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Bay Area's Top Spellers Compete For A Spot At The 2015 Regional Spelling Bee

BERKELEY (KPIX 5) -- Get out your dictionaries. The annual Regional Spelling Bee is just a few weeks away.

Saturday, about two hundred students showed up at Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science in hopes of winning a spot on stage.

They came armed with their brains and ready to spell. Most of them were 4th through 8th graders, and had already won spelling bees at their schools.

First, they parted from their parents. Then, the students took a written test of 50 words, administered by KCBS Radio Money Reporter Jason Brooks.

Some words were familiar and some were head-scratchers. For example, 'blitzkrieg' -- sounds like it could be spelled r-e-e-g, or perhaps, r-i-g-g? But it's not.

Of the 200 spellers, only those with the best scores on this written test will go on to the oral bee.

That top 50 will come to KPIX 5's studios next month for the regional competition.

From there, one winner will represent the Bay Area at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington DC.

It's understandable why some parents experienced a range of emotions as they waited. Still, Navi Yatam was confident in his son.

"Gives me a little bit of nervousness, but I'm sure he'll do well."

So how did they do?

Edward French said, "I guessed at least 10 right."

"I'm just gonna hope for the best," said Katherine Zhang.

Students and parents will all have to W-A-I-T until their results are emailed to them next W-E-E-K.

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