Southwest Focal Point Community Center in Pembroke Pines hosted the first annual Senior Spelling Bee on Tuesday.
There were 15 contestants ages 68 to 92.
They might have had difficulty hearing some of the words.
Here's an example of one exchange between the moderator and a contestant
Frank, your word is injunction. Injection? Injunction.”
But they had no problem spelling words like funereal and absolution. They were given some tricky ones like flaccid and friar, easily confused with fryer.
The final three were all spectacular spellers.
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There was 79-year-old Johanna Rivera who is not a fan of spell-check on the computer.
I think there's too much help for kids.I think they have to learn to do it themselves," she said.
How does 76-year-old Selma Goldwasser keep her skills so sharp?
Not purposely to keep my spelling, but I like to play Scrabble, and I like to do crossword puzzles, and when I was a child I was good in spelling. I always used to win the spelling bee in school," she said.
Not this time.
The winner is Alida Morgan who's 80-something, she won't divulge her exact age. But there's no secret to her success.
I just read.I just read novels or whatever," she said.
She won a first place certificate and a $50 cash prize.
The winning word? T-A-C-I-T-L-Y
Morgan was looking forward to competing again next year.
