This weekend, 49 students will be competing to become the top speller in Schuylkill County during the 59th annual Regional Spelling Bee presented by The Republican-Herald.
Janet Joyce, director of marketing & community services at The Republican-Herald, said that the contestants include 20 boys and 29 girls from 11 public school districts and four schools from the Diocese of Allentown.
The bee kicks off at 10 a.m. in the auditorium at Blue Mountain High School and is open to the public.
Among those competing this year is Colleen Reed, 14, an eighth-grade student at Saint Clair Elementary/Middle School, who was the 2013 spelling bee champion and went on to the national competition.
Reed defeated 48 other students from 14 other schools last year and in the final round, was the only contestant to spell her word correctly.
After spelling "prevaricate," she spelled "bullionist" to become the 2013 champion.
Reed spelled the word "fimbrillate" incorrectly in the third round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May and was eliminated.
The last winner from Saint Clair Elementary School before Reed was in 1975.
Also participating again is Caleb Reedy, 11, a sixth-grader at Pottsville Area.
He is the son of Tiffany Reedy, principal of Pottsville Area High School, who said Wednesday that she is "extremely proud."
Reedy is one of six students participating from Pottsville Area this year.
In a telephone interview, he said that he has been practicing for the spelling bee since September, going over words in a spell binder with his mother.
He also thinks that he has a better chance at winning this year.
"I have experience now because I've been in the spelling bee before," he said.
The winner this year will receive an all-expense paid trip to the National Spelling Bee for them and one parent; a trophy; $100 from J. Bertolet Volkswagen; a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica online and a Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Joyce said that this year, John Malinchok's Nationwide Insurance Agency is purchasing e-readers for each of the finalists.
The finalists also receive a trophy from The Republican-Herald, and every participant receives a medal.