With two experienced hands in the team, Ashburton College cruised to a well-deserved win in the Otago Daily Times Extra! spelling quiz for years 9 and 10 at Timaru Boys' High School last night.
About 40 teams with pupils from 11 high schools in Mid and South Canterbury competed.
While they had experience on their side, the Ashburton team was not confident of winning until after round 8, called All or Nothing, which involved using clues to guess mystery words.
Team member Fergielyn Catayoc said they were particularly worried about this round.
At end of the round, the scores were still close, with seven schools within one point.
But in the last two rounds Ashburton College pulled ahead to win with 90 points, three ahead of second-placed Timaru Girls' High School No 1, on 87 points. Roncalli College was third.
Simon Reid and Fergielyn Catayoc of the winning team had been previous competition place-getters and were both competing in their fourth spelling quiz, while Angela Naui (14) was a newcomer.
Simon was called into the team as a ring-in when one girl had to pull out.
The most challenging spelling words of last night's competition were restaurateur, mischievous and buffoon.
- Written by Marion Mouat.
