Garrity spells way to capital

By Ben Austin






(photo by John Wilcox, Boston Herald)




NORTH END -- Last month, when the judge read the final word that Ross Garrity would have to spell to win the city spelling bee, the 13-year-old from the North End smiled confidently and spelled it back: R-A-V-I-O-L-I.


Garrity, who had earned a coveted spot at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, is once again preparing a trip to Washington D.C. At that time, Garrity was overwhelmed by the high level of competition he was going up against.


"I was in fifth grade and they knew how to spell words that I couldn't even pronounce," Garrity said. "It's not that bad when you're sitting down, but then you have to stand up there facing the crowd with everyone staring at you."


The National Spelling Bee began in 1925. It was initially sponsored by the Louisville Courier-Journal, with the E.W. Scripps Company taking over in 1941.


In 1941, Louis Sissman won the bee by spelling the word initials. Recent champions have had to spell words that not even the spell check on your computer could spell, such as ursprache, prospicience and autocthonous.


Garrity, who said he did not prepare for this year's city bee as much as for bees the past, has a distinct way of practicing his spelling. He stands on a miniature trampoline, bouncing for each letter to learn the rhythm of his words while family members quiz him.


Garrity's training helped him spell words such as souvenir, cognition, gazelle and babushka in this year's competition while he out-spelled 23 other students in this year's competition.


Garrity's mother, Ilene Gladstone, who helps him practice, said she is proud of her son for making it into the national competition again, but has realistic expectations for the weeklong national bee.


"For the kids that really excel in the nation bee, this is all they do," she said. "They spend hours a day looking these words up in the dictionary and finding their origins. My son isn't really in that class."


Garrity still has another year of eligibility in the city spelling bee, which he has won twice in its three year existence as the representative from the Boston Latin School. The school said it supports all of their students in competitions at all levels.


"We encourage our students to participate in competitions that call forth their talents and draw on their enthusiasm," said Susan Moran, the english and modern languages program director at Boston Latin School. "We're very proud of Ross and looking forward to his participation in the competition in Washington."


When Garrity is not bouncing on his trampoline and drilling lists of words, he enjoys playing football, baseball and video games, such as Call of Duty. As a sports fan, the 7th grader is very excited that the national bee is covered by one of his favorite television stations.


"I watch a lot of ESPN and now I'm going to be on it," Garrity said.


The Scripps National Spelling Bee will be held in Washington D.C. from May 31 to June 6.