Spelling bee almost runs out of words

Twenty-one of New Zealand’s top spellers battled it out in the longest ever New Zealand Spelling Bee grand final in Wellington on Saturday.

In the end Lucy Jessep from St Margaret’s College in Christchurch held her nerve to clinch victory from Marlborough Boys’ College pupil George Turner, by spelling the word ‘‘pusillanimous’’ correctly.

As well as picking up the spelling bee trophy, Jessep receives $5000 towards pursuits.

‘‘When I heard pusillanimous, I realised I did know that word but was not sure I would get it,’’ Jessep said afterwards.

She was a big fan of words and thanked her teacher for entering her into the competition and thanked her friends for helping her revise the list of 200 words.

‘‘It hasn’t really sunk in, it’s quite a shock. I was not expecting to win this. It’s pretty exciting,’’ she said.

Judge Rachel Kitteridge said the three-hour battle of words was her academic the longest the competition had ever gone.

‘‘We almost ran out of words.’’ The tiebreaker ‘‘pusillanimous’’ means showing a lack of courage or determination.

Founder Janet Lucas said the judges all agreed it was the toughest and longest competition with an incredible group of pupils.

It was nailbiting when it got down to the final two, she said.

‘‘The standards increase every year, and we find the spellers are now coming with a real focus and a competitive drive - they want to do well and they want to win.’’

There was complete silence in Te Papa conference room as the year 9 and 10 students took to the Wellington stage to compete in the grand final.

Only the laughter after anecdotes used to define words broke the the tense atmosphere.

The finalists had already beaten 200 other hopefuls from more than 100 secondary schools and colleges throughout the country.

The competition, which is in its 13th year, started with a written classroom test, followed by six regional semifinals held around New Zealand.

Car plunges down hill

A woman is fighting for life after her car plunged 100 metres down a steep South Taranaki hill yesterday morning. Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter pilot Lance Burns said the woman’s car had stopped on a flat spot about two-thirds down the hillside. ‘‘[It was] quite a steep hill rather than a cliff.’’ Paramedics managed to carry the woman, in her 20s, to paddocks below from where she was taken to Wellington Hospital with serious to critical injuries. According to ambulance, the crash happened about 4am on Waitotara Valley Rd. It took about two hours to find the woman. The police serious crash unit was investigating.

Man’s body found

Aman missing for two weeks near Waihi has been found dead. Police located a body believed to be that of Grant Ridley, 46, who went missing from a farm where he worked. Search and Rescue personnel located the man’s body on Saturday morning. Police have informed the man’s next of kin and have referred the matter to the Coroner, a spokesperson said. Ridley had been living and working on a large farm in the valley about halfway between inland Waihi and Whiritoa. On Saturday, October 14, another resident on the farm noticed Ridley was missing and called the police.

Pitch invaders arrested

Police issued a stern warning after seven pitch invaders were arrested at Saturday night’s Rugby League World Cup match in Auckland. The group, which included a 15-year-old, were arrested after running onto the playing surface during the Kiwis’ win over Toa Samoa at Mt Smart

Stadium, a police spokesperson said. Six were charged with pitch invasion and the 15-year-old was referred to Youth Aid. Pitch invaders at Rugby League World Cup 2017 matches can be fined up to $5000 or be sentenced to up to three months in jail. Auckland City district operation commander Inspector Peter Gibson said under the Major Events Management Act, it was an offence to go onto the pitch or throw objects onto the playing surface at a major sporting event such as the World

Cup. ‘‘We will be enforcing the law on this rigorously during the tournament, and anyone who goes onto the pitch will be prosecuted,’’ he said. Saturday night’s incidents were disappointing, Gibson said. The Kiwis beat Samoa 38-8, in front of 17,857 spectators.

Four lucky winners

It’s a Saturday night to remember for four Lotto players in the North Island, after they each won $250,000. The winning tickets were sold at Alfriston Dairy in Auckland, Pak’nSave New Plymouth in New Plymouth, Shakespeare Road Mini Mart in Napier, and Mac’s Photo and Lotto in Wellington. Powerball was not struck, and has rolled over to Wednesday night, where the jackpot will be $22 million. Strike Four has also rolled over and will be $500,000 on Wednesday night.