Tri-North 7th grader places 46th at Scripps National Spelling Bee

The Scripps National Spelling Bee was May 28-30 in National Harbor, Maryland. Reid Shaw, who tied for 46th place, was one of 245 spellers competing from all over the country and one of six competing from Indiana.

Reid just finished the seventh grade at Tri-North Middle School in Bloomington. He said he became interested in spelling bees when he was 7 years old and his parents put the National Spelling Bee on TV.   

“In second grade I found out I could do that myself so I started doing school spelling bees and every year I’d get closer and closer to winning my school’s spelling bee but didn’t do it until fifth grade,” Shaw said. 

After finishing top 3 at the regional spelling bee with about 250 schools, Reid returned to the national spelling bee where he tied for 173rd place last year. 

“Having done it before is going to be helpful when I’m on stage because last year I was freaking out and this year it will be a lot easier to keep my cool and spell the words right,” Shaw said ahead of the spelling bee.

Reid said studying for a school spelling bee is very different from studying for the national spelling bee. While studying for the national competition he has had the opportunity to learn different languages. 

“For a school spelling bee you can just memorize the study words and you’re fine, but at this level they can give you any word in the dictionary so you have to learn different language patterns and be able to guess the word well enough from the language of origin and definition,” Shaw said.

Reid said while in Maryland for the national competition last year he was able to do some fun stuff like visit Alexandria, Virginia, check out some museums and go to a Washington Nationals game.

Outside of spelling, Reid likes sports and even plays for the Bloomington Blue Sox travel team. In his free time he watches sports, plays electric guitar, hangs out with his friends and plays video games.

Reid said he is a super competitive person even when he plays sports or video games, so participating in spelling bees is good for him and helps him stay motivated and work hard for a goal. 

“I compare the national spelling bee to the MLB playoffs because even teams that have a really great season can end on a loss,” Shaw said. “Only one kid doesn’t miss at the nationals, so I think it helps me look at the year as a whole and feel good about it being a success.”