WASHINGTON — Mitchell Kameha Miya, 14, of Hanford, was going to to follow his breakfast ritual Tuesday before stepping up to compete in the 86th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.
“I have to have French toast before a competition … with butter and syrup,” Mitchell said.
As one of 281 spellers competing Tuesday in the national competition, Mitchell said that this competition is just like the others, just with more people and media buzz.
From county bees to the statewide competition, Mitchell said that his love for spelling has always kept his nerves at bay.
Spellers from all 50 states and several foreign countries, including the Bahamas, China and Ghana, will compete Tuesday through Thursday for the coveted title and $30,000 cash prize.
Mitchell said that he has met a lot of great people and it’s nice to see kids his age interested in the same things as he.
For the first time ever, spellers will be tested on the definition of words as part of preliminaries, cutting the number of spellers down to 50 by Wednesday afternoon.
But Mitchell said he isn’t too worried about the new format.
“Usually I can tell what the word means by looking at the root or prefix,” he said.
And as for the spelling part of the bee, Mitchell said that sometimes the easier words get him to second-guess himself.
“Words like Kona,” he said. “Sometimes I overthink it.”
Mitchell’s father, Michael Miya, said that he is excited to watch his son compete. One of his daughters has also competed in local spelling bees. But when asked if spelling runs in the family, Miya said, “I’m a terrible speller. I’ve got to use spell check for everything.”
Miya said that after Tuesday’s preliminary round, he and his family will take a break and head to the Capitol for a tour.