Latest news with #ScrippsNationalSpellingBees
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Quiz: These words helped crown National Spelling Bee champions. Can you spell them?
The nation's best young spellers have gathered in Maryland this week for the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. A total of 243 children between the ages of 8 and 14 are competing to be the last one standing as they try to survive round after round by correctly constructing some of the English language's most confounding words. The winner receives $50,000 and the prestige of being America's best speller. The national spelling bee was first held in 1925 when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited spelling champions from around the country to gather in Washington, D.C., to find a national champion. There were just nine participants that year. The winner was 11-year-old Frank Neuhauser, who won by correctly spelling 'gladiolus' — the name of a flower in the iris family — in the final round. Since those early days, the competition has exploded in size and popularity. Every year, millions of people tune in to marvel at the extraordinary skill these young people display, sharing in all of their joy and heartbreak along the way. The words have also gotten more challenging over time. In the early days, children could win by spelling words as familiar as 'knack' and 'fracas.' More recent champions have sealed their victories by navigating words like 'stichomythia' and 'scherenschnitte.' For a window into just how difficult the contest has become, we put together a quiz of the winning words from the past eight Scripps National Spelling Bees. How many can you get right? Photos: Getty Images
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Quiz: These words helped crown National Spelling Bee champions. Can you spell them?
The nation's best young spellers have gathered in Maryland this week for the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. A total of 243 children between the ages of 8 and 14 are competing to be the last one standing as they try to survive round after round by correctly constructing some of the English language's most confounding words. The winner receives $50,000 and the prestige of being America's best speller. The national spelling bee was first held in 1925 when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited spelling champions from around the country to gather in Washington, D.C., to find a national champion. There were just nine participants that year. The winner was 11-year-old Frank Neuhauser, who won by correctly spelling 'gladiolus' — the name of a flower in the iris family — in the final round. Since those early days, the competition has exploded in size and popularity. Every year, millions of people tune in to marvel at the extraordinary skill these young people display, sharing in all of their joy and heartbreak along the way. The words have also gotten more challenging over time. In the early days, children could win by spelling words as familiar as 'knack' and 'fracas.' More recent champions have sealed their victories by navigating words like 'stichomythia' and 'scherenschnitte.' For a window into just how difficult the contest has become, we put together a quiz of the winning words from the past eight Scripps National Spelling Bees. How many can you get right? Photos: Getty Images
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Quiz: These words helped crown National Spelling Bee champions. Can you spell them?
The nation's best young spellers have gathered in Maryland this week for the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. A total of 243 children between the ages of 8 and 14 are competing to be the last one standing as they try to survive round after round by correctly constructing some of the English language's most confounding words. The winner receives $50,000 and the prestige of being America's best speller. The national spelling bee was first held in 1925 when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited spelling champions from around the country to gather in Washington, D.C., to find a national champion. There were just nine participants that year. The winner was 11-year-old Frank Neuhauser, who won by correctly spelling 'gladiolus' — the name of a flower in the iris family — in the final round. Since those early days, the competition has exploded in size and popularity. Every year, millions of people tune in to marvel at the extraordinary skill these young people display, sharing in all of their joy and heartbreak along the way. The words have also gotten more challenging over time. In the early days, children could win by spelling words as familiar as 'knack' and 'fracas.' More recent champions have sealed their victories by navigating words like 'stichomythia' and 'scherenschnitte.' For a window into just how difficult the contest has become, we put together a quiz of the winning words from the past eight Scripps National Spelling Bees. How many can you get right? Photos: Getty Images
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
2 Tennessee students reach semifinals in 100th anniversary of Scripps National Spelling Bee
OXON HILL, Md. (WKRN) — Nearly 250 word wizards gathered at a convention center just outside Washington, D.C., this week to vie for victory at the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Organizers said the first National Spelling Bee was held in 1925, sponsored by the Louisville Courier-Journal, which invited other newspapers across the country to hold spelling bees and send their champions to D.C. However, since the event was canceled from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II, and again in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2025 competition is only the 97th bee, despite it being the 100th anniversary year. In this monumental year for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, three students from the Volunteer State showed off their skills, with two of them advancing farther than any Tennessee competitors from 2024 or 2023. Officials said this year's event featured 243 contestants — 53 of whom competed in the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee — between the ages of 8 and 14. The spellers represent all 50 states and D.C., as well as Canada, the Bahamas, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. National Spelling Bee champions say it set them up for success: 'You attain a level of mastery' The competition's media guide shared some additional fun facts about the 2025 participants: Gender: 130 male spellers 112 female spellers One preferred not to answer Grade: One in second grade 10 in fourth grade 25 in fifth grade 35 in sixth grade 67 in seventh grade 105 in eighth grade School type: 170 from public schools 41 from private schools 14 from charter schools 12 from parochial schools Six who are homeschooled Not only have 65 of this year's students previously competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but 19 contestants have relatives who have participated in a combined 34 Scripps National Spelling Bees. Three spelling gurus from the Volunteer State showed up at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center to compete in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee, according to organizers: (Courtesy: Scripps National Spelling Bee media guide) Jashit 'Josh' Verma, 10, is a fourth grader at Farmington Elementary School in Germantown who won the spelling bee sponsored by the University of Memphis. 'Josh is an avid reader, aspiring astronaut and advanced blue-belt martial arts student. A member of the guitar club in his school, he also enjoys playing 'Minecraft' with his little sister,' his profile on the spelling bee website said. 'He spends the rest of his leisure time exploring spacecraft prototype designs.' Josh also competed in the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee, during which he made it all the way to Round 5. He was eliminated when he incorrectly defined a 'reprobate' as 'a sum of money discounted from a purchase' rather than 'a depraved or unprincipled person,' officials said, so he tied for 46th place overall. Swetank Venkata Bangaru, 11, is a fifth grader at Towne Acres Elementary School in Johnson City who won a spelling bee sponsored by the Tennessee Titans. 'Swetank is a true learner. He is constantly reading and asking questions. He is excited and energized by learning new subjects, ranging from geography to physics,' his spelling bee profile said. 'Most recently, Swetank has been reading about the coding language Python and teaching himself to code. He is also very family-oriented and extremely caring for others.' Vidula Kalathur, 13, is a seventh grader at Woodland Middle School in Brentwood who won a spelling bee sponsored by the Tennessee Titans. 'Vidula has a wide range of interests. Whether borrowing her sister's books when she's bored, preparing for her debate competitions or laughing at cartoons, she is always engaged and curious. Truly a hardworking individual, Vidula put in a lot of time and effort to earn second place in her first year competing in the middle school debate competition,' her profile on the spelling bee website said. 'Not only is Vidula eager to learn, but she is also passionate about helping others learn. She plays the viola in her school orchestra and is a tae kwon do student. Despite being in middle school, Vidula started tutoring others at a young age. Her favorite book genres are fantasy, sci-fi and dystopian. In school, math and science are her favorite subjects, and she likes to solve competition math problems.' To win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, contenders must also master geography Organizers said seven Tennesseans — including four from Knoxville, which is considered one of the top sponsor cities of champions, and three from Memphis — have won the Scripps National Spelling Bee since it was first held in 1925. The most recent victory for the Volunteer State was in 1995, thanks to Justin Tyler Carroll of Memphis. The 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition schedule is listed below, with all of the events written in Eastern Time: Day Event Time Tuesday, May 27 Preliminaries (first two rounds)Preliminaries (written test) 8 a.m. to 3:40 p.m.5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 QuarterfinalsSemifinals 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 29 Finals 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. In the preliminaries on Tuesday, May 27, officials said students participated in two rounds of oral competition: spelling and vocabulary. Forty-two spellers were eliminated in Round 1, followed by 18 more contestants in Round 2. The 183 competitors who made it through the first two rounds sat for a written spelling and vocabulary test Tuesday evening. The event website said 99 of them scored at least 13 on the test in Round 3, which qualified them for the quarterfinals, but 84 students were eliminated, including one from Tennessee. Scripps National Spelling Bee guide: How to watch, who the notable spellers are, rules and prizes On Wednesday, May 28, the contestants continued with the oral competition from the preliminaries, featuring spelling, vocabulary, and more spelling. As a result of incorrect answers, 11 were eliminated in Round 4, 15 were eliminated in Round 5, and 16 were eliminated in Round 6. Here is a summary of the Tennessee contestants' performance in the first six rounds of the 2025 competition, based on the bee's result's page: Jashit 'Josh' Verma (#198): Correctly spelled 'unakite' in Round 1 Correctly answered 'a person who loves high-quality food and drink' when asked what a 'gastronome' is in Round 2 Eliminated after not meeting test threshold in Round 3, meaning he tied for 100th place Swetank Bangaru (#199): Correctly spelled 'hominin' in Round 1 Correctly answered 'ostentatious presentation of knowledge' when asked what 'pedantry' is in Round 2 Met test threshold in Round 3 Correctly spelled 'whist' in Round 4 Correctly answered 'fully comprehended or understood' when asked what something described as 'unfathomable' cannot be in Round 5 Correctly spelled 'conniption' in Round 6 Vidula Kalathur (#200): Correctly spelled 'as nas' in Round 1 Correctly answered 'begins a lawsuit of some kind' when asked what a 'plaintiff' does in Round 2 Met test threshold in Round 3 Correctly spelled 'adamant' in Round 4 Correctly answered 'incapable of error' when asked what 'infallible' means in Round 5 Correctly spelled 'bifidity' in Round 6 A total of 57 competitors, including Tennessee's Swetank and Vidula, advanced to the semifinals, which got underway Wednesday afternoon. Swetank was knocked out in Round 7 when he misspelled 'gyrencephalate' as 'gyrancephalate,' so he tied for 41st place. However, Vidula correctly spelled 'hirundine,' making her one of 40 semifinalists to proceed to Round 8. ⏩ Follow these links to learn more about the rules, prizes, live coverage, the various spellers, and the results of each round in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee. 📲 Download the News 2 app to stay updated on the go.📧 Sign up for WKRN email alerts to have breaking news sent to your inbox.💻 for Nashville, TN and all of Middle Tennessee. This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
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 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. '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.
