Just two things stood between Finn Lewis (14) and spelling glory. A stutter and the 10-letter word ostensible.
Ostensibly and amazingly, those hurdles were no match for the Wellington teen, who was crowned New Zealand’s spelling bee champion on the TVNZ 1 show Spellbound.
The next challenge was making sure the large, shiny trophy gets back to Wellington from Auckland in one piece, jokes Finn’s mum Lynley (49).
“We are just so very, very proud of him,” she says beaming. “The spelling is probably the lowest on the list that we are proud of him for. The way he had the courage to stand up at the Wellington Regional finals and spell was great because that was the first time he had stood up and spoke publicly.
“And then to come up to Auckland and do it on national TV! We are so proud of his courage in standing up, not only to spell, but to also give a speech at the end.”
The speech she is talking about is when Finn opened up on stage, telling host Toni Street what his experience on Spellbound meant to him.
“I said that it was a really big moment for me,” recalls Finn.
“I think this is the first time in my life when I’ve met a bunch of people where I’ve fit in.”
That comment no doubt moved many watching the newly-crowned champ, but no-one more than his family.
“The way he supported the other kids throughout the competition was fantastic,” asserts Lynley. “We were saying the night before the final, we don’t care who wins because Finn had actually won in so many ways already.”
As someone with a bad stutter, getting up on stage to spell in front of the entire country could be your worst nightmare. But miraculously, when Finn spells, his stutter stops.
“Just like when you sing, when you spell you don’t stutter because you are using your vocal cords in a different way. It also doesn’t come up when I talk in accents,” he explains.
Finn began stuttering in intermediate school and, unfortunately, up until this year, it was only getting worse.
Lynley and her husband Shaun took him to a speech therapist and the progress has been incredible to witness.
“It is amazing because before the therapy, his stutter was really stopping him. It’s heartbreaking as parent to watch, just knowing he has so much beautiful language in his head and to see him not be able to get that out.”
Finn nods as he details the dramatic change in his speaking ability, saying as a matter of fact his stutter no longer bothers him!
“Most of the training has been to help me predict when the stutters are going to happen,” he explains. “My therapist has been amazing. He said a stutter is only bad if it stops you from doing what you want to do. Stutterers have just as much to say, in fact, sometimes they have even more to say than those without a stutter.”
With Spellbound host Toni Street.
So how does one become the best young speller in the country? You don’t have to read a dictionary, says Finn, although he has, in fact, done that “about twice I think?”
“But I’ve always had a very advanced vocabulary. On a good day I can read about two to three medium-sized books and I’ve even self-published a book about the journey of a young elf as he goes on a spiritual and physical journey to save his home from a sorcerer.”
Born prematurely at 32 weeks, weighing just 1.3 kilograms, Finn was introduced to words at a very young age.
“As with many premature babies, I had trouble breast-feeding him,” says Lynley. “I’m quite stubborn, though, and I was determined I would breastfeed.
“My husband and I had read that a child picks up much of its vocabulary in the early years, so to make the feeding times more interesting, we’d have a theme of the day during each feed and say as many words as we could to Finn, anything from botanical names to musical words. We sound like a bunch of nutters,” she laughs.
“Well, that’s because we are, Mum,“pipes up Finn. “You’ve done a good job of passing that down to us!”
Finn’s fellow contestants, who he describes as “fantastic”.
It’s evident the Lewis family is a tight unit because what 14-year-old would give a third of his prize money to his siblings?
Yes, along with the $5000 he’s won towards future study, – he says he wants to go into robotics or engineering – and $1500 spending money, Finn is giving a portion of his winnings to his younger brother Blake (11) and sister Kate (9).
“Before the competition, they asked me if they would get anything, so I said yes because I’m a good brother,” he laughs.
The entire Lewis family, especially Finn and Lynley, are just so grateful they got to be part of the experience.
“What it’s done for his confidence and to feel part of a group – he was a changed man before that final,” tells Lynley.
“I’ve met some great friends and fantastic people – it has just been incredible,” Finn smiles.
Words: Ciara Pratt
