Nerves trip up Virgin Islands speller
Submitted on June 10, 2004 - 12:00am.
Chrysanthe E. Warrington - 2004 Hampton University Short Course
WASHINGTON – In her mother's eyes, Gemel Amelia Joseph “is still a winner.” But at the 77th Annual Scripps Spelling Bee June 2 a word about a bird tripped her up.
“Something unusual happened to me when it was my turn to speak at the mike. … I got nervous. … That never happened to me before,” Gemel said in a telephone interview.
“Ossifrage” was the word Gemel misspelled, inserting an “I” where the final “A” should have been. “Ossifrage” is a type of bird.
Gemel was the 238th speller in the second round of the June 2 competition. As she waited her turn, she said she began to feel restless.
“Something unusual happened to me when it was my turn to speak at the mike. … I got nervous. … That never happened to me before,” Gemel said in a telephone interview.
“Ossifrage” was the word Gemel misspelled, inserting an “I” where the final “A” should have been. “Ossifrage” is a type of bird.
Gemel was the 238th speller in the second round of the June 2 competition. As she waited her turn, she said she began to feel restless.
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