The 2012 Arkansas State Spelling Bee, presented by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, is scheduled for March 3, 2012. The bee will again be held at the University Theater on the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus. In addition to improving students’ spelling skills and increasing their vocabularies, spelling bee participation provides valuable experience in developing poise – a necessary skill for success in public speaking.
Schools and home school organizations must enroll with the Scripps National Spelling Bee at www.spellingbee.com to be eligible to compete in the Arkansas State Spelling Bee and to receive the study materials. The Arkansas State Spelling Bee will accept one winner from each of the participating counties in the state.

A spelling bee is not like football, basketball or baseball, where players can redeem themselves after missing the mark. With spelling, almost doesn’t count and second chances are hard to come by. “If you miss one word, you’re out,” Jacob Elser said Saturday after winning the Arkansas State Spelling Bee. “It’s pretty intense.” Elser, an eighthgrader from Washington County, managed to best Chy Murali, a fifthgrader from Pulaski County, and win the competition after three final tense rounds. The contest was held at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Second chances in a spelling bee come at the end of the contest, when the final person standing must spell an extra word to win the event. In this case, Elser failed to spell “execration,” so he, Murali and Alexandra Rouw, an eighth-grader from Benton County, had to go another round. Rouw missed the word “vacuole,” earning her third place among the 60 students who competed for about three hours Saturday. Murali spelled “abhorrence” and, as she did with each word, she used her right index finger to trace the letters on her left palm as she spelled aloud. Next, Elser spelled “parallax.” But Murali was stumped by “decorticate,” earning her the second-place spot after Elser correctly spelled “andante” and then “upsilon” for the win. Murali said things “got a bit tense” for her toward the end, but she didn’t let herself become intimidated by her older opponents. Darlene Barr, the word announcer for the competition, congratulated and consoled Rouw after the contest. “That was a difficult one because it has that ‘W’ sound,” she said of vacuole, which is pronounced VAK-yoo-wol. A reporter interviewing Rouw tried spelling the word: “V-A-C-U-O-L-E?” “Yes,” Barr said. “Wait, what? How’s it spelled?” a momentarily distracted Rouw asked. “Oh, I never would’ve gotten that,” she said through her laughter. For winning first place in the competition, sponsored by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Elser receives an all-expense-paid trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee June 1-2 in Washington, D.C., with a parent. All three students received dictionaries. Elser also won a $100 savings bond. Murali won a $50 savings bond. She and Rouw also received $20 Amazon.com gift cards. Elser said now that he’s going to the national competition to represent Arkansas, he’ll have to study even more. “I guess I’ll just read the master’s dictionary,” he said. “I didn’t really think that far ahead. I didn’t think I was going to win.”