SANFORD — How do you spell “nervous”? About 20 young people from schools all over the county can sound out the letters to that word without missing a beat.

But butterflies in the tummy or not, several young people demonstrated their spelling prowess Tuesday, in a competition that lasted less than an hour, sounding out letters to words like “lucrative” and “travesty,” “diadem” and “aura.”

There was “malaise,” and “rejuvenate” and “corduroy,” and that tongue-twister, “dodecahedron.”

Dodeca-what? Really?

Welcome to the York County Spelling Bee, the precursor to the state spelling bee, set for March in Portland, where winners of the various county bees across Maine will sound out letters for the state title. Winner of the state bee goes on to the National Spelling Bee, held annually in May, in Washington, D.C.

It has been sponsored by the E.W. Scripps company since 1925, canceled only, according to online sources, during World War II.

Students advanced to the York County bee by winning classroom and school bees, according to Sanford Junior High School language arts teacher Sue Coveney, who organized the event.

Taking part in Tuesday’s spelling bee were students from the county’s middle and junior high schools, home-schooled youngsters and students from private schools, like Timothy Martell, who attends Sanford Christian Academy. Students can’t be in a grade higher than eighth grade, and can’t be more than 15 years old to take part.

“I’m excited,” said Martell, an 11-year-old, seventh-grade student, just before the bee was to begin. Martell said he was almost tripped up in his local bee, remembering in the nick of time to add the letter “e” to spell morale.

Pastor Todd Bell said it was the first time the academy has fielded a contestant.

Martell did well, but just as other students fell victim to a misplaced letter, he too found himself eliminated from the competition.

Ami Beaumier and Cavan Shepard hail from Bonny Eagle Middle School and admitted they were a little anxious.

“I’m nervous, but it’s a calm nervousness,” said Shepard. “I studied, a bit.”

Schools registered in the National Spelling Bee receive study lists for students and other guides, like official pronunciation lists. And there are other tools like Word Club, offered by the National Spelling Bee, that, for a fee, provides access to 120 spelling and vocabulary tests.

At the county bee, students on the junior high school stage were called on to spell a particular word by pronouncer Carol Baker-Roux. They could ask the word’s origin, definition, part of speech, for it to be used in a sentence and for the pronouncer to repeat it.

Parents and other students watched intently.

Participating students sat in two rows, standing to spell the word they’d been assigned, and after all students had spelled, the ones who were incorrect were asked to leave the stage. Eventually, Bryce Morales of Berwick Academy and Cody Newton of Biddeford Middle School remained.

Both boys spelled a slew of words, perfectly. Then came “accoutrement,” resulting in a miss for Newton.

Morales, a seventh-grade student at Berwick Academy, will go on to the state competition. His win on Tuesday is his third for the York County contest.

And dodecahedron? Well, break out the dictionary.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].