Tony spells success

Tony Incorvati, 11, stood before an audience and spelled “N-I-R-V-A-N-A.”

Nirvana, meaning a completely enjoyable experience, is exactly what happened for Tony. A sixth grade student at Canton Country Day School, he surpassed his schoolmates in the fifth through eighth grade to make it to the Repository Regional Spelling Bee.

Tony made it to the final round of that competition. He was competing against 71 other participants representing their schools.

As one of the youngest competitors, he was not expected to advance to the National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.

The competition was down to the last two spellers. A seventh grade Holmes County girl and Tony.

“My husband and I looked at him and thought he may be the runner-up,” said Nancy Incorvati, Tony’s mother. “We still weren’t thinking he would win.”

Tony’s word: Sauerbraten.

His incredible ability to memorize words, from being an avid reader from the time he was 3 years old, and studying word lists, paid off.

As a sixth grader, Tony beat out 71 schools and went to the National Spelling Bee over Memorial Day week.

“We were shocked,” Nancy said. “This is just something that he has always liked.”

“I just love words,” Tony said “Words. Letters. All the stuff that a good speller should know.”

Last year, as a fifth grader, Tony tied for 64th. This year, out of 293 participants, Tony tied for 42nd. He was two points away from making it to the semi-finals.

The spellers started the competition with a written test. Twenty-five out of 50 words were scored. The second day, Tony competed in two oral rounds.

“The possible number of points you could have was 31,” Nancy said. “They wanted 50 students to go to the semi-final. Forty-one went forward. He missed going to the semis by two points. The cut off was 28 and he had a 26.”

Tony has a great deal of confidence for future spelling bees. “He believes he is going to win it in the eighth grade,” Nancy said.

Tony is getting more serious in his preparation.

“I didn’t know many roots. I’m going to study that for next year. I probably would have gotten more words on my written test if I had studied the roots as extensively as I plan to,” he said. “My mom says I don’t study enough. I need to study more.”

Spelling comes easily
Spelling comes easy to Tony. “I don’t have to work hard at it. It is one thing that comes very easy to me,” he stated.

“I think it is because he reads so much,” Nancy added. “There are times he remembers words from books he read. He has been reading chapter books since kindergarten.”

Tony watched many devote their entire life to this competition. “There were some who would coop themselves up in the bedroom with words, sit on their beds and read. I did not do that. I am glad to say that I have a life,” he laughed. “But,” he added, “I am going to be doing that next year.”

Message from an Olympian
Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson had a message for the spelling geniuses. “It was nice to see this 17-year-old address this group and tell them she realized when she was 11 that she wanted to be an Olympic gymnast,” Nancy said. “She set her goals and her sights and worked hard towards it. It was nice to hear her convey that message that being smart is cool. Don’t let people tease you. It is good to have goals and to work toward them.”
Shawn had another important message for them.

“The movie, ‘Akeela and the Bee,’ is true,” Nancy stated. “There are parents who drill their kids and push, push, push. In between rounds, there were people in the bathroom studying word lists. Shawn told them that it is important to have other interests. What happens after eighth grade?”

“We want Tony to have a life,” Nancy said. “He needs to be a kid. There will be enough time, later on in life, where you have to buckle down and just focus on one thing with certain career routes. Now is the time, to be a kid and have fun.”

Tony’s family is allowing him to pave his own path. “As long as it is fun for him and it is something he truly wants to do, then we will support and encourage him. We won’t push him, though. If this is something he wants to do, we will provide him with whatever he needs. We will practice words with him. Whatever we need to do.”

The Washington D.C. journey was an experience. “It is wonderful to see academics rewarded,” Nancy said. “These are the kids that probably get picked on because they are smart, but they were treated like royalty.”

“I liked all of it,” Tony said. “I liked the spelling bee competition just as much as I liked the sightseeing and the tours.”

He worked on a Boy Scout badge while he was there. “I worked on coin collecting and Citizenship in the Nation,” he said. “For the Citizenship badge, I had to visit a national monument or a memorial and tour the Capital.”

Tony also plays competitive chess. His team won the Ohio state grade level chess championship, this year.  He plays piano for his school’s jazz band and is moving toward becoming an Eagle Scout.