Defending champ wins again at Windsor-essex spelling bee
Isaac Brogan outspelled the students at his school, bested the top spellers across Windsor-essex, and now is moving on to the North American competition for the second year in a row.
With unwavering confidence, Brogan spelled out the final word “netiquette” to emerge as the twotime local spelling bee champ at the St. Clair College Centre for the Arts on Sunday, March 23.
The 12-year-old titleholder took home a $200 scholarship and a sixnight trip to Washington, D.C. — paid for by the WFCU — where he will face off against hundreds of students from across the world at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May.
“I'm very excited that I can represent my city in the Scripps spelling bee,” said Brogan, who is a Grade 6 student at Maranatha Christian Academy.
“I really enjoyed it last year and I'm thankful that I can go back this year.”
The annual WFCU Credit Union Scripps Regional Spelling Bee draws top student spellers from across the area.
A lineup of 26 quick-witted spellers between grades 4 and 8 had proven themselves in competitions at local elementary schools in order to secure a spot at the regional bee.
In the 15th round, Brogan went head-to-head against runner-up Kavya Vasudeva from Christ the King French Immersion Catholic Elementary School.
The competition determined which speller would proceed to the Scripps National Spelling Bee — the largest and longest-running event of its kind in North America since 1925.
After advancing to the sixth round of the semifinal phase in 2023, Brogan said he has been preparing for the international competition all year.
And now, with a second shot at the title, the star speller is not holding back.
Leading up to Sunday's regional bee, he stepped up his practice regimen in preparation.
“I've been really preparing for the last two-ish weeks, and I've been preparing here and there for the past month,” he said.
“I would type out the words, then my mom would test me. I'd read over the words, sometimes at school, sometimes at home.”
Also recognized on Sunday was Windsor Star managing editor Craig Pearson, although not for his exceptional spelling ability, but for his dedication over 19 years as pronouncer at the regional bee.
Pearson took home the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee Regional Volunteer of the Year award for North America. He will also follow Brogan to Bee Week at the national competition in Washington.
“It can be very stressful for them, but I like to say the spelling bees should spell f-u-n,” he said.
“But when they get it right — especially with the more difficult words — the exhilaration for them is obvious.”
The national bee will begin with preliminaries on May 26 and wrap up with finals on May 30 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.
When questioned whether he would return to the regional bee next year to try for a third championship, Brogan offered an enigmatic response: “We'll see.”