OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — The perfect younger spellers within the English language are competing on the Scripps Nationwide Spelling Bee, which celebrates its a centesimal anniversary this yr.
The primary bee was held in 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited different newspapers to host spelling bees and ship their champions to Washington. The bee is now held simply exterior the nation’s capital, at a conference middle on the banks of the Potomac River. It began Tuesday and concludes Thursday evening.
That is the 97th bee; it was canceled from 1943 to 1945 due to World Battle II and once more in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This yr’s champion would be the a hundred and tenth, as a result of the bee led to a two-way tie a number of occasions and an eight-way tie in 2019.
Indian People have dominated the competitors for a quarter-century. Since 1999, 29 of 35 winners have been Indian American, together with seven of the eight co-champs in 2019.
How can I watch the Scripps Nationwide Spelling Bee?
The bee is broadcast and streamed on channels and platforms owned by Scripps, a Cincinnati-based media firm.
— Tuesday, Could 27: Preliminary rounds streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff Extra and spellingbee.com from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. EDT.
— Wednesday, Could 28: Quarterfinals streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff Extra and spellingbee.com from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Semifinals streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff Extra and spellingbee.com from 2:30 to six:30 p.m. Semifinals broadcast on ION on tape-delay from 8-10 p.m.
— Thursday, Could 29: Finals broadcast on ION from 8-10 p.m.
Who’s competing on the Scripps Nationwide Spelling Bee?
The bee options 243 spellers, with no less than one from every of the 50 states and the District of Columbia; in addition to spellers from U.S. territories Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands; and from Canada, the Bahamas, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria.
Sixty spellers have been eradicated in Tuesday’s preliminary spelling and vocabulary rounds, leaving 183 to take a written spelling and vocabulary take a look at forward of Wednesday’s quarterfinals. One other 84 have been eradicated by the take a look at, leaving 99 quarterfinalists on the stage Wednesday morning.
Faizan Zaki, final yr’s runner-up, is again after shedding to Bruhat Soma in a lightning-round tiebreaker often known as a “spell-off.” The 13-year-old seventh-grader from Allen, Texas, was the one speller to get an ideal rating on the written take a look at.
If Faizan falls quick once more, he would have yet one more yr of eligibility. He has gained a number of on-line bees that prime spellers compete in as preparation, together with the Phrases of Knowledge Spelling Bee and the South Asian Spelling Bee.
Different potential contenders:
— Aishwarya Kallakuri, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Harmony, North Carolina, and winner of the SpellPundit Nationwide Spelling Bee.
— Avinav Prem Anand, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Columbus, Ohio, who completed second to Faizan within the Phrases of Knowledge bee.
— Vedanth Raju, a 12-year-old seventh-grader from Aurora, Colorado, and the youthful brother of 2022 runner-up Vikram Raju.
— Harini Murali, a 13-year-old eighth-grader from Edison, New Jersey, a finalist final yr and the youthful sister of Navneeth Murali, who would have been a prime contender within the 2020 bee had it not been canceled due to COVID-19.
— Tarini Nandakumar, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Spherical Rock, Texas, a earlier finalist who’s competing for the fifth time.What are the principles of the Scripps Nationwide Spelling Bee?
Spellers qualify by advancing by way of regional bees hosted by sponsors across the nation. As a way to compete, spellers should not have superior past the eighth grade or be older than 15.
Spellers should get by way of two preliminary rounds, quizzing them on phrases from a listing supplied upfront: one spelling spherical and one multiple-choice vocabulary spherical.
Those that make it by way of the preliminaries sit for a written spelling and vocabulary take a look at, with the highest 100 or so finishers advancing to the quarterfinals. The phrases for the take a look at, and for all subsequent rounds, are taken from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary.
All through the quarterfinals and semifinals, spellers are eradicated on the microphone by way of oral spelling or vocabulary questions.
A few dozen spellers advance to the finals. When solely two spellers stay, Scripps has the choice to make use of a lightning-round tiebreaker often known as a “spell-off” to find out the champion. Nevertheless, Scripps has taken away the requirement that the spell-off start at a selected time, giving bee judges extra discretion to let the competitors play out.
What are the prizes for the Scripps Nationwide Spelling Bee champion?
The winner receives a customized trophy and greater than $50,000 in money and prizes. Listed here are the prize payouts:
— First place: $52,500 in money, reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, and a $1,000 contribution to a college of the champion’s alternative.
— Second place: $25,000.
— Third place: $15,000.
— Fourth place: $10,000.
— Fifth place: $5,000.
— Sixth place: $2,500.
— All different finalists: $2,000.
Tales of be aware
— To win the Scripps Nationwide Spelling Bee, contenders should additionally grasp geography
— Nationwide Spelling Bee winners mirror on the way it modified their lives
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
