Montgomery Bell Academy's Brian Swenson Wins the Nashville Citywide Competition of the Second Annual 'National Vocabulary Championship'

Montgomery Bell Academy's Brian Swenson Wins the Nashville Citywide Competition of the Second Annual 'National Vocabulary Championship'

Brian Swenson outperforms 94 other vocabulary scholars, winning $5,000 toward a higher education savings plan and qualifying to compete in the National Vocabulary Championship Finals in Los Angeles on March 10

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Brian Swenson, a 16-year-old junior at Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, outperformed 94 other local high school vocabulary scholars tonight, winning the NVC Nashville Citywide Championship. As the local champion, Swenson earned $5,000 toward a "529" higher education savings plan and qualifies to compete in the "National Vocabulary Championship" Finals in Los Angeles on March 10, 2008.

The National Vocabulary Championship is a national academic competition conceived by GSN (Game Show Network) and its educational partner, The Princeton Review. The competition goes beyond traditional 'spelling bees' to test word definitions and overall word comprehension while providing college-bound students with the tools necessary to effectively communicate their ideas to the world. The NVC is hosting eight citywide qualifying events prior to the NVC Finals in LA, in which Swenson will go head-to-head with 49 other students from around the country. The winner of the NVC Finals will receive $40,000 toward a "529" higher education savings plan and the title of 2008 National Vocabulary Champion.

Tonight's live event, sponsored by Comcast Cable, was held at Nashville School of the Arts in Nashville, TN. The event featured the top 95 scorers of the more than 16,500 students who participated at the qualifying level from local area schools including: Battle Ground Academy, Blackman High, Centennial High, Clarksville High, Creek Wood High, Eagleville High, East Literature Magnet, Glencliff Comprehensive, Greenbrier High, Hillsboro High, Hillwood High, Hume-Fogg Academic, Independence High, Kenwood High, LaVergne High, Lebanon High, Martin Luther King Magnet, Merrol Hyde Magnet, Montgomery Bell Academy, Montgomery Central High, Mount Julliet High, Nashville School of the Arts, Northeast High, Northwest High, Riverdale High, Rossview High, Springfield High, University School of Nashville, Upperman High, Watertown High, Whites Creek High and Wilson Central High.

Unable to attend the event in person, former Vice President Al Gore lent his support to the NVC in a congratulatory letter honoring the "tremendous accomplishment" of the citywide finalists for their "hard work and dedication in the classroom."

Swenson sealed his victory in the third and final round of competition by correctly identifying "edacious" as the synonym of the word "voracious" from the following sentence:

     "Known as an arcane epicure, the edacious gourmand occasionally lapsed     into sybaritic episodes, all to provide an exemplar for scrupulous     postulants."  

The knock-out-style round of vocabulary questions had begun with five finalists, of which Edward Powell (Montgomery Bell Academy) and Daniel Petroski (East Literature Magnet School) placed second and third, respectively. As second- and third-place finalists, Powell and Petroski will each receive Encyclopedia Britannica's 2008 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD as well as books and services from The Princeton Review. All competitors were awarded one-year Encyclopedia Britannica Online subscriptions from NVC sponsor Encyclopedia Britannica.

On March 10, Swenson will be joining Yvonne Lin, a 16-year-old sophomore from Folsom High School, who recently won Sacramento's NVC citywide championship.

Comcast Cable, sponsor of this and other educational initiatives in the area, has again lent support to the National Vocabulary Championship. "Our partners at GSN have created a world-class event with the National Vocabulary Championship, and Comcast is honored to bring it to the Nashville region as part of our ongoing commitment to the community," said John Gauder, area Vice President for Comcast Nashville. "We congratulate Brian on an outstanding achievement here in Nashville and wish him the best of luck in the national finals."

"Comcast has been a valued supporter and committed partner of the NVC's efforts to further promote education programs in schools throughout the Nashville region," said Dennis Gillespie, Senior Vice President of Distribution, GSN. "We're thrilled that so many students like Brian are participating in cities across the country this year and look forward to seeing him represent Nashville in the national finals on March 10."

Students who do not attend a participating high school and have not taken the in-school qualifying exam remain eligible to participate in the NVC and are encouraged to do so by competing in the National Qualifying Competition online at http://www.winwithwords.com/ through November 30. Top scorers from the online National Qualifying Exam will be invited to take the in-person Regional Exam on January 12, 2008, and up to 42 of the highest scorers from the National Qualifying Competition will be flown to Los Angeles to compete in the NVC Finals on March 10.

   To learn more about the NVC, visit http://www.winwithwords.com/.    About the "National Vocabulary Championship"  

GSN's National Vocabulary Championship (NVC) is a nationwide academic competition that offers high school students the opportunity to win money toward college tuition through local and national events. Created by GSN, along with educational partner The Princeton Review, the NVC is open to eligible high school students in the 50 United States and District of Columbia. The NVC is the cornerstone of GSN's award-winning "Win With Words" public service campaign dedicated to improving language arts skills in high schools by promoting the value of an enhanced vocabulary, providing free Princeton Review study materials and engaging students in wordplay. For free vocabulary study materials, to take the NVC qualifying exam, or for more information on GSN's National Vocabulary Championship, please visit http://www.winwithwords.com/.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter or participate in the NVC. Open only to high school students who are legal residents of the U.S., between the ages of 13 and 19 as of the date of the applicable NVC exam and/or event. Minors in their state of residency must provide written consent from their parent or legal guardian to be eligible to advance to an NVC citywide championship or regional exam. Fifty finalists (eight citywide champions and 42 top scorers from the National Qualifying Competition) will win an opportunity to compete for $40,000 towards college tuition at the National Vocabulary Championship Finals. Void where prohibited. See Official Rules at http://www.winwithwords.com/ for complete details, including dates of NVC qualifying examinations and events, additional eligibility restrictions and prize descriptions/restrictions.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) (NASDAQ:CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com/) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.1 million cable customers, 12.4 million high-speed Internet customers, and 3.5 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

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Source: GSN

CONTACT: Cindy Ronzoni of GSN, +1-310-255-6933, cronzoni@gsn.com

Web site: http://www.gsn.com/
http://www.winwithwords.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment