34 More Days Until Spellers Arrive in D.C.!

The 85th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee is almost here! 278 spellers will be competing for the championship. The competition is not against the other spellers, but it is against the dictionary. Keep that in mind, because the spelling bee is not just about spelling. There is so much to do, such as go on tours, make and hang out with friends, and so much more

This year, there are two 5-peats, four 4-peats, fourteen 3-peats, and fifty-two 2-peats.

More Statistics of the Bee:
http://spellingbee.com/statistics

Vanya Shivashankar, the sister of the 2009 National Spelling Bee Champion, Kavya Shivashankar, will be returning to nationals! http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/92

The youngest speller this year and in the history of the Bee is Lori Anne Madison (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/269). When I watched an interview of her, I was amazed at the way she spoke and her ability to spell these words at a very young age. If she does not win before eighth grade, she may possibly be a 7-peat.

Three spellers this year were also championship finalists last year:
Nabeel Rahman (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/155),
Arvind Mahankali (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/162),
and Samuel Estep (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/268).
Arvind is the highest returning finisher this year (he tied for third last year).

There have not been any five-peats since Matthew Evans and Tia Thomas in 2008.
Rahul Malayappan (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/31)
and Nicholas Rushlow (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/193)
are the two five-peats. Last year, Nicholas tied for 14th, and he is a contender for the championship this year.

Utah has two spellers returning the the National Spelling Bee for the second time. This has not happened since 2006-2007.
Jared Ward (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/252)
Vismaya Kharkar (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/254)
The other speller from Utah joining them this year is
Sophie Choate (http://public.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2012/253)
Spellers from Sophie's area of Utah seem to have backgrounds of languages, visiting other countries, etc. According to her profile, she has been on research trips to several countries, and she studies Italian. Last year, Anna Marie-Sprenger had backgrounds of several languages, and she advanced to semifinals. Let's see if it happens again this year.

Good luck to all of the spellers, and I hope you all do your best!

Spell with Your Dream!
Spell with Your Heart!
Spell with Your Love!