Local speller out of national bee

Pinewood Preparatory School sixth-grader Ben Gamble tripped up on a word he'd never heard before in the third round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., and won't progress to the semifinals today.

Gamble misspelled "tinnitus," a noun that describes a ringing noise that typically can only be heard by the one affected. Students advance to the next phase of the national bee through their combined scores on a 50-word spelling test and two rounds of oral competition. Forty-one of the world's 293 best spellers advanced to the semifinals, and the finals will air on ABC tonight.

Gamble, who was sponsored by The Post and Courier, was the top speller at the Spellbound! Bee this year, which included the top 50 spellers from Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton and Dorchester county school districts, as well as Lowcountry home and private schools and the South Carolina Independent School Association. More than 32,000 students from across the Lowcountry competed in spelling bees this school year. Gamble is the first SCISA student to make it to the national bee.

He took his school exams early so he didn't have to worry about them when he arrived for the national bee. He prepared by studying with his English teacher and with his Mom, and he spent an extra hour or two each day going through words and learning spelling rules.

"It was a lot of time, but I think it was worth it to get to come here," he said.

The words became more difficult as each round progressed, and Gamble said he didn't recognize about half of the words in the third round. He didn't feel nervous, though, because "anyway it turned out, I'd be fine."

Gamble's parents, Ginny and Donnie, and his sister made the trip to D.C., too, and they planned to spend the rest of the week watching the finals, attending a banquet with other top spellers and touring the city. Donnie was proud of his son for reaching this level of competition.

"He did a good job," he said. "We were close enough."

Although disappointed, Gamble kept his spirits high.

"It's an honor to be here, and it's not like they send you home after you misspell a word," he said. "I want to have as much fun as I can."

Reach Diette Courrégé at 937-5546 or dcourrege@postandcourier.com.