Ian Hardy - August 22, 2014

In the world of court reporting speed and accuracy is what gives you bragging rights. Since 1909 the NCRA has held a National Speed Contests to crown the fastest court reporter in the nation. It is the most difficult and challenging test of skill and endurance a reporter can face.
The 2014 competition drew 38 NCRA members and marked the start of the NCRA 2014 Convention & Expo in San Francisco. Contestants wrote and transcribed three legs each of five minutes in length – 220 wpm literary, 230 wpm legal opinion, and 280 wpm testimony, with the goal of qualifying for each with an accuracy of 95 percent or better. The best combined score wins the championship.
Jo Ann Bryce, RMR, CRR, a quick-fingered, old-school court reporter who uses a more traditional method, swept both the real-time and the speed competitions, ultimately winning gold medals in all five categories contested. Bryce works in San Francisco federal court and has been a court reporter for 39 years.
Bryce scored nearly 100% in accuracy, including a perfect five minutes of question-and-answer testimony read at a blinding 280 words a minute. (The average typing speed is less than 40 words a minute on a regular keyboard, according to some studies.) Bryce said “I am still in shock. I know I did it—it just sort of seems surreal.”
Congratulations to Jo Ann Bryce and everyone who competed in this year’s NCRA Speed & Realtime Contest.
Full list of speed contest results: http://thejcr.com/2014/08/02/2014-speed-contest-results/
Full list of realtime results: http://thejcr.com/2014/08/02/2014-realtime-contest-results/