Proudly supported by... Captions by Imogen Staines. Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Copyright Able 2016 APPLAUSE Good evening, friends and whanau. We've reached the end. The goal is in sight. The treasure at the end of this linguistic rainbow is right there to grab. This is the grand final of the 2016 NZ Spelling Bee. My name is Toni Street, and over the next hour I'll once again be guiding both you at home and our 12 magnificent finalists through Spellbound, the ultimate Kiwi spelling test. Last week six more competitors won spots in the grand final, joining the six who triumphed in our first show. They're a bunch of charming, hilarious young people who've all worked long and hard to become ridiculously good spellers. So let's meet them. Ladies and gentlemen, our finalists. CHEERING, APPLAUSE First up to spell is Amy from Ashburton. This is Roan, back representing his home city of New Plymouth. Hugh is one of our two Dunedin finalists. Fourth up, it's Luke from Auckland. Abby is here for a win for Wellington. The hat is back. Samuel's our other Dunedin speller. Abigail's eyeing the prize for Hamilton. Not far behind is Wellington's Finn. Another Wellingtonian, Peter's back for the final. Laura's all heart and here for the capital. Could Wellington's Isaiah be victorious tonight? Not if Isabel has her way. She's our 12th finalist. Now, as usual, Ronnie Taulafo is on holding-hands and wiping-brows duty with some very important people, some whose fantastic genes will no doubt have made this all possible tonight. Respect where it's due ` the finalist families. Ronnie. Yes, we are here with the super-excited final-12 parents. How are we feeling, family? CHEERING Yeah! And, now, as a father, I mean, you must be super proud of your boy. Oh, fantastic, yeah. He's, um, one in a million. Um, and, yeah, super proud. Mum, tell us ` like, how has Samuel changed over the process of, uh, Spellbound? Oh, I think he's just loved the whole experience, and he'll remember this for life. He's met some really cool kids here, and they've all had a great time. OK, rules time now, but first, some people who are no doubt judging my language and diction, firm but faultlessly fair, from the NZ Spelling Bee, founder and passionate wordsmith Janet Lucas, QSM. APPLAUSE The wizard of words, Rachel D'Cruz. APPLAUSE And renowned lexicographer and author Dr Diane Barnsley. APPLAUSE Welcome again to all of you, and good luck. And finally, the Socrates of sound. It's Owen 'The Voice' Scott. Welcome to you, sir. Good evening, Toni. APPLAUSE As usual, Owen here will give each of our competitors a single word to spell. At this point they can ask Owen for more information, including the definition of the word, its origin, its use in a sentence, what sort of word it is, and they can also ask to hear the word again. They've then got to make an attempt to spell the word. They cannot pass in this game. Now, I nearly forgot the prize. The winner tonight will be walking away with a Prezzy Card from Kiwibank worth $1500 to put towards their studies, and a rather useful $5000 cash. And, boy, will they deserve it after all of this? So enough talking. It's time to welcome those words to the stage. Let's get Spellbound. UPBEAT MUSIC Amy, could you please step up to the centre? I'm Amy. I'm 14 years old, and I go to Ashburton College. So, Amy, what's the hardest word you can spell? Mm, I'm not sure. How about appoggiatura? A-P-P-O-G-G`I-A-T`U-R-A. Let's just say that's right. ALL LAUGH Hello, Amy. Hi. Good luck. Your word is ermine. Could I please get the definition? A stoat or the white winter fur of the stoat used for trimming the ceremonial robes of judges and peers. Ermine. E-R-M-I-N. Ermine. BUZZER BLARES, GROANING Ooh, Amy, that was a tough one. Unfortunately that's incorrect. If you could take your seat. (INHALES SHARPLY) There you go, team. That's how hard it can be to start this contest. Roan, you're up next. Hello, Roan. You have two slight variations on your word. You can either have caldera or cauldera. Can I please have the definition? It's a large volcanic crater, especially one formed by a major eruption, leading to the collapse of the mouth of the volcano. C-A-L-D-E-R-A. DING! APPLAUSE Correct, Roan. Well done. You can take your seat. Hugh, you're up next. I'm Hugh Gibson. I am 14 years old, and I come from Outram in Dunedin. Dunedin's a pretty rainy place, but it's` yep, it's a pretty good` just a pretty good place. It's got a great museum and all this` just cool stuff. I just like looking at all the exhibits and stuff. The animals are pretty scary, but they're cool as well. (CHUCKLES) Hey, fancy seeing you here. Well, I like to fly my drone around and play computer games, make some stuff out of wood in my back shed and read and just do other academicy stuff. Hello, Hugh. > Hi. Your word is facade. Can I have the definition? The front of a building facing on to the street,... WHISPERS: Difficult but doable. ...or a deceptive outward appearance. F-A-C-A-D-E. Facade. DING! APPLAUSE Whew! That was a bit of a wait. Well done. Luke. Hi. My name is Luke Bao. I'm 13, and I go to Auckland Grammar School. In my spare time, I like to read, take photos and sometimes go swimming. If I win the $5000 prize money, I'll probably go on a trip to Europe. Hi. I'm Luke. Hi, Luke. I'm Emma. BOTH: Nice to meet you. So, I'm part of a spelling-bee competition, and I might win $5000. Where would you like to go? France, because I'm good at French at school. France would be great. 5000 will definitely get you there. But I have to win it first. I think I do have quite a good chance of winning it. Hello, Luke. Your word is visceral. Can I please have the definition? Relating to deep inner feelings rather than to the intellect. Can I please have the language of origin? Latin. And can I please have it in a sentence? The desire to run away from large spiders is visceral and sensible. V-I-C-E-R-A-L. Visceral. BUZZER BLARES, GASPING, GROANING Ooh, that was a nasty one. Abby, you'll be following that one. I'm Abby Martin. I'm 14 years old from St Oran's College in Lower Hutt. I skip every morning for about five minutes just because it's just something that keeps me awake, I suppose, and, um, yeah, it's good fitness as well, and I guess I kind of enjoy it, yeah. (CHUCKLES) I may go over some words a few times in my head while I'm skipping just to keep the momentum going, I guess, and, um, yeah, it's good practice for my words as well. Abby, your word is contagion. Could I please have the definition? The communication of disease from one person to another by close contact. C-O-N-T-A-G-E-N. Contagion. BUZZER BLARES Ooh, (SIGHS) incorrect. I'm sorry, Abby. Samuel, I know that's hard to follow. Let's see if you can get your word correct. Hello, Samuel. Good evening, Owen. Your new word is blithe. Could I please have the definition? Cheerfully or thoughtlessly indifferent. Happy, careless, casual. Blithe. B-L-I-T-H-E. Blithe. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. Well done, Samuel. Abigail, it's your turn. Abigail, your new word is stentorian. Could I have the definition, please? It's loud and powerful, and it refers to a person's voice. Could I have the language of origin, please? Greek. Stentorian. S-T-E-N-T-O-R-I-A-N. Stentorian. DING! APPLAUSE Well done, Abigail. Congratulations. Finn, your first word. Finn, your new word is obsolete. O-B-S-O-L-E-T-E. Obsolete. (WHISPERS INDISTINCTLY) DING! APPLAUSE That's a confident smile from Finn. Peter. Getting a little bit of advice from Finn, I see. It's all good. My name is Peter. I'm 14 years old, and I live in Paraparaumu. We've got a dog, five hens and a rooster,... All right, Puffles. ...a pair of turkeys, a ram, a fluctuating number of sheep and Tiara, a parrot. Because she's infatuated with my dad, she used to see me as competition. She used to chase me around and try and bite me and things. But now we've hopefully got over it, touch wood. Yeah, see, we can have fun being friends. (CHUCKLES) Yeah. Ow! Oi. Yeah, it's always a bit haphazard. Peter, your new word is panoptic. Panoptic? Could I please have the definition? Showing or seeing the whole at one view. P-A-N-O-P-T-I-C. Panoptic. DING! APPLAUSE Nailed it, Peter. Well done. The light in the face. You can go and take a break. Laura, may you step up to the centre, please? I'm Laura. I'm 14. I'm in year nine at Queen Margaret College in Wellington. I like playing the piano and flute, because it helps me to relax. I don't really enjoy playing my scales. They're kind of boring. (CHUCKLES) I like making new friends, and everyone there will have the same interests as me. Hopefully we'll all keep in touch afterwards. Hello, Laura. Your word is parapet. Can I have the definition? A low, protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge or balcony. Parapent. No, parapet. Parapent? No. Parapet. Parapet? Parapet. Parapet. P-A-R-A-P-E-T-... No, stop. ...T-E. Parapet. GROANING (LAUGHS) BUZZER BLARES Aw, Laura. Unlucky with that one. I think you realised that that was wrong, and your contestants are all wincing behind you. It must have been a real toughie. Have a chat. Isaiah, it's your turn up next. Isaiah, your word is prowess. Definition, please. A skill or expertise in a particular activity or field. Could your repeat the word, please? Prowess. P-R-O-W-E-S-S. DING! APPLAUSE Isaiah, that's correct. I don't know if you can hear your fellow contestants behind you, but they were spelling every letter with you. 'Come on, Isaiah,' I heard a few say. Isabel, your turn. Hello, Isabel. Hi. Your word is quorum. Can you give me the definition? It's the minimum number of members of an assembly or society that must be present... WHISPERS: Don't spell it. Don't spell it, cos they could hear you. Quorum. Q-U-O-R-U-M. Quorum. WHISPERS: Come on. Come on. Come on. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. Isabel, well done. I think that was particularly nasty, that word. Well, goodness me, they're not holding back on those gnarly words, are they? And unfortunately four of you will not be progressing through to the next round. Luke, visceral. I thought you had this one. You looked very confident. You had that little smiley face you give me. What happened? I was just unfortunate, I think. I didn't really know this word, and I thought that was the best guess for it, but... I would still like to thank all the teachers and all the organisers for this event. Oh, well, Luke` I wouldn't have gone this` that far. Well, Luke, all I can say is you've been a real favourite here. We love the way you stride up so confidently and deliver with such vigour, and it's been a real joy to watch, so thank you for being on this programme. We've really enjoyed you. But congratulations to the other eight. You're through to the next round ` one tantalising step closer to a big win. We'll be back for more Spellbound right after this. APPLAUSE Laura, what`? Like, what is something that you wanna take from this whole experience of Spellbound? Now I appreciate all of the different languages and all of their patterns, and it's just really cool to see people being able to do the things that they like and be really well recognised for it. It's a really cool experience. Yes, it is. And, um, so, is, uh`? Coming back next year ` is that in the cards? Yes, definitely. I would love to. . UPBEAT MUSIC APPLAUSE Eight ` a small word and an equally small number of students left in this spelling battle royal. Time, I'm afraid, though, that the number gets whittled down even more. Let's get Spellbound. Roan, if you could please come forward. I'm Roan Upson. I'm 15 years old, and I go to Spotswood College, which is in New Plymouth. I play tennis once or twice a week. It gives you such a good opportunity to raise your own skills and your fitness levels at your own pace. I like New Plymouth cos it's not too big, not too small. You can just hang out with your friends in the sun and go down to the beach and just enjoy yourself. My dog's name's Otto. He's really cool. He's a cross between a poodle and a schnauzer. He's really energetic, and he just loves going along the beach and chasing sticks and stones. Hello, Roan. Your new word is leviathan. Could you please use it in a sentence? Captain Ahab was obsessed by the leviathan Moby Dick. L-E-V-I-A-T-H-A-N. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. Well done, Roan. Welcome back, Hugh. Your new word is mellifluous. Can I have the definition? Pleasingly smooth and musical. OK. Mellifluous. M-E-L-L-I-F-L-U-O-U-S. Mellifluous. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. Hugh, well done. Samuel, if you could please step up to the centre. Hello again, Samuel. Hey, Owen. Your new word is apparatchik. Could I please have a definition? It's a member of a Communist Party apparatus. Could I please have the language of origin? It's Russian. Apparatchik. A-P-P-A-R-A-T-C-H-I-K. Apparatchik. DING! APPLAUSE That's the result you were after. Well done, Samuel. Abigail, can you please step forward? Hello, Abigail. Your new word is turangawaewae. Could I have the definition, please? It's the home base and the sense of identity that's associated with it. It's a place to stand. Could you repeat the word, please? Turangawaewae. Turangawaewae. T-U-R`A-N-G-A-W-A-E-W-A-E. Turangawaewae. DING! APPLAUSE Congratulations, Abigail. I think you knew you had that one. Finn, can you please take to the stage? I'm Finn. I'm 14. I'm from Johnsonville, and I go to Newlands College. I have written a book. It's called Elven Quest, and it has 31,000 words. It's on Amazon and in the National Library. I sat down one day and had an idea. I realised it was not just going to be a short story; it was gonna be a full book. When I grow up, I'm probably going to be some sort of engineer or a writer, because I'm quite interested in creating things. Hello, Finn. Hello. Your new word has two slight variations. You can either have Renaissonce or Renaissance. Can I please have the definition? It's the revival of art and literature in the 14th to 16th centuries. R-E-N-... WHISPERS: Come on, Finn. ...A-I-S-S-A-N-C-E. Renaissance. DING! APPLAUSE Fantastic. And lovely pronunciation too. Well done, Finn. You can take a seat. You'll be out of a job if you're not careful, Owen. I can see that. Yes. (CHUCKLES) Peter, your turn to have another crack. Hello, Peter. Your new word is bildungsroman. Bildungsroman. Please may I have the definition? It's a novel dealing with a person's formative years or spiritual education. The language of origin, please. German. Bildungsroman. B-I-L-D-U-N-G-S-R-O-M-A-N. Bildungsroman. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. Peter, well done. I am so glad that you got that correct, because if you got it wrong, I would have to say it, and there's no way I wanna say that word ever. (CHUCKLES) You can take a seat. Thank you. Isaiah, you're up. I'm Isaiah. I'm 14. I go to Upper Hutt College. My favourite subject would probably be English. I think this would be good for you. Which one? This one? This one. She's the best mum in the world. What about Maneuver? Maneuver. Can you spell that? I don't believe I can. M-A-N-... uver. Maneuver. Yeah! Perfect! (LAUGHS) I know! She's inspired me to` to come here. Love you, Mum. Love you and your hair, son. Yeah, I love my hair too. (LAUGHS) Hello, Isaiah. Hello. Your word is poroporoaki. Poroporoaki. > Um, use it in a sentence, please. During the poroporoaki, the elder eloquently expressed how happy he was that the hui was attended by so many young people. (WHISPERS UNDER BREATH) Poroporoaki. P-O-R-O-P-O-R-O-A-K-I. Poroporoaki. DING! APPLAUSE Nailed it. Isaiah, well done. And I don't know if you saw that technique there. I always thought it would be really hard when you can't write the word. You can just write it on your hand. (MOUTHS) Imaginary. Hopefully I haven't just told everyone what you've been doing and they'll do the same. Isabel, up you come. I'm Isabel. I'm 14. I go to Macleans College, and I'm from Auckland. In my spare time, I like to draw, write short stories and play ukulele. To help me decide what I wanna be when I grow up, I could probably go to the guidance counsellor. What are you thinking of? Um, I could be an author or an artist or an architect or a librarian or a small-coffee-shop owner or a tattoo artist. I just don't know. (LAUGHS) Spelling's not in there at all. Mm, spelling's a maybe. (CHUCKLES) Isabel, your new word is imbroglio. Can you use it in a sentence? Pulling a waitress' ponytail is likely to result in an imbroglio. I really hope she gets it. I-M-B-R-O-G-L-I-O. Imbroglio. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. Well done. A lot of nodding going on behind you. Well, this time the maze of words has led none of you down a dead end, despite the best efforts of our smiling assassin over there, Owen. Isaiah, poroporoaki. I obviously know what that means (!) You spelt it right, but do you know the definition? From what I recall, it means, um, a farewell at the end of a hui, or a meeting. Fantastic. So you not only know how to spell these words, but you've got the defer` definitions correct as well. That is so typical of you smart kids. I just love it. Well, you've all toughed it out so far, but let's not rest on our laurels. Which of these exceptional young people will get caught in our wicked web of words next on Spellbound? APPLAUSE UPBEAT MUSIC Without further delay, spellers, judges, Owen and you people playing along at home too, it's time to get Spellbound. Roan, if you could please come up to the centre. Welcome back, Roan. Your new word is salacious. Salacious. Can you`? Can I please have the definition? It's having or conveying an interest in undue or indecent matters. C-E-L-A-C-I-O-U-S. BUZZER BLARES Oh, Roan, I'm sorry, that's incorrect. If you could go and take a seat. Hugh, if you could come forward, please. It's the name of a character from Star Wars. C-A-L... S-A-L-A... Hugh, your new word is cinephile. Cinephile. Can I please have the definition? It's an enthusiast of the cinema. Cinema. Oh! Uh... OK. Cinephile. C-I-N-O-P-H-I-L-E. Cinephile. BUZZER BLARES (GROANS) Aw, Hugh. Great effort, but unfortunately that's incorrect. You can take your seat. I don't know what happened since we've come out of the break... I think that was an E instead of an O. Really? Yeah, like cinema. Oh. Samuel, can you please come forward? My name's Sam. I'm 15 years old, and I got to Otago Boys' High School. When I grow up I wanna do astrophysics ` combining the love of science with love of astronomy into one subject. So, we've got all the planets going around the sun, and, as you can see, Mars takes a lot longer to go around the sun ` in fact, two years ` two Earth years. Oh. If I lived on Mars, I'd only be 7�. (CHUCKLES) That's right. Yeah. Cheers for science. Yay. Ha! Samuel, your new word is decrepit. Decrepit. Could I please have the definition? Elderly and infirm. Worn out or ruined because of age and neglect. Decrepit. D-E-C-R-E-P-I-T. Decrepit. DING! APPLAUSE It's a winner's grin. Well done, Samuel. (CHUCKLES) Go and take a nice deep breath. Whew! Abigail, can you please step up to the middle? My name is Abigail. I'm 14, and I go to Hillcrest High School in Hamilton. I love reading and making jewellery and origami clothes. My little brother likes chess and Rubik's cube. Hey, Gav, do you wanna practise some spelling? Yeah, sure. Spell... persiflage. P-E-R-C-E-F-L-A-G-E. Close. P-E-R-S-I-F-L-A-G-E. Ah. Need to practise a little bit more, Gav, if you wanna get to the spelling bee. Abigail, your new word is emphatic. Could you please use it in a sentence? When I asked Toni if she'd like to borrow my Michael Buble CD, the answer was an emphatic no. (MOUTHS) Emphatic. E-M-P-H-A-T-I-C. Emphatic. DING! APPLAUSE Congratulations, Abigail. Hello, Finn. Hello. Your word is eristic. Can I please have the definition? Characterised by debate or argument. E-R-I-S-T-I-C. Eristic. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. Well done, Finn. Peter. WHISPERS: Hard word. Good luck. Come on up. (EXHALES SHAKILY) Shake it off. Whew! Peter, your new word is eviscerate. Eviscerate. Uh, please may I have the definition? To disembowel. That's of a person or an animal. Eviscerate. E-V-I-S-C-E-R-A-T-E. Eviscerate. DING! APPLAUSE Whoo-hoo! Well done. Isaiah, it's your turn again. Good luck. Thank you. Isaiah, your new word is frenetic. Um, definition, please. Fast and energetic in a rather wild and uncontrolled way. Could you please repeat the word? Frenetic. F` Frenetic. Frenetic. Frenetic. Oh. K. Frenetic. F-R-A-N-E-T-I-C. BUZZER BLARES, GROANING Aw, Isaiah. Hard luck. (SIGHS) You can take to your seat. Isabel, you can step up to the plate. Isabel, your new word is impeccable. Impeccable. Impeccable. I-M-P-E-C-C-A-B-L-E. Impeccable. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. So calm, Isabel. I like your style. Really great job, everyone, but I'm afraid time to say au revoir to Roan, Hugh and Isaiah. Cinephile. What sort of word is that? Did you know what it meant? Nope. No idea. I thought that one point when you` you grasped that it had something to do with the cinema and you kinda went, 'Oh, I've got this...' Yeah, yeah. At that point, did you think, 'I` I could get this word'? Yeah, I thought so, yeah. And what`? what went wrong? Did you just have to guess in the end? Um, so, like, I thought I had it, but, yeah, obviously just not. Yeah. Hugh, you are under a huge amount of pressure on this stage. For people watching on their couches right now, can you describe what this is like? Stressful. CHUCKLING Um, intense. Yeah, just... Yeah. Would you do it again? Probably. Hey! That's what we like to hear. Well done, Hugh. Well, congratulations to our fabulous five ` Samuel, Abigail, Finn, Peter and Isabel. We'll be back with Spellbound right after this. APPLAUSE Oh, well done, Sai. You did well. Well done, Hugh. I tried my best. And that's the main thing. Hey, this is just once step in his big journey. He's going places, so, yeah, it's just a step. Well done. You're gonna go on to accomplish many many great things in your life, Hugh, so well done, my brother. And, Dad, how are we feeling for`? Super proud. Lisa and I are really proud of him. 'Course. The fact that he got to get up here, irrespective of where he got to. (SNIFFLES) Yeah, yeah. You've done really well. Man, you're making me teary now, man. ALL CHUCKLE That was awesome stuff. UPBEAT MUSIC APPLAUSE Welcome back to Spellbound. Now, this is the grand final, and you join us as five are still in the race, and here they are. (INHALES DEEPLY) I hope you're all feeling OK. Let's do the deep breathing. Let's put ourselves in the zone. Minds calm and clear. Time to get Spellbound. Samuel, can you please come forward? Samuel, your new word is bedlam. Bedlam. Could I please have a definition? A scene of uproar and confusion. (EXHALES SLOWLY) Could you please repeat the word? Bedlam. Bedlam. B-E-D-L-A-M. Bedlam. DING! APPLAUSE Correct. Samuel, (LAUGHS) well done. You can go and take a seat. Abigail, it's your turn. Abigail, your new word is blasphemy. Could I have the definition, please? Profane or sacrilegious talk about God or sacred things. Could I have the language of origin, please? It's Middle English via Old French from Latin from Greek. CHUCKLING Could you repeat the word, please? Blasphemy. Blasphemy. B-L-A-S-P-H-E-M-Y. Blasphemy. DING! APPLAUSE Abi, don't you love it when a word comes from pretty much everywhere? (CHUCKLES) Really helpful, wasn't it (?) Yep (!) You can take a seat. (INHALES DEEPLY, EXHALES HEAVILY) Finn, your new word is perspective. Perspective. P-E-R-S-P-E-C-T-I-V-E. Perspective. DING! APPLAUSE Ooh, what a cool cat. Peter, on your way up. Good luck. Thanks. (EXHALES HEAVILY) Peter, your new word is dalliance. Could I please have the definition? It's a casual romantic relationship. Dalliance. Dalliance. Could I please have the language of origin? It's Middle English from Old French. I think I'd get this wrong. WHISPERS: Yeah. Dalliance. Dalliance. Dalliance. Dalliance. Dalliance. D-A-L-I... Uh, can I start again? D-A-L-I`O-N-C-E. Dalliance. BUZZER BLARES Aw, Peter, unlucky. But you've done so well to get here. If you could take a seat. Two L's. Isabel, could you please come forward? Good luck. D` D- alliance. Oh! Isabel, you've got a choice here ` two pronunciations. The word is exiguous, or you can have exi-juous. That's a weird one. Latin. That's` That's weird. Exiguous? Exiduous, I think. Exiduous. Exiguous. E-X-I-G-U-O-U-S. Exiguous. DING! APPLAUSE Isabel, what a great effort. What a relief. You can take your seat. Aw, Peter, Peter, Peter. Have you enjoyed your time? Yeah, it's been great. I've loved it. Because you always bound up here. You're often jumping up on the spot, and you've got a great smile. It seems like you've lapped up every second. Yeah, I have. It's been wonderful. One thing I've noticed about you is often when other spellers come to the front here, you're wishing them good luck and you're having a wee little chat. Everyone's nodding their heads. I-Is that something that's quite important to you ` to be supportive of the others? Uh, yeah, I think we're all supportive of each other, cos we've been together for a while, so becoming a bit like a sports team, except we're facing against each other. Well, we've loved having you here, Peter. You've been one of our true characters, so all the very best, and congratulations for making it this far anyway. Thank you. Well, we're really getting close now, people. I'm sure your nerves will be well and truly shot, but we just have to last a wee bit longer as four becomes one here on Spellbound. We're finding our champion right after this. APPLAUSE Still on the` the Spellbound buzz? Oh, I'm still buzzing. It's definitely gonna be interesting to see who wins, and I'm just hoping that the four remaining can keep going for a while, cos they're really great. Um, any hints or` on who you think will take out the title of Spellbound? Uh, definitely one of the top four. (LAUGHS) UPBEAT MUSIC APPLAUSE All right, time to find our champion. For the final time, let's get Spellbound. Samuel, step up to the plate. Samuel, your new word is heliacal. Could you please give me the definition? Denoting the first rising or the last setting of a star or planet occurring at the same time as the rising of the sun. (EXHALES HEAVILY) Heliacal. H-E-L`L-I-A-C-A-L. Heliacal. BUZZER BLARES, GROANING Samuel, unlucky. Congratulations for making it this far, though. If you'd like to take a seat. One L. One L. (SIGHS) Abigail, could you please step forward? Abigail, your new word is duplicitous. WHISPERS: Duplicitous. Could I please have the definition? Deceitful. Duplic` Ugh. (CHUCKLES) Duplicitous. D-U-P-L-I-... WHISPERS: Duplicitous. ...C-I-T-O-U-S. Duplicitous. DING! APPLAUSE Congratulations, Abigail. And, hey, it doesn't matter how you say it as long as you spell it right. (CHUCKLES) Well done. Finn, you've got a slight variation in your word. you can have either eevanescent or evanescent. Evanescent. E-V-A-N-E-S-C-E-N-T. Evanescent. DING! APPLAUSE Boom. How's that for confidence at this late stage in the game? Isabel. Isabel, your new word is perquisite. Can I please have the definition? It's a special right or privilege enjoyed as a result of one's position. Would it be like prerequisite, do you think? Can I have the language of origin? No. It's Middle English from Latin. P-E-R-Q-U-I-S-I-T-E. Perquisite. DING! APPLAUSE Correct again. Well done, Isabel. So, (GASPS SHAKILY) three remaining. (EXHALES HEAVILY) Abigail, please step up again. Abigail, your new word is evangelical. E-V-A-N- G-E-L-I-C-A-L. Evangelical. DING! APPLAUSE Nailed it. Well done, Abigail. Breathe a sigh of relief. Finn, your word has a slight variation to it. So you can either have exigency or exi-gency. The definition? It's an urgent need or demand. Exigency. E-X-I-G-E-N-C-Y. Exigency. DING! APPLAUSE (CHUCKLES) Correct. Finn, you got a bit of a fright there. Yeah, I did. Whew! Well, you can go down and just chill for a bit. At least it wasn't a cross. That tick is meant to be a nice sound. (CHUCKLES) Isabel, on your way up, please. Isabel, your new word is pulchritude. Can I please have the definition? It's to do with physical beauty. Pulchritude. P-U-L-C-R-I-T-U-D-E. Pulchritude. BUZZER BLARES, GROANING Ooh, Isabel, that was a real toughie. I've never heard of that word before. Hard luck. So, it's getting pretty serious now, folks. We only have two contestants left. Abigail and Finn are going head to head. Abigail, you're up. Abigail, your new word is concupiscent. Concupiscent? Can you repeat the word, please? Concupiscent. > Could I have the definition, please? It means lustful. WHISPERS: Concupiscent. Could you repeat the word one more time, please? Concupiscent. WHISPERS: Concupiscent. Concupiscent. C-O-N-C-U-... P-I-S-E-N-T. Concupiscent. BUZZER BLARES, GROANING Unfortunately, Abigail, you got that one incorrect, so can you please take a seat? OK, so, here is where we are at currently. Finn has one more word. If he gets that correct, Finn, you will be the 2016 Spelling Bee champion. But if you get it incorrect, Abigail, you will be back in the game and you will get another shot. Finn, this is your chance to be the champion. Please come forward. (INHALES DEEPLY, EXHALES HEAVILY) Finn, your word is ostensible. Ostensible. Definition? Apparently true but not necessarily so. Can you repeat the word? Ostensible. Ostensible. O-S-T-E-N-S-I-B-L-E. He's smiling. DING! CHEERING, APPLAUSE Finn! You are our champion! LAUGHS: Congratulations! Well done, my friend. Oh! That (CHUCKLES) huge sense of relief. What was that moment like, waiting for that big tick? I was so nervous. It's like, 'Do I have it? Do I have it? Do I have it?' Looks like a little penguin shuffle. How confident were you that you had that right? I was actually quite confident, since I knew the word, but` but` but if I misspelled one letter, yeah... I know. Anything can happen, can't it, under this pressure? Yeah, anything can happen. I'm sure you've got a lot of emotions running through right now. Yeah. Just one last question ` this whole experience ` being part of Spellbound, meeting the people that you have met ` what's this moment like for you in terms of life experiences? Well, in terms of life experience, um, I think this is actually the first time in my life that I've met a bunch of people where I can actually fit in. Aw. Since... CHEERING, APPLAUSE Since... Since` Since` Since in the past, I have kind of been the one person who` who's not in a group, so it's actually a really big moment for me. Aw, Finn, you're gonna make me cry. CHEERING, APPLAUSE That is wonderful. Well, it is an absolute pleasure to be standing here with you, and I am so glad you have got so much out of this. You lap up every second. This is your moment, Finn, and you just enjoy it, OK? All right, to the all-important prizes. Our friends at Kiwibank have given us not one but two $1500 Prezzy Cards ` one for our winner and one for our runner-up, Abigail. CHEERING, APPLAUSE Well done. But no one goes home empty-handed. All 36 of our fantastic spellers are going to get a $50 Prezzy Card too. But there's one champion tonight, and his name is Finn. Finn, here is your cheque for $5000 and the winning trophy from our trustees, Wayne and Chloe Wright. Thank you. CHEERING, APPLAUSE Ladies and gentlemen, our 2016 Spelling Bee champion, Finn! CHEERING, APPLAUSE SWELLS Goodnight! UPBEAT MUSIC Oh, it's been awesome ` like, a free flight up here, free food, getting to meet all these other cool people. Yeah, it's been really fun. Some people had really hard ones, like er...mon. Ermine? Something like that. I'm a year 10 this year, so I won't be coming back next year, but if I could, I would. Yep, I'll try again next year. Copyright Able 2016