Avinav Prem Anand put in the preparation to win the Blue Jackets regional spelling bee championship, but he also had a little birdie on his side, too.
The Orange Middle School eighth-grader certainly knows his words – this is the fourth straight year he’s advanced to the Scripps National Spelling Bee – but also has a lucky charm that blessed him before Saturday’s competition at Nationwide Arena.
“My superstition really is if a cardinal comes to my house – because I have a pretty big tree (in my yard) – then I know I’m going to be pretty lucky,” Prem Anand said. “It’s just somehow magically the minute before I leave, I always see a cardinal in my tree. It’s just kind of luck.”
It's good to have luck on your side, but preparation and experience are key, and Prem Anand has put in the work, studying using the online Merriam-Webster unabridged dictionary and learning the patterns and unique touches that can help him with even the hardest words.
He used those skills to emerge from the 35-speller regional field Saturday in the first such event sponsored by the Blue Jackets. Prem Anand advances to the national bee in May in Washington D.C., where his previous best finish was a tie for 22nd a year ago.
This year’s regional event was unique given the setting at Nationwide Arena – not to mention the post-championship photos with Stinger and the CBJ goal cannon – but Prem Anand said his confidence built as the day went on. He was able to correctly spell his word in the 11th round and then had little trouble with the final word in the championship round, building confidence as the words kept coming.
“It’s just like a rhythm,” Prem Anand said. “The first few words, you’ve just got in, and as soon as you start to ease into the atmosphere, you start immediately getting them from your memory. That’s why I feel like you need to stay as long as you can and you can start getting a hang on the words.”
Prem Anand was able to outlast a final group of three contestants that included Ananya Datta of Berlin Middle School and Alexis Rosa of Gahanna Middle School East.
This year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee will be the 100th anniversary year of America’s longest-running educational competition, and this year, the Blue Jackets became the first NHL team to partner with the event as part of the organization’s commitment to promote education and literacy in central Ohio.
“I feel very grateful I got to have such a good sponsor that can sponsor my trip to the National Spelling Bee,” he said. “I’m also thankful for my community – my parents, my teachers and my coaches. I feel very excited in this moment, but I know I have one big step left at nationals.”
