WASHINGTON
There is a method to Baron Fenwick's spelling technique.
Standing on the stage at the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee yesterday, one might think that the 14-year-old from Todd, N.C., is struggling to spell such words as solatium and spherocytosis.
Flipping over the placard that identifies him by number, Baron uses his finger to trace out the letters of the word.
And then, with the confidence of someone twice his age, he spells out the word.
Baron survived through the quarterfinals of the bee yesterday. He will compete in the semifinals this afternoon. If he survives that, he will compete in the finals tonight, which will be broadcast on the ABC television network.
So what's with using his finger to trace the letters on the back of the placard?
"A good speller knows when they see a word if it's right," said Baron, an eighth-grader at Green Valley School in Boone, about 12 miles southwest of Todd. "It's kind of like seeing it in my mind."
As he ponders the word, Baron sounds it out and thinks about its origin.
His method is working. Baron is one of 45 semifinalists weeded out from a crowd of 288 spellers.
Baron said he doesn't get nervous on stage, although his father said that it can be a little nerve-wracking watching from the audience.
"That's why his mom didn't come," Jay Fenwick said.
The bee is competitive and the prizes match the intensity. Depending on how far they go, spellers are eligible for cash prizes ranging from $50 to $30,000.
Despite his performance yesterday, Baron's not too confident about today's semifinals.
"I'm going out in the first round," he said.
But don't count Baron out. That's what he said about yesterday's rounds.
He's been studying a lot since he won the Winston-Salem Journal Regional Spelling Bee in March. Sometimes up to four hours a day.
Even with all that studying, Baron said that his voracious appetite for books is what has made him a good speller.
"After you read so much about a lot of different things, you get a sense of different words and how they're spelled," said Baron, who likes reading fantasy and vampire books.
This is the last year Baron is eligible for the bee. No matter how he does today, he has other talents to fall back on. In the fall, he will major in piano and take viola lessons at the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem.
"I still have a lot going on," he said.
■ Contact Amy Dominello at 202-662-7671 or
adominello@mediageneral.com.
Winning words
Words Baron Fenwick spelled yesterday:
» Intercessory
» Solatium
» Spherocytosis
The semifinals will air live from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today on ESPN. If Baron makes the finals, you can watch him live on ABC from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Baron is speller 191.
The Web site for the spelling bee is www.spellingbee.com.
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