The Champion City Spelling Bee is slated for June 8.
Lopez qualified for the National Spelling Bee in 2019, 2021 and 2022. (The event was cancelled due to COVID in 2020.)
“I’ve been doing spelling bees since I was in the second grade,” Lopez said. “Competing in Washington, D.C., was a really great experience and kind of defining of those middle school years for me. I just really grew to love it.”
When she “aged out” of the national competition at 14, she said she started dreaming of ways others could share the experience she had and discover for themselves opportunities that are available to strong spellers.
“I found sometimes people just really don’t know how far you can go with it. I just want to give people that exposure … I always knew I wanted to do something like this in Springfield.”
Credit: Jacquelyn Martin
Credit: Jacquelyn Martin
The Champion City Spelling Bee is open to all ages. For students, prizes include scholarship dollars. Prize possibilities for other competitors will include cash awards, food gift cards, concert vouchers and more.
Bragging rights for the winner, however, will last forever.
Lopez says it’s amazing the number of people who have spelling bee stories.
“Everyone I meet has a spelling bee story, mostly adults. They say, ‘Oh I was in a spelling bee when I was younger,’ or ‘my child was in one.’ So this will be an educational event but also a nostalgic event for a lot of people,” Lopez said.
She and her family — they live in Springfield — discussed the idea of the local championship and decided to pursue the idea. The teenager took the lead, which tapped into skills she has developed in communications and planning.
“It’s been a lot of emails. It’s writing. It’s being persuasive and presenting the event to both sponsors and participants … I really want to highlight local businesses and encourage engagement for them, so I’m working with them to build a word list that will allow the bee to highlight the sponsors and Springfield locations with word themes throughout the spelling competition.”
Tentative sponsors include Woeber Mustard Company, Greater Springfield Partnership, Sunflower Yoga, the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Del Pueblo Inc., Fireside Pottery, Bringing Awareness to Students, Ridgewood Cafe, Clark State College, Wittenberg University Hagen Center, Littleton & Rue Funeral Home and Crematory and Minuteman Press.
Lopez is proud the event will include a scholarship opportunity and a scholarship application process will be offered shortly after the bee for students who participated.
“A big bonus for students is that the entire fundraiser of this bee will be a scholarship fund that every sixth through twelfth grader who competes in the event can apply to,” she said. “They will be able to put that money toward their education.”
Participants will compete against each other to qualify from one round to the next, with no age category divisions.
“I really do think among the average adult and students, students often have the capability to spell just as well as adults because of all their exposure to books and reading at school .. It’s something that is developed by exposure to words.”
Competition is not limited to Springfield residents. Lopez said the bee is open to anyone in the area who wants to participate, regardless of age or where they reside in the area.
The total number of entries being accepted is capped at 30 to keep the time frame for the bee reasonable. Registration with a $10 entry fee will close on May 24.
Lopez will be among the judges for the event along with local educators and successful students.
Advance registration is required and is available online. Complete details on time, location and registration are available by visiting @thechampioncityspellingbee on Instagram or by emailing thechampioncityspellingbee@gmail.com.
Lopez encouraged participants to keep an eye on Instagram, which will be a great place to get more information and perhaps some hints as to what the themes and words might be for the bee as the date approaches.
“I didn’t really think that spelling could be ‘my thing’ anymore after I aged out of the Scripps National competition, but I’m now starting to realize it’s still pretty cool,” she said. “I’m excited to bring this bee to Springfield.”
About the Author