In recognition of regional spelling bee competitions across the country and in other parts of the world, we are showcasing a few of the local contests. In this seventh week, we are checking in with Georgia, Colorado, Wisconsin and the Bahamas. Winners of these events advance to compete in the 2019 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Photo credit: GAE
In the Peach State, all spellers from Georgia vie for just one championship title to advance to the national finals. There were 20 spellers who made it to the 58th Annual Georgia Association of Educators State Spelling Bee. After 17 rounds, 13-year-old Arushi Cumer, from River Trail Middle School, won when she correctly spelled “andouille.”
Arushi said she was so happy to be champion, and she plans to make a thorough study of language patterns. GAE President Charlotte Booker said, “Congratulations to Arushi and all of these great young participants. It is a joy to see how far they’ve come and the self-confidence they've exhibited in handling the pressure and competition.”
State Spelling Bee.
Photo credit: Daniel Brenner/Post
In Colorado, more than 10,000 students participate in their local spelling bees with the goal of advancing to the Colorado State Spelling Bee. This year, more than 280 spellers earned the chance to take the written spelling and vocabulary test, which determined who would get a chance for the onstage portion of the competition.
Twenty students took part in the oral bee, and for the second year in a row, Angelina Holm, a seventh-grader from the Denver School of the Arts, took away top honors. She correctly spelled “heliacal” to win the 79th annual event.
Photo credit: Andy Manis/State Journal
Wisconsin also holds a statewide bee. The Badger State Spelling Bee, sponsored by the Wisconsin State Journal, advances the top three spellers. Two of those spellers are returning for the second time. Fifth-grader Maya Jadhav, from Fitchburg’s Eagle School, took the top spot when she correctly spelled “lapilli.” Coming in second was Immanuel Goveas, a sixth-grader at Menomonee Falls North Middle School, who will also get another chance at the national finals. Rounding out the top three was Aryan Kalluvila, an eighth-grader from Richfield Middle School.
The competition began with 45 students. It took 17 rounds of spelling words and two rounds of vocabulary questions to winnow the competition to the final three.
Photo credit: The Nassau Guardian
In the Bahamas, a student competing in the Bahamian national spelling bee for the first time earned the coveted trophy. Roy Seligman, a 10-year-old from Lyford Cay International School, won the 22nd annual competition by correctly spelling “queendom.”
Roy told The Nassau Guardian newspaper it felt amazing to win. “I trained hard and I studied lots of words,” said Roy. “I reviewed words. I took some breaks to let the words sink in and then I went back to work.”
Check back each week as we share more success stories from spellers whose journeys are taking them to the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Click on the links below to read the full story on some of this week’s spelling bee recap: