Sudbury, Ont., sisters crowned local spelling bee champions

By spelling the word "coronation" this month, Sophia Mathew was crowned champion in the junior category (ages 9-11) of the Greater Sudbury Regional Competition of the Spelling Bee of Canada.

The achievement landed the Grade 6 student a $500 prize, a trophy, certificate and the right to represent the local chapter at the national spelling bee in May.

"I'm really excited," said Sophia, who is no stranger to spelling bees.

This was her sixth regional competition, having won it four times.

In 2021, she was second in the national championship.

And this year, Sophia will have a family member competing with her in Toronto: her eight-year-old sister Lyra won in the primary category (ages 6-8).

"It lets me learn new words and it's a lot of fun," said Lyra, who hopes to one day write a novel and become a teacher.  

Sophia aspires to be an eye doctor. 

"I think eyes are really neat and I've already gotten a chance to learn a bit about them since I wear glasses," she said.

The third speller crowned this week was Riwaj Sigdel of McLeod Public School, taking the intermediate category (ages 12-14).

"It wasn't really me who entered," said Riwaj. "It was my mom. She entered because she saw it on YouTube and she was like, 'Hey this is pretty cool.' She was my biggest help in getting here," he said.

Riwaj said of spelling, "It can help me in my future. It can help me with anything, pretty much."

If he gets his way, that future will be in science, either physics or chemistry.

"I find it so invigorating. I love it so much," he said.