TODAY'S NEWS
Thursday, May 24, 2007; Page C14
Hué to Go: Girl Wins National Geo Bee
· A city that is divided by a river of the same name was the imperial capital of Vietnam for more than a century. Name this city, which is still an important cultural center.
That was the question that Caitlin Snaring of Redmond, Washington, answered correctly to win the National Geographic Bee yesterday. The answer: Hué (pronounced Hway).
  A place in history: Caitlin Snaring, 14, reacts after winning the title and a $25,000 college scholarship. (By Marvin Joseph -- The Washington Post) |
Caitlin, 14, didn't miss a single question in two days of competition. The only girl among this year's 10 finalists, she is the second female winner of the 19-year-old contest -- and the first in 16 years.
When she realized she had won, Caitlin clasped her hands and raised them toward the ceiling in the hall at National Geographic Society headquarters in D.C.
"It was amazing," she said afterward. "I knew I could do it. Boys . . . " She stopped and made a face, then started over: "I really wanted a girl to win."
Caitlin represented her state in last year's bee, but didn't make it to the finals. Her dad, David, said that right after that event she started studying -- "between four and six hours a day, every day of the year, at her brother's baseball games, after church, with a flashlight at night."
Caitlin, a homeschooled eighth-grader, said geography is her passion. "Girls are better spellers than boys," she said, but spelling isn't as challenging because "if you want to know how to spell something, just go to Microsoft Word."
To prepare for the geo bee, Caitlin studied lots of maps, concentrating on the details. For her win, she gets a $25,000 college scholarship.
Second place (and a $15,000 scholarship) went to Suneil Iyer, 12, of Olathe, Kansas. Mark Arildsen, 13, of Nashville, Tennessee, came in third ($10,000).
Three-time District representative Ben Geyer, 13, made his first appearance in the finals but bowed out on a question about where an animal called a Tamandua lives. (The answer is Trinidad.) Ben said he will try again next year.
-- Ellen Edwards
Read more about the bee in today's Metro section.
CORRECTION: Obi-Wan Kenobi's quote about bringing "balance to the Force" was uttered in Episode III of "Star Wars," not Episode I as we said yesterday.
Post a Comment
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.