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Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
2025 National Spelling Bee: Columbus eighth grader narrowly misses final
WASHINGTON D.C. (WCMH) — An eighth grader from Columbus just missed out on making the finals of the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee in D.C. Columbus-native Avinav Prem Anand, 14, is sponsored by the Blue Jackets and was able to get all the way to the ninth round but misspelled the word 'Morillon' to be eliminated. This was Anand's fourth consecutive spelling bee and his best ever finish with being tied 20th overall. The Orange Middle School student swiftly advanced to the semifinals after a long day of spelling and vocabulary questions in the quarterfinals. 2025 Memorial Tournament: Five golfers to watch for 50th edition Anand spelled 'Thrombus', 'Nappe', and 'Watteau' correctly while also defining 'prolific' and 'timbre' correctly to get to the ninth round of 35 spellers. When asked to spell 'Morillon', he spelled it 'Merillin'. 10-year-old Joseph Keffer, a fifth grader from Athens at Chesapeake Middle School, was able to advance past the preliminaries but missed out on the quarterfinals after being eliminated from the third round test. Keffer officially finished tied 100th. The National Spelling Bee finals take place Thursday night at 8 p.m. An Ohioan has not won the competition since 2010 and a central Ohio competitor has never won. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Independent
28-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
Scripps introduced new words to mix up spelling bee. But some aren't happy
For Rudveep Randhawa, whose three children participated in eight consecutive Scripps National Spelling Bees, the competition took an unexpected turn. Randhawa, known as "Dr. Happy," watched his children navigate the high-stakes contest from 2016 to 2024. Daughter Aisha appeared four times, while daughters Lara and son Avi each competed twice. However, Avi's journey ended in last year's semifinals, and Randhawa was not pleased. According to Randhawa, the spelling bee has transformed into a geography bee at critical moments. Scripps has begun using obscure geographical terms to narrow the field in later rounds. While these words are in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary, they often lack familiar roots or language patterns. This deprives spellers of the tools they typically use to decipher unfamiliar words. The bee began on Tuesday and concludes on Thursday at a convention centre outside Washington. Along with multiple-choice vocabulary questions, geographical terms have changed how spellers prepare for the bee. According to reports, mastering these terms requires rote memorisation, a skill that has fallen out of favor. 'Geographical words can be super hard sometimes because there's no roots to break it down or sometimes you don't get a language of origin. It will say 'unknown origin' or the dictionary doesn't say,' said Avinav Prem Anand, a 14-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, who's competing this year for the fourth and final time. 'Basically, you have to memorise them because that's the only thing you can do.' Avinav put his preparation to use in Tuesday's preliminary rounds when he breezed through Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Others were not so fortunate: 12-year-old Eli Schlosser of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, heard the dreaded bell because he was unfamiliar with Terre Haute, the western Indiana city. He went with 'terrahote.' Last year, the Randhawa family of Corona, California, saw its decade-long spelling journey end when Avi misspelled Abitibi, the name of a shallow lake in northeastern Ontario and western Quebec. 'It's beyond the pale of what anybody would consider a reasonable geographical word, a small lake in Canada that not even my Canadian friends had heard of. Not even a top-50 size lake in Canada,' Rudveep Randhawa said. 'It's just bizarre. In all the years with geographical words, we had seen words of some significance, they may be capitals of smaller countries, or they may be some port city that had significance, things of that nature.' Yet for those who might find geographical terms unfair, Scripps has a message: Study harder. 'Per our contest rules, all words listed in Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, except those that are labeled 'archaic' or 'obsolete,' are fair,' said Molly Becker, the editorial director at Cincinnati -based Scripps and a member of the panel that selects words for the competition. Scripps considers encouraging intellectual curiosity as part of the bee's mission, and if kids with designs on the trophy have to learn more geography in order to prepare, that's arguably a good thing. 'You never know what word will stand out to a speller and spark a lifelong interest or introduce them to a new concept,' Becker said. Longtime spelling coach Grace Walters, a graduate student in linguistics at the University of Kentucky, cringed at the memory of Abitibi. 'Geo is definitely something that is feared by spellers,' Walters said, calling it 'a daunting task to study.' 'But if geo is unfair because it doesn't have patterns, that would mean other categories like trademarks and personal eponyms and words of unknown origin would also be unfair,' she said. Some spellers embrace the challenge. Faizan Zaki, last year's runner-up who's competing again this year, was thrilled to hear Abitibi and Hoofddorp — a town in the Netherlands — in 2024 because he had seen those words before. 'There's actually a section in Merriam-Webster that is dedicated to just geographical words, so sometimes when I'm tired from studying normal words, I take a break and I browse through that list of geographical words that they have,' said Faizan, a 13-year-old from Allen, Texas. You read that right: When Faizan gets tired of studying, he 'takes a break' by studying more. 'Pretty much, that's my life,' he said. 'But yeah, it's definitely enjoyable. I don't hate it or anything.'
Boston Globe
27-05-2025
- Boston Globe
To win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, contenders must also master geography
Advertisement Along with SAT-style, multiple-choice vocabulary questions, geographical terms have altered the way spellers prepare for the bee, which began Tuesday and concludes Thursday at a convention center outside Washington. Mastering them can require an out-of-fashion skill: rote memorization. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'Geographical words can be super hard sometimes because there's no roots to break it down or sometimes you don't get a language of origin. It will say 'unknown origin' or the dictionary doesn't say,' said Avinav Prem Anand, a 14-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, who's competing this year for the fourth and final time. 'Basically, you have to memorize them because that's the only thing you can do.' Avinav put his preparation to use in Tuesday's preliminary rounds when he breezed through Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Others were not so fortunate: 12-year-old Eli Schlosser of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, heard the dreaded bell because he was unfamiliar with Terre Haute, the western Indiana city. He went with 'terrahote.' Advertisement Last year, the Randhawa family of Corona, California, saw its decade-long spelling journey end when Avi misspelled Abitibi, the name of a shallow lake in northeastern Ontario and western Quebec. 'It's beyond the pale of what anybody would consider a reasonable geographical word, a small lake in Canada that not even my Canadian friends had heard of. Not even a top-50 size lake in Canada,' Rudveep Randhawa said. 'It's just bizarre. In all the years with geographical words, we had seen words of some significance, they may be capitals of smaller countries, or they may be some port city that had significance, things of that nature.' Yet for those who might find geographical terms unfair, Scripps has a message: Study harder. 'Per our contest rules, all words listed in Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, except those that are labeled 'archaic' or 'obsolete,' are fair,' said Molly Becker, the editorial director at Cincinnati-based Scripps and a member of the panel that selects words for the competition. Scripps considers encouraging intellectual curiosity as part of the bee's mission, and if kids with designs on the trophy have to learn more geography in order to prepare, that's arguably a good thing. 'You never know what word will stand out to a speller and spark a lifelong interest or introduce them to a new concept,' Becker said. Longtime spelling coach Grace Walters, a graduate student in linguistics at the University of Kentucky, cringed at the memory of Abitibi. 'Geo is definitely something that is feared by spellers,' Walters said, calling it 'a daunting task to study.' Advertisement 'But if geo is unfair because it doesn't have patterns, that would mean other categories like trademarks and personal eponyms and words of unknown origin would also be unfair,' she said. Some spellers embrace the challenge. Faizan Zaki, last year's runner-up who's competing again this year, was thrilled to hear Abitibi and Hoofddorp — a town in the Netherlands — in 2024 because he had seen those words before. 'There's actually a section in Merriam-Webster that is dedicated to just geographical words, so sometimes when I'm tired from studying normal words, I take a break and I browse through that list of geographical words that they have,' said Faizan, a 13-year-old from Allen, Texas. You heard that right: When Faizan gets tired of studying, he 'takes a break' by studying more. 'Pretty much, that's my life,' he said. 'But yeah, it's definitely enjoyable. I don't hate it or anything.'
Associated Press
27-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
To win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, contenders must also master geography
OXON HILL, Md. (AP) — Rudveep Randhawa's three kids competed in eight consecutive Scripps National Spelling Bees from 2016 to 2024, with four appearances by daughter Aisha and two each by daughter Lara and son Avi. Yet when Avi's spelling journey concluded in last year's semifinals, Randhawa, a pediatric endocrinologist who goes by 'Dr. Happy,' was decidedly grumpy. His gripe? At unexpected and critical moments, the spelling bee transforms into a geography bee. Scripps has begun relying on obscure geographical terms to winnow down the field of spellers in the later rounds. While the words are included in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary, they often don't follow familiar roots or language patterns, denying accomplished spellers of the tools they use to figure out which letters form the sounds of words they've never seen before. Along with SAT-style, multiple-choice vocabulary questions, geographical terms have altered the way spellers prepare for the bee, which began Tuesday and concludes Thursday at a convention center outside Washington. Mastering them can require an out-of-fashion skill: rote memorization. 'Geographical words can be super hard sometimes because there's no roots to break it down or sometimes you don't get a language of origin. It will say 'unknown origin' or the dictionary doesn't say,' said Avinav Prem Anand, a 14-year-old from Columbus, Ohio, who's competing this year for the fourth and final time. 'Basically, you have to memorize them because that's the only thing you can do.' Avinav put his preparation to use in Tuesday's preliminary rounds when he breezed through Sapporo, the capital of the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Others were not so fortunate: 12-year-old Eli Schlosser of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, heard the dreaded bell because he was unfamiliar with Terre Haute, the western Indiana city. He went with 'terrahote.' Last year, the Randhawa family of Corona, California, saw its decade-long spelling journey end when Avi misspelled Abitibi, the name of a shallow lake in northeastern Ontario and western Quebec. 'It's beyond the pale of what anybody would consider a reasonable geographical word, a small lake in Canada that not even my Canadian friends had heard of. Not even a top-50 size lake in Canada,' Rudveep Randhawa said. 'It's just bizarre. In all the years with geographical words, we had seen words of some significance, they may be capitals of smaller countries, or they may be some port city that had significance, things of that nature.' Yet for those who might find geographical terms unfair, Scripps has a message: Study harder. 'Per our contest rules, all words listed in Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, except those that are labeled 'archaic' or 'obsolete,' are fair,' said Molly Becker, the editorial director at Cincinnati-based Scripps and a member of the panel that selects words for the competition. Scripps considers encouraging intellectual curiosity as part of the bee's mission, and if kids with designs on the trophy have to learn more geography in order to prepare, that's arguably a good thing. 'You never know what word will stand out to a speller and spark a lifelong interest or introduce them to a new concept,' Becker said. Longtime spelling coach Grace Walters, a graduate student in linguistics at the University of Kentucky, cringed at the memory of Abitibi. 'Geo is definitely something that is feared by spellers,' Walters said, calling it 'a dauting task to study.' 'But if geo is unfair because it doesn't have patterns, that would mean other categories like trademarks and personal eponyms and words of unknown origin would also be unfair,' she said. Some spellers embrace the challenge. Faizan Zaki, last year's runner-up who's competing again this year, was thrilled to hear Abitibi and Hoofddorp — a town in the Netherlands — in 2024 because he had seen those words before. 'There's actually a section in Merriam-Webster that is dedicated to just geographical words, so sometimes when I'm tired from studying normal words, I take a break and I browse through that list of geographical words that they have,' said Faizan, a 13-year-old from Allen, Texas. You heard that right: When Faizan gets tired of studying, he 'takes a break' by studying more. 'Pretty much, that's my life,' he said. 'But yeah, it's definitely enjoyable. I don't hate it or anything.' ___ Ben Nuckols has covered the Scripps National Spelling Bee since 2012. Follow his work here.
