Coming up on February 24 at the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center in Benton Harbor will be the 2026 Cloverleaf Spelling Competition.
Organized by Berrien RESA, the event is a chance for students from all over Southwest Michigan to show off their skills and gain some experience in the spotlight. RESA student talent coordinator Tonya Snyder tells us the national competition is now in its 100th year, and the Southwest Michigan competition has been running since the 1970s.
“It’s an annual event gathering of some of the best spellers from Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties, and we establish a winner, and that winner heads on to represent Southwest Michigan at the national level,” Snyder said.
With technology now doing so much of our thinking for us, spelling might seem like an outdated discipline, but Snyder says having that skill makes for a more rounded education. Plus, the competition hones other skills for the students.
“It gives those students some extra skills. One of them would be standing up in front of a group of people under kind of stressful circumstances. Since spelling — while it’s important, it is not as heavily emphasized sometimes as other skills. It’s pretty intense to stand up in front of a group of people and do something that not many other people are asked to do in their life.”
We asked Snyder what advice she gives to students who want to practice for the spelling competition.
“Just practicing those word lists over and over and over again. The list of words that the Bee that we will run pulls from 4,000 words. And so, honestly, the best practice is just, while you’re driving in the car, have mom or dad tell you some words and practice spelling them. Or while you’re at the grocery store, read things. Reading and spelling are correlated, so read labels on cans. Read books, but read food things. Read all of the things that you can get your hands on. Just exposure, visual exposure to words, helps you understand letter combinations and how they’re said.”
Snyder says the competition will feature 54 students from 18 schools representing grades three through eight. The spellers earned their rankings in their school spelling contests earlier this school year. Students will compete for numerous cash prizes, with the top prize being paid admission to the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee held in Washington, D.C. in the spring.
Snyder says as far as she knows, Berrien County has never had a national winner, but who knows? This could be the year.
