-Fifty of 278 spellers advance in national Bee,
The all stars you’ve been see- ing on ESPN this week aren’t your typical heroes: They’re between the ages of 6 and 15, wear braces and can spell words such as hobbledehoy and flibbertigibbet without missing a beat.
Fifty of the original 278 spellers remain in the 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee, but tonight a winner walks away with a $30,000 cash prize, a $5,000 scholarship, a Nook Color tablet — and most important, a championship.
Sportsmanship is obvious as the “spellebrities” exchange thumbs-ups and high-fives on stage throughout the tournament.
The audience erupts into applause Wednesday as 6-year-old Lori Anne Madison, who won the hearts of the nation as the youngest qualifier, spells “dirigible” correctly. In her second round, she incorrectly spells “ingluvies,” still prompting an enormous cheer from the crowd. Lori Anne doesn’t make it to the semifinals.
Semifinalists were selected based on their scores in an online spelling test Tuesday and two rounds of spelling on stage Wednesday.
Only one speller got a perfect score: 10-year-old Vanya Shivashankar, of Olathe, Kan. Last year, five scored perfectly. “This year, it was harder,” says Scripps National Spelling Bee Director Paige Kimble.
The big cameras streaming to ESPN undoubtedly make some spellers nervous, but to others, the coverage grants access to their biggest supporters.
Joseph Snelling, 10, of Sedalia, Mo., practices words over the phone with his dad — stationed in the military in Afghanistan.
“We just got off the phone with his dad. He is watching and says the whole squadron is cheering,” Joseph’s mother, April Snelling, says with a smile.
Andrew Stevens, 14, of Freeport, Ill., says it is “cool being on TV and the Internet.” He says the words at the National Spelling Bee are much harder.
Blind fifth-grader Richelle Marie Zampella, 11, of Muskogee, Okla., spelled both “oakenshaw” and “symmetrical” correctly.
“I am just so, so excited to be here,” says one semifinalist, 13year-old Vismaya Jui Kharkar of Bountiful, Utah. “Now I am going to go back to my hotel room where no one can hear me and scream as loud as I can.”