They quit having spelling bees at my elementary school, because I won them all.

(I wonder if a school would cancel a sports event because one kid always won it?)

They didn't have regional competition in those days.

welcome madame 7!

which word did you screw up on? or would that be too traumatic to bring up? your call.

we didn't have them at my school. I was so bummed.

This thread has got me wondering if competitions like spelling bees exist in nations where the native language has a generally consistent orthography, one in which the symbols used to represent sounds, particularly consonantal sounds, closely follow established rules with few or no exceptions or variations.

I can imagine the French, whose language has a plethora of silent letters and pronunciation rules that often seem to contradict the actual spelling of certain words, may have spelling bees; but what would be the point in Italy or Spain, where the written language is so orthographically regular?

Can you imagine native Hawaiian spelling bees?!? The competitors (not to mention the judges) would probably have to use the fingers on both hands to keep track of all the repeated vowels! ;-)

I won for my Catholic elementary school (1-8) in the 6th grade (c. 1972). Because the sponsoring newspaper was on strike that year, regionals weren't held, but somebody did pull together a competition for winners from private and parochial schools throughout the county. I came in 2nd or maybe 3rd... My word was "misdemeanor."--I'd never heard the word before and didn't know related words such as "demeanor," either.