THOUSAND OAKS : ‘Cincture’ Sinks Her in National Spelling Bee

Thousand Oaks eighth-grader Diana Ho didn’t win the 66th National Spelling Bee, but she learned a word she’ll never forget: the one that bounced her Thursday from the two-day contest in the sixth round.

“C-I-N-C-T-U-R-E,” Diana, 13, spelled in a telephone interview from her Washington hotel room.

It’s a noun referring to something that encircles, such as a belt or girdle, said Diana, who attends Los Cerritos Intermediate School.

Despite her loss in the competition, which went 15 rounds before a winner was announced Thursday afternoon, Ventura County’s spelling champion was thrilled to have participated at the national level, she said.

“I really didn’t think I’d go as far as I did,” she said.

Eighth-grader Geoff Hooper, 14, of Arlington, Tenn., correctly spelled kamikaze to win the title from a field of 234 youngsters ages 9 to 15 from schools across the country, said Reta Rose, director of the spelling bee.

Diana said she advanced easily in the first two rounds by spelling couvade and onomatopoeia, both from the 1,200-word list students used to prepare for the event. But by the third round, the competition moved off the list, she said.

When cincture was posed as her sixth-round word, Diana realized she’d never heard it.

The students were competing for a $5,000 cash prize and a set of encyclopedias or classic books. Diana won $75 for advancing as far as she did. Now, it’s time for sightseeing with her mother, Chinan.

“It’s pretty fun here in Washington. I don’t know if I want to go back yet,” she said.