucidWaking: Do you spend a lot of time visiting DC while yo're in town for the Bee or is it mostly focused on spelling? (17:44:21) LucidWaking: (I'll let you go after this one, thanks for doing this!) (17:44:49) KY: The last two times we did a lot more sightseeing, but this time I was studying more. Actually, I don't think we did *any* tours this time.

Mindspillage (spill yours?) 05:02, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

picture?
Does anyone have a relevant picture. This would make a nice featured article. --vonbergm 16:03, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Took the one off Wikipedia, uploaded as publicity, however, I'm concerned that even though this is a non-profit event, sponsered by Scripps, could it not fall under fair use, since Scripps is a another media outlet. --TUFKAAP 17:35, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Hmm. Could we get clarity on this before featuring the article? --vonbergm 18:41, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Possible Error
According to, the "hechsher" error occured in Round 8. --216.110.205.5 18:51, 2 June 2006 (UTC)
 * You're right -- thanks. Mindspillage (spill yours?) 19:13, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

champion speller
good job on the cut!!! glad u made it. im in a spelling bee too i hope i win 1!! once again... CONGRATS!!

Error in article
editprotected

There is an error in this article. Cody Boisclair competed in the National Spelling Bee in 1997 only, not in 1998.


 * I can't find a source to back this up. We may be able to contact Scripps directly. Calebrw (talk) 18:51, 28 May 2009 (UTC)


 * This article says he competed in both, but of course it may be incorrect. Searching on the website for "Cody Boisclair" of the National Spelling Bee gives only (Google cached) results of 1997. Cheers, Van der Hoorn (talk) 12:44, 15 July 2009 (UTC)

This was accurate per the sources cited in the article. Also, there is no evidence presented that it is wrong. --SVTCobra 22:42, 21 July 2009 (UTC)