2012 Bee Guide

Inside the GuideSchedule • About Our Program • How It Works • Rules • Prizes • Statistics

Winning Words • Spellers and Sponsors • Offi cials and Staff

SCRIPPS

2012

GUIDEBEE WEEK

Competition Schedule ..................................................1About Our Program ........................................................2How Our Spelling Bee Works.......................................3Rules .....................................................................................4Twenty Questions (Answered) ....................................7Prizes ....................................................................................9Statistics ........................................................................... 10Meet the Spellebrities ................................................. 12Champions and Their Winning Words .................. 13Spellers and Sponsors ................................................ 14Leadership and Year-Round Staff ........................... 26Offi cials............................................................................. 27Bee Week Staff ............................................................... 28

Table of Contents

The word bee, as used in spelling bee, is one of those language puzzles that has never been satisfactorily accounted for. A fairly old and widely used word, it refers to a community social gathering at which friends and neighbors join together in a single activity (sewing, quilting, barn raising, etc.) usually to help one person or family. The earliest known example in print is a spinning bee, in 1769. Other early occurrences are husking bee (1816), apple bee (1827), and logging bee (1836). Spelling bee is apparently an American term. It fi rst appeared in print in 1875, but it seems certain that the term was used orally for several years before that.

Those who used the word, including most early students of language, assumed that it was the same word as referred to the insect. They thought that this particular meaning had probably been inspired by the obvious similarity between these human gatherings and the industrious, social nature of a beehive. But in recent years scholars have rejected this explanation, suggesting instead that this bee is a completely diff erent word. One possibility is that it comes from the Middle English word bene, which means “a prayer” or “a favor” (and is related to the more familiar word boon). In England, a dialect form of this word, been or bean, referred to “voluntary help given by neighbors toward the accomplishment of a particular task” (Webster’s Third New International Dictionary). Bee may simply be a shortened form of been, but no one is entirely certain.

What is

the origin

of the term

spelling bee?

Competition ScheduleTuesday, May 29

The 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee Preliminaries

ROUND ONE TEST Times by reservation. Chesapeake Room F

Wednesday, May 30

The 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee Preliminaries

ROUND TWO8:00 – 11:45 a.m. Maryland Ballroom

• Spellers 1 through 138 spell onstage between 8:00 and 9:45 a.m. • Spellers 139 through 278 spell onstage between 10:00 and 11:45 a.m. • Live on ESPN3.com

ROUND THREE1:15 – 5:15 p.m. Maryland Ballroom

• Spellers 1 through 138 spell onstage between 1:15 and 3:00 p.m. • Spellers 139 through 278 spell onstage between 3:30 and 5:15 p.m. • Live on ESPN3.com

Thursday, May 31

The 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee Semifi nals 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Maryland Ballroom

• Live on ESPN2• Opening remarks and introductions at 9:45 a.m.

The 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship Finals 8:00 – 10:00 p.m. Maryland Ballroom

• Live on ESPN• Opening remarks and introductions at 7:45 p.m.

2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee • 1

2 • 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program. We are administered on a not-for-profi t basis by The E.W. Scripps Company in cooperation with local spelling bee sponsors in the United States, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and Department of Defense Schools in Europe; and international sponsors in the Bahamas, Canada, China, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.

PurposeOur purpose is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.

Organization HeadquartersOur year-round staff , based in Cincinnati, Ohio, organizes the national fi nals, produces word lists and study materials, works with local spelling bee sponsors and enrolls schools.

Local Spelling Bee SponsorsEach year we grant a limited number of local spelling bee sponsorships to media organizations, universities, nonprofi ts and other community leaders. Most local spelling bee sponsors are not owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. In fact, only 13 sponsorships were awarded to Scripps-owned television stations and newspapers.

Local sponsors conduct community spelling bee programs, usually in cooperation with teachers and administrators at public, private, parochial, charter, virtual and home schools. The champion of each sponsor's program qualifi es for participation in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

SchoolsEvery fall, thousands of schools enroll in our program. Throughout the fall and winter, schools conduct spelling bees at the

classroom, grade, and school level to choose their representative for the next level of competition. Students may further compete in district, county, or regional spelling bees before earning the right to represent their communities at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

StudentsMore than 11 million students participated in this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee at one level or another. To prepare, students use study materials created by us and Merriam-Webster, using Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, copyright 2002, Merriam-Webster, as our offi cial dictionary.

All of the spellers here have advanced to the Scripps National Spelling Bee by winning a series of spelling bees as outlined by their local spelling bee sponsors. In general terms, the program is open to students who are 15 years old or younger, have not passed beyond eighth grade and attend schools offi cially enrolled with our program for the current academic year. See page 4 for full eligibility requirements.

HistoryThis is the 85th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The program began in 1925 with nine contestants, and Scripps assumed sponsorship in 1941. During the World War II years of 1943, 1944 and 1945, no National Spelling Bee was held. The bee declared co-champions in 1950, 1957 and 1962. Of the 87 champions, 46 have been girls and 41 have been boys. See page 13 for a complete list of champions and their winning words.

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About Our Program


Tuesday, May 29

Round One Test: Throughout the morning.

Round One is a computer-based spelling test taken by all 278 spellers. Scores from the test will be combined with the results of Rounds Two and Three to determine our Semifi nalists.

At his or her appointed time, each speller will enter the testing room and log in to the secure testing system with a unique user name and password. Access to the testing room during testing hours will be restricted to spellers and Bee staff .

Members of the Bee staff will proctor the test. Pronouncer Dr. Jacques Bailly will not appear in person at the test. Instead, spellers will hear a recording of Dr. Bailly pronouncing each word, and information about each word (origin, part of speech, defi nition, sentence) will be displayed on-screen. The test will have no time limit, and spellers will be given multiple opportunities to review their answers and word information prior to submitting their fi nal answers.

Spellers will spell 50 words, but only 25 spellings will count toward each speller’s Preliminaries score. Bee offi cials will have chosen these “score words” prior to May 29, but score word status will not be apparent to the speller. Bee offi cials will publicly identify score words immediately after Round Three. Each speller’s test score will be emailed to his or her parents during Round Three on Wednesday, May 30.

Wednesday, May 30

Round Two: 8:00 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Round Three: 1:15 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.

Spellers will spell onstage during Rounds Two and Three. No one will be eliminated during these rounds. If a speller misspells during Rounds Two or Three, the head judge will not

How OurSpelling Bee Works

ring the bell. Instead, the pronouncer will off er the correct spelling, and

the speller will remain onstage until the conclusion of the round.

Immediately after the conclusion of Round Three, the Bee offi cials will determine the Semifi nalists in accordance with Rule 4 in the Contest Rules (see page 5). Each speller will receive 1 point for each score word spelled correctly during the Round One Test and 3 points for each word spelled correctly during Rounds Two and Three, for a maximum possible score of 31. Spellers scoring higher than at least 228 other spellers will advance to the Semifi nals.

About fi ve minutes after the conclusion of Round Three, the names of the Semifi nalists will be announced.

Thursday, May 31

Semifi nals: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Championship Finals: 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.

During these rounds, spellers compete onstage. In general, a speller is out of the competition once he or she misspells. The head judge will ring a bell after a misspelling, and the pronouncer will then give the correct spelling.

Naming the Champion: If only one speller correctly spells his or her word during a round, that speller will be asked to spell another word in a new round. If that word is spelled correctly, that speller will be named champion of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee. If that word is spelled incorrectly, however, all spellers who competed the previous round are back in the competition, and a new round begins. See Rule 12 on page 6 for the full end-of-Bee procedure.

For the complete Contest Rules of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee, please see pages 4-6.

1. Eligibility

A speller qualifying for the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, DC, area must meet these requirements:

(1) The speller must not have won a Scripps National Spelling Bee championship in the Washington, DC, area.

(2) The speller must attend a school that is offi cially enrolled with the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

(3) The speller must not have passed beyond the eighth grade on or before February 1, 2012.

(4) The speller must not have repeated any grade for the purpose of extending spelling bee eligibility. If the speller has repeated any grade, the speller must notify the Scripps National Spelling Bee of the circumstances of grade repetition by March 28, 2012; and the Scripps National Spelling Bee will, in its sole discretion, determine the speller’s eligibility status on or before April 30, 2012.

(5) The speller — or the speller’s parent, legal guardian or school offi cial acting on the speller’s behalf — must not have declared to another entity an academic classifi cation higher than eighth grade for any purpose, including high school graduation equivalency or profi ciency examinations and/or examinations such as the PSAT, SAT or ACT.

(6) The speller must not have earned the legal equivalent of a high school diploma.

(7) The speller must not have completed nor ever been enrolled in more than six high school-level courses or two college-level courses on or before April 30, 2012.

(8) The speller must not bypass or circumvent normal school activity to study for spelling bees. The Scripps National

Spelling Bee defi nes normal school activity as adherence to at least four courses of study other than language arts, spelling, Latin, Greek, vocabulary and etymology for at least four hours per weekday for 34 of the 38 weeks between August 29, 2011, and May 19, 2012.

Contest Rules of the 2012Scripps National Spelling Bee

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(9) The speller must not have reached his/her 15th birthday on or before August 31, 2011.

(10) The speller must have won a fi nal local spelling bee on or after February 1, 2012.

(11) The speller must not have been disqualifi ed at any level of a sponsor’s spelling bee program between June 2011 and April 2012. Further, if the speller becomes disqualifi ed at any level of a sponsor’s spelling bee program before April 2012, the speller will be disqualifi ed from competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and may not seek advancement in the Bee program through another sponsor and/or enrollment in another school.

(12) The speller, upon qualifying for the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, D.C. area, must submit a completed Champion Profi le, a Certifi cation of Eligibility Form, a signed Appearance Consent and Release Form and a hard copy of a photo to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The speller will notify the Bee, at least 24 hours prior to the fi rst day of competition in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington, DC area, if any of the statements made on the Certifi cation of Eligibility Form are no longer true or require updating. The speller’s sponsor will provide access to the necessary forms.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee may disqualify, prior to or during competition, any speller who is not in compliance with any of the above Eligibility Requirements; and it may — at any time between the conclusion of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee and April 30, 2013 — require any speller who is found to have not been in compliance with any of the Eligibility Requirements to forfeit any prizes, rank and other benefi ts accorded to the speller as a result of participation in the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

2. Format

The competition has three distinct segments: Preliminaries, Semifi nals and Championship Finals.

The Preliminaries consist of a test delivered by computer (Round One Test) and two rounds of oral spelling onstage (Rounds Two and Three). Spellers must complete the Round One Test in the Bee-designated testing area between 7:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 29. In the Round One Test, a speller will spell 50 words using a computer keyboard. Only 25 of the 50 spellings will count toward the speller’s Preliminaries score. The 25 words that count toward a speller’s Preliminaries score will be labeled “score words” by Bee offi cials prior to May 29, but score word status will not be apparent to a speller taking the Round One Test. Bee offi cials will publicly identify score words following the conclusion of the Preliminaries on Wednesday, May 30.


The Semifi nals consist of rounds of oral spelling and will likely be concurrent with the competition’s live daytime broadcast on ESPN2 on Thursday, May 31. If the ESPN2 broadcast concludes while a Semifi nals round is in progress, spellers who have not spelled in the round will advance to the Championship Finals broadcast on ESPN for the conclusion of the Semifi nals round.

The Championship Finals consist of rounds of oral spelling and are concurrent with the competition’s live primetime broadcast on ESPN on Thursday, May 31, unless the ESPN broadcast begins in a round that began during the Semifi nals. The Championship Finals will not offi cially commence until the last Semifi nals round has concluded, and prizes will be awarded accordingly.

For all rounds except Round One, all spellers who have not been eliminated from the competition spell one word in each round.

3. Offi cial dictionary and source of words

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, copyright 2002, Merriam-Webster, (Webster’s Third) is the fi nal authority for the spelling of words. All words given in competition are entries in Webster’s Third. If more than one spelling is listed for a word that the pronouncer has provided for the speller to spell, any of these spellings will be accepted as correct if all of the following three criteria are met: (1) the pronunciations of the words are identical, (2) the defi nitions of the words are identical, and (3) the words are clearly identifi ed as being standard variants of each other. Spellings at other locations having temporal labels (such as archaic, obsolete), stylistic labels (such as substand, nonstand) or regional labels (such as North, Midland, Irish) which diff er from main entry spellings not having these status labels will not be accepted as correct.

4. Eliminations before the Semifi nals

In the Preliminaries there are no eliminations. Instead, spellers receive one point for each score word spelled correctly on the Round One Test. In the oral spelling segment of the Preliminaries, Rounds Two and Three, spellers receive three points for correct spellings and zero points for incorrect spellings. The potential maximum combined score that a speller may achieve for spelling in the Preliminaries is 31.

Maximum of 50: Immediately after the Preliminaries a “maximum of 50” standard is applied to spellers’ scores accrued during the Preliminaries. Spellers’ scores are plotted on a chart. Beginning at 31 on the chart, spellers at each consecutive scoring level are added until a sum of no more than 50 spellers has been attained. All remaining spellers are eliminated. All spellers eliminated prior to the Semifi nals are tied for the same place.

5. Eliminations due to misspelling during Preliminaries,

Semifi nals and Championship Finals

Upon incorrectly spelling a word during the oral portion of the Preliminaries, the speller remains in the competition. Upon incorrectly spelling a word during the Semifi nals and Championship Finals, the speller is eliminated from the competition, except as provided in Rule 12. All spellers eliminated in the same round are tied for the same place.

6. Progression of competition

At the beginning of any round in which either two or three spellers remain, the pronouncer will move to the 25-word championship section of the word list. If a champion does not emerge in the course of administering these fi nal 25 words, the remaining spellers will be declared co-champions. In the event that a round beginning with more than either two or three spellers ends with only one speller to begin the next and perhaps fi nal round, the pronouncer will not move to the championship section at that point in the competition.

7. Time constraints

The speller’s time at the microphone has a limit of 2 minutes. Time begins when the pronouncer fi rst pronounces the word. For the fi rst 1 minute and 15 seconds, the speller will have the benefi t of viewing a monitor displaying a traffi c light graphic in green light mode. After 1 minute and 15 seconds, the monitor will show the traffi c light graphic in yellow light mode and will also show the time clock as it counts down to the 30-second mark. At the 30-second mark, the monitor will show the traffi c light graphic in red light mode and will also show a countdown of the remaining 30 seconds. The judges and pronouncer will not communicate with the speller during the fi nal 30 seconds (red light mode). The judges will disqualify any speller who does not provide a complete spelling before the expiration of time (0 seconds in red light mode). If the judges and pronouncer need to discuss a competition-related matter while a speller is contemplating a word, they may pause the time clock. If they pause the time clock, they will inform the speller when they pause and resume the time clock.

8. Special needs

The Scripps National Spelling Bee strives to provide accommodation for spellers who have physical challenges. All requests for accommodation of special needs involving sight, hearing, speech or movement should be directed in writing to the director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee before April 30, 2012. The judges have discretionary power to amend spelling requirements on a case-by-case basis for spellers with diagnosed medical conditions involving sight, hearing, speech or movement.

9. Pronouncer’s role

The pronouncer strives to pronounce words according to the diacritical markings in Webster’s Third.

Homonyms: If a word has one or more homonyms, the pronouncer indicates which word is to be spelled by defi ning the word.

Speller’s requests: In oral competition the pronouncer responds to the speller’s requests for a defi nition, sentence, part of speech, language(s) of origin and alternate pronunciation(s). When presented with requests for alternate pronunciations, the pronouncer or associate pronouncer checks for alternate pronunciations in Webster’s Third. If the speller wishes to ask if the dictionary lists a specifi c root word as the root of the word to be spelled, the speller must specify a pronunciation of the root (not a spelling), its language and its defi nition. The pronouncer will grant all such requests as long as they are in accordance with time constraints outlined in Rule 7.

Pronouncer’s sense of helpfulness: The pronouncer may off er word information — without the speller having requested the information — if the pronouncer senses that the information is helpful and the information appears in the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee word list or Webster’s Third.

10. Judges’ role

The judges uphold the rules and determine whether or not words are spelled correctly. The decisions of the judges are fi nal.

Interaction with the speller: Because seeing lip movements may be critical in detecting misunderstandings or misspell-ings, the judges encourage spellers to face them when pro-nouncing and spelling the word.

Misunderstandings: The judges participate in the exchange of information between the speller and pronouncer if they feel that clarifi cation is needed. Also, the judges listen carefully to the speller’s pronunciation of the word; and, if they sense that the speller has misunderstood the word, the judges work with the speller and pronouncer until they are satisfi ed that reasonable attempts have been made to assist the speller in understanding the word within the time constraints described in Rule 7. While the judges are responsible for attempting to detect a speller’s misunderstanding, it is sometimes impossible to detect a misunderstanding until a spelling error has been made. The judges are not responsible for the speller’s misunderstanding.

Pronouncer errors: The judges compare the pronouncer’s pronunciation with the diacritical markings in the word list. If the judges feel that the pronouncer’s pronunciation does not match the pronunciation specifi ed in the diacritical markings, the judges will direct the pronouncer to correct the error as soon as it is detected.

Disqualifi cations for reasons other than clear misspelling:

The judges will disqualify a speller (1) who refuses a request to start spelling; (2) who does not approach the microphone when it is time to receive the word; (3) who engages in unsportsmanlike conduct; (4) who, in the process of retracing a spelling, alters the letters or sequence of letters from those fi rst uttered; or (5) who, in the process of spelling, utters unintelligible or nonsense sounds.

Speller activities that do not merit disqualifi cation: The judges may not disqualify a speller (1) for failing to pronounce the word either before or after spelling it, (2) for asking a question, or (3) for noting or failing to note the capitalization of a word or the presence of a diacritical mark.

11. Speller’s role

The speller makes an eff ort to face the judges and pronounce the word for the judges before spelling it and after spelling it. The speller while facing the judges makes an eff ort to utter each letter distinctly and with suffi cient volume to be understood by the judges. The speller may ask the pronouncer to say the word again, defi ne it, use it in a sentence, provide the part of speech, provide the language(s) of origin and/or provide an alternate pronunciation or pronunciations. The speller may also ask root word questions that meet the specifi cations delineated in Rule 9.

Misunderstandings: The speller is responsible for any misunderstanding of the word unless (1) the pronouncer never provided a correct pronunciation; (2) the pronouncer provided incorrect information regarding the defi nition, part of speech, or language of origin; or (3) the speller correctly spelled a homonym of the word and the pronouncer failed to either off er a defi nition or distinguish the homonyms.

12. End-of-bee procedure

If all spellers in a round misspell: If none of the spellers remaining in the spelling bee at the start of a round spells a word correctly during that round, all remain in the competition and a new round begins.

If only one speller in a round spells correctly: If only one speller spells correctly in a round, a new one-word round begins and the speller is given an opportunity to spell the next word on the list (anticipated winning word). If the speller succeeds in correctly spelling the anticipated winning word in this one-word round, the speller is declared the champion.

If a speller misspells the anticipated winning word in a one-word round: A new round begins with all the spellers who spelled (correctly and incorrectly) in the previous round. These spellers spell in their original order.


Continued from previous page.


Twenty Questions (Answered)1. Didn’t she spell that word correctly?

That’s how my dictionary spells it.

She didn’t spell the word the way it’s spelled in the Bee’s offi cial dictionary, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary and its addenda section, copyright 2002, Merriam-Webster (Webster’s Third). Bee rules state that Webster’s Third is the fi nal authority for the spelling of words.

2. Where does Dr. Bailly get these words?

The individuals — Bee offi cials and special contributors — who collaborate to produce the word list fi nd the words in the course of going about their lives, reading books and traveling. Then they confi rm the words’ presence in Webster’s Third. Occasionally, we hear theories that the Bee recycles words from previous lists or creates special themes for its word lists. Let’s just say that we fi nd these theories amusing.

3. Dr. Bailly mispronounced the word.

What can be done?

What Dr. Bailly did was pronounce the word according to the diacritical markings in Webster’s Third. Diacritical markings are symbols such as ¯, ü and ä that you see in a dictionary. If he didn’t pronounce it the way you expected it to be pronounced, it’s because your pronunciation wasn’t in the dictionary, and the pronouncer is bound by the rules to pronounce only what is listed in the dictionary. It’s also important to note that the legion of Bee officials in the front of the ballroom closely listen to Dr. Bailly and immediately alert him to make an on-the-spot correction in the unlikely event of an error.

Here’s what you can do: Contact Merriam-Webster, publisher of the Bee’s offi cial dictionary and ask for one of its editors to research your pronunciation. It’s possible that Merriam-Webster will decide to include your pronunciation in its next edition of the dictionary.

4. Why does the Bee ask so many

foreign words?

Most words in the English language are words that we borrowed from other languages. We borrowed them, used them and now call them our own.

5. What happens when a speller misspells?

If the speller misspells during the Preliminaries, the judges’ bell will not ring, and the speller will return to his seat. If the speller misspells during the Semifi nals or Championship Finals, the judges’ bell will ring, and the pronouncer will off er the correct spelling.

6. What happens if the speller correctly spells a

homonym of the word?

The speller is out of luck unless Dr. Bailly failed to say that the word was a homonym or did not provide a defi nition of the word.

7. Why is there a time limit?

Before there was a time limit, a few spellers liked to hang out at the microphone — often in silence — for 5–10 minutes. It was exhausting and unnerving for other spellers as well as the audience. We instituted a time limit several years ago, and the competitions ever since have moved along at a pace that doesn’t make the waiting spellers uncomfortable.

8. Why does the pronouncer give a lot of

information to some spellers and very little

information to others?

Some words have multiple pronunciations, long defi nitions and complex origins. Other words have only one pronunciation and a brief defi nition. Here’s the interesting part: There is no correlation between the volume of information and the spelling diffi culty level.

Also, some spellers don’t ask for information, while others ask multiple questions. The rules give Dr. Bailly discretion to off er information (as long as it’s in the word list or Webster’s Third) if he feels that it would be helpful to the speller, or if he has a sentence that he thinks is funny.

9. What if the speller doesn’t understand

the word?

The rules say it’s the speller’s responsibility to understand the word. If he doesn’t understand the word, misspelling is likely. Bee offi cials are not mind readers. They are not aware of a problem unless the speller:

1) says “I don’t understand”;

2) distinctly mispronounces the word while facing the judges; or

3) delivers an Oscar-worthy interpretation of confusion.

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If the offi cials detect a lack of understanding, they will do all that they can within the limits of the rules to help the speller achieve an understanding of the word.

10. How does a speller qualify for the Semifi nals?

He qualifi es for the Semifi nals if his Preliminaries point total is higher than the point totals of at least 228 other spellers. A Preliminaries point total is something that each speller has as a result of participation in Rounds One through Three. A speller earns 1 point for each score word spelled correctly on the Round One Test, 3 points for spelling correctly in Round Two and 3 points for spelling correctly in Round Three.

11. How many spellers will qualify for the Semifi nals?

The exact number is not predetermined but, thanks to the rules, we can ballpark it for you: no more than 50.

12. What score does a speller need on the Round One

Test in order to have a chance of qualifying for

the Semifi nals?

We don’t know because the rules base Semifi nals qualifi cation not on a pre-set Round One Test score, but instead on being one of the highest scorers in the Preliminaries (Rounds One through Three). We don’t know who the highest scorers are in the Preliminaries until the Preliminaries conclude at the end of Round Three. It’s possible that you may hear some people throw around numbers and declare that a certain score is needed. Keep in mind that all they’re doing is guessing based on information from other Bees. This Bee is diff erent: diff erent spellers, diff erent words and a diff erent array of Round One Test scores and Preliminaries point totals.

13. How does a speller qualify for the

Championship Finals?

A speller is a Championship Finalist if she spells correctly in the round in which the ESPN Semifi nals broadcast concludes.

14. How many spellers will qualify for the

Championship Finals?

The exact number is not predetermined, but the ideal number of spellers for the Championship Finals time frame is 10 to 15.

15. What happens if every speller in a round

misspells?

Each speller who misspelled in the round is reinstated to the competition. A new round begins, and they spell in their original order.

16. How many rounds will there be?

We simply don’t know. It all depends on how many spellers are going to misspell in each round.

17. What happens if Dr. Bailly runs out of words?

When only two or three spellers remain to begin a round, Bee rules state that the offi cials must move to a special 25-word section of the list.If a champion does not emerge in the course of giving those 25 words, Bee offi cials will declare the remaining spellers co-champions.

18. Why at the end of the Bee do the screens count

down from 25 after each speller spells? What

happens if it reaches zero?

The screens countdown from 25 to indicate that the pronouncer is off ering words from the 25-word Championship Words section of the list. If a champion is not determined in the course of administering these fi nal 25 words, co-champions will be declared.

19. Why didn’t the champion have to correct the

spelling of the other speller onstage?

The rule about correcting the other speller’s spelling went away in 1991. Now, in order to be declared champion, you must be the only speller to spell correctly in a round; plus, in the next round — a one-word, one-person round — you must spell correctly.

20. When will the spellers ever see or use these

words again?

Maybe never. And that’s fi ne by us. Why? Because the spellers you see onstage are the crème de la crème — the best from a fi eld of more than 11 million students. Of course we have to give these brilliant kids such diffi cult words! What really matters are the hundreds of important, useful words that they and the 11 million others learned and spelled prior to this competition — words they will defi nitely see and use again such as philanthropy, imperative, amenable and serendipity. As for those incredibly diffi cult words, they’re out there — in great works of literature, guide books, high school and college textbooks and other great places — and we’re proud to put the spotlight on these rare and important gems of the English language. 2011 Bee champion Sukanya Roy may not ever have occasion to use her national winning word, cymotrichous, though her winning word from her fi nal local bee, apparatchik, may come in handy for her planned career in international relations.


Continued from previous page.


For the Champion:

From Scripps: a $30,000 cash prize and an engraved trophy

From Merriam-Webster: a $2,500 U.S. savings bond and a complete reference library

From Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation: a $5,000 scholarship

From Encyclopædia Britannica: $2,600 of reference works, including the Final Print Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, and a lifetime membership to Britannica Online Premium

From Middlebury Interactive Languages: an online language course and a Nook Color

For the Champion’s School and Sponsor:

From Scripps: engraved plaques

For the Championship Finalists:

From Encyclopædia Britannica: 2012 Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite DVD-ROM

For All Spellers:

From Scripps:

• Participated only in the Preliminaries: $100 VISA gift card

• Participated in the Semifi nals but not the Championship Finals: $500 VISA gift card

• Misspelled in the fi rst round of the championship fi nals to seventh place: $1,500

Spellers who are eliminated from the competition in the same round are assigned the same rank (place). If Bee offi cials declare co-champions, each co-champion will receive a $30,000 fi rst place cash prize. Cash prizes for championship fi nalist spellers who are tied for places other than fi rst place will be determined in accordance with the method described in this example: If three spellers are tied for fourth place, the cash prize for these three spellers will be determined by adding the prize amounts for fourth, fi fth and sixth place and dividing by three (the number of spellers tied for fourth place).

middleburyinteractive languagesTM

Prizes

• Sixth Place: $2,000• Fifth Place: $2,500• Fourth Place: $3,000• Third Place: $7,500• Second Place: $12,500• First Place: $30,000

From Merriam-Webster:

Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, on CD-ROM

From Mr. Jay Sugarman:

The Samuel Louis Sugarman Award—a 2012 United States Mint Proof Set and Award Certifi cate presented by Mr. Sugarman in honor of his father


Five-Year Repeaters 31 Rahul R. Malayappan193 Nicholas B. Rushlow

Four-Year Repeaters 49 Rachael Cundey 79 Gina Solomito 94 Emily Keaton227 Jiwon Seo

Three-Year Repeaters 40 Grace Remmer 83 Andie Marie Reidy 91 Clara K. Wicoff 113 Amber Born121 Mitchell Lange127 Kavyapranati Pratapa130 Antony Joseph136 Jordan Gabriella Hoff man155 Nabeel Rahman162 Arvind V. Mahankali185 Sunny Levine237 Chetan Reddy238 Abigail Violet Spitzer268 Samuel George Estep

Two-Year Repeaters 1 Kevin Lazenby 3 David R. Jones11 Apolonia Gardner16 Jack Maglalang17 Dylan Bird19 Snigdha Nandipati34 Sairah A. Sheikh35 Pranay Choudary Malempati37 Anuk Kavan Dayaprema42 Vaidya Govindarajan44 Stuti Mishra47 Ann Marie Brown56 Ian T. Wendt58 Simon Ricci60 Marlene Santora62 Lucas Michael Urbanski63 Yasir Hasnain66 Pranav Sivakumar72 Parker Elizabeth Carls75 Star Han81 Casey Hennings84 Margaret Flaherty Peterson85 Sabin Karki86 Katie Kirk92 Vanya Shivashankar97 Caleb Miller

105 Jack Nolan112 Katie Hudek131 Roshini Shreya Asirvatham135 Jacob L. Longmeyer140 Grant Pace156 Sruti Akula158 Adam Ferrari179 Hunter Randolph181 Isabella Mayo194 LeeAnn Mekkattukulam Jose198 Dharani Kotekal208 Naomi W. Li213 Lena Greenberg224 Isabella Mika Neubauer239 Mark De Los Santos241 Sivateja Tangirala244 Thomas Rubio246 Clancy Dean Carter248 Pauline Negrete252 Jared Ward254 Vismaya Jui Kharkar263 Caroline Ellissa Willett266 Shayley Grace Martin267 Victoria Alexandra Whited272 Elizabeth Koh278 Zachary Chau Doiron

Family TiesTwenty spellers have at

least one relative (brother, sister, uncle, cousin) who has

competed in previous national fi nals. They are spellers 4, 10, 27,

46, 53, 56, 92, 98, 101, 133, 154, 172, 194, 204, 243,

244, 263, 268, 272 and 273.

SiblingsForty-one spellers are

only children. The remaining 237 spellers have 232 sisters

and 215 brothers among them. Speller 89 Gifton Wright

has 10 brothersand sisters.

Number of Spellers:

278

142 Girls

51.1%

136 Boys

48.9%

Statistics: This Year

Age Total Percent

6 1 0.4% 8 2 0.7% 9 1 0.4% 10 13 4.7% 11 26 9.4% 12 69 24.8% 13 96 34.5% 14 67 24.1% 15 3 1.1%

Grade Level Total Percent

2 1 0.4% 3 2 0.7% 4 3 1.1% 5 24 8.6% 6 43 15.5% 7 94 33.8% 8 111 39.9%

School Type Total Percent

Public 193 69.4%Private 39 14.0%Home 28 10.1%Parochial 16 5.8%Charter 2 0.7%

onl

23

ananaaaaaaa d S

Five spellers have

a fraternal twin, and one speller,

101 Nat Jordan, has an identical twin.


Ranked 5th

Dakota Jones

Las Vegas Review-JournalLas Vegas, Nevada

Top Finishersof 2011

Ranked 1st

Sukanya Roy

Times LeaderWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Ranked 2nd

Laura Newcombe

National PostToronto, Ontario

Ranked 3rd (tie) Arvind Mahankali

Daily NewsNew York, New York*

Ranked 3rd (tie) Joanna Ye WITF: Public Media for Central PennsylvaniaHarrisburg, Pennsylvania

Statistics:Previous Years

by the Numbers

Year Spellers Rounds Words Repeaters

2011 275 20 767 712010 273 9 683 562009 293 16 760 692008 288 16 603 572007 286 13 638 562006 274 20 628 662005 273 19 658 692004 265 15 567 592003 251 15 552 542002 250 11 480 542001 248 16 766 522000 248 15 839 511999 249 12 803 471998 249 11 733 43 1997 245 23 898 491996 247 13 799 431995 247 11 835 451994 238 15 968 411993 235 16 963 431992 227 16 952 461991 227 25 880 41

Ranked 6th:

Veronica Penny, National Post, Toronto, Ontario CanadaDhivya Senthil Murugan, The Denver Post, Denver, ColoradoSriram Hathwar, The Leader, Corning, New YorkMashad Arora, Valley Freedom Newspapers, Harlingen, Texas

Ranked 10th:

Lily Jordan, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

Nabeel Rahman, The Buff alo News, Buff alo, New York*

Prakash Mishra, The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina

Ranked 13th:

Samuel Estep, The Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, Virginia*

Ranked 14th:

David Phan, Daily Camera, Boulder, ColoradoGrace Remmer, The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida*

Nicholas Rushlow, Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, Lancaster, Ohio*

Anahita Iyer, Pennridge Community Education Foundation, Perkasie, Pennsylvania

Narahari Bharadwaj, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, Texas

Ranked 19th:

Claire Zuo, The Miami Herald, Miami, HeraldStuti Mishra, Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, Florida*

Surjo Bandyopadhyay, The Recorder, Prince Frederick, MarylandSiddharth Varanasi, The Detroit News, Detroit, Michigan

The Past Two

Decades

Anja Beth Swoap, Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Connor Gunsbury, National Joint Powers Alliance, Staples, MinnesotaJenny Solheim, Omaha World-Herald, Omaha, NebraskaParker Dietry, Wisconsin State Journal, Madison, Wisconsin

Ranked 27th:

Snigdha Nandipati, The San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego, California*

Pranav Sivakumar, Lake County Regional Offi ce of Education, Grayslake, Illinois*

Gina Solomito, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, Indiana*

Hanif Brown, Jr., Jamaica Gleaner, Kingston, JamaicaSurabhi Iyer, Comcast, Taunton, MassachusettsRay Wang, Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune, Neptune, New JerseyTony Incorvati, The Repository, Canton, OhioChetan Reddy, The Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas*

Anna-Marie Sprenger, Daily Herald, Provo, Utah

Ranked 36th:

Emily Keaton, Kentucky Spelling Bee Collaborative, Louisville, Kentucky*

Sam Osheroff , Howard County Library, Columbia, MarylandSunny Levine, Akron Beacon Journal, Akron, Ohio*

Parker Strubhar, The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OklahomaKatie Fo, Portland Tribune, Portland, OregonDavid Krak, Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

*Competing in the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee


Speller 8 Paloma M. Cartwright

For the past three years, Paloma has been named top female Optimist sailor under the age of 16 in the Bahamas.

Speller 12 Nickan Fayyazi

Nickan enjoys snowboarding and playing tennis, but his favorite sport is skiing. He received two silver medals in a NASTAR ski race and went skiing 24 times this past winter.

Speller 69 Sophie Bergman

Sophie founded and runs a nonprofi t organization called Books to Charity, which donates books to impoverished children around the world.

Speller 82 Ross M. DeLong

Ross participates in children’s choir and musical theater; he performed as “Tiny Tim” in the Indiana Public Radio production of A Christmas Carol.

spell•e•bri•tynoun : a person renowned for the

ability to spell diffi cult words under pressure, bright lights and the

adoring gaze of millions.

Speller 99 Venkatesh Sivaraman

Venkat has published two iPhone apps — a graphing calculator and a study aid for geology — and is currently working on an app for his middle school.

Speller 136 Jordan Hoff man

This past fall, Jordan wrote an a cappella choral composition, “Eclogue de Noel,” which the Lee’s Summit (Missouri) Youth Chorale performed throughout the year.

Speller 199 Spencer Lee Hipsher

Spencer has twice gone on service trips to Appalachia, and he would like to become a doctor.

Speller 250 Ruth O. Anwasi

During her middle school’s “Pi Week” celebration, Ruth was crowned the “Pi-Queen” and won the Pi memorization, “Pi-Ku” and “Pi-Art” awards.

Languages Spoken

English is not the fi rst language of 27 spellers. Overall,

107 spellers speak or study a language other than English,

including Spanish, French, Latin, Hindi, Arabic, Mandarin, Hebrew

and Korean. There are 38 diff erent languages represented among

our spellers.

Favorite Movies

Favorite School Subjects

This year’s competitors are all great spellers, but that’s not all they do! Here is a brief look into the interests and accomplishments of the students competing to become

the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion.

Meet the Spellebrities

Favorite Sports

1. Soccer2. Basketball3. Tennis4. Swimming5. Baseball

Ask for my autograph,

because I’m a

Favorite Foods

1. Pizza2. Pasta3. Steak4. Sushi5. Ice cream

Favorite Novels

1. Suzanne Collins’s Hunger Games trilogy

2. J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series3. Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and

the Olympians series4. Christopher Paolini’s

Inheritance Cycle5. J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord

of the Rings trilogy

Musical Instruments Played

1. Piano2. Violin3. Guitar4. Clarinet5. Saxophone

1. Math2. English and

Language Arts3. Science4. History5. Social Studies

1. The Harry Potter series2. The Hunger Games3. Akeelah and the Bee4. The Star Wars series5. The Lord of the

Rings series


1925: gladiolusFrank NeuhauserLouisville Courier-JournalLouisville, Kentucky

1926: cerisePauline BellLouisville Courier-JournalLouisville, Kentucky

1927: luxurianceDean LucasAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio

1928: albumenBetty RobinsonSouth Bend News-TribuneSouth Bend, Indiana

1929: asceticismVirginia HoganThe Omaha World-HeraldOmaha, Nebraska

1930: fracasHelen JensenDes Moines Register & TribuneDes Moines, Iowa

1931: foulardWard RandallWhite Hall Register-RepublicanWhite Hall, Illinois

1932: knackDorothy GreenwalkDes Moines Register & TribuneDes Moines, Iowa

1933: torsionAlma RoachAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio

1934: deterioratingSarah WilsonPortland Evening PressPortland, Maine

1935: intelligibleClara MohlerAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio

1936: interningJean TrowbridgeDes Moines Register & TribuneDes Moines, Iowa

1937: promiscuousWaneeta BeckleyLouisville Courier-JournalLouisville, Kentucky

1938: sanitariumMarian RichardsonLouisville TimesLouisville, Kentucky

1939: canonicalElizabeth Ann RiceWorcester Telegram & GazetteWorcester, Massachusetts

1940: therapyLaurel KuykendallThe Knoxville News SentinelKnoxville, Tennessee

1941: initialsLouis Edward SissmanDetroit NewsDetroit, Michigan

1942: sacrilegiousRichard EarnhartEl Paso Herald-PostEl Paso, Texas

1946: semaphoreJohn McKinneyDes Moines Register & TribuneDes Moines, Iowa

1947: chlorophyllMattie Lou PollardAtlanta JournalAtlanta, Georgia

1948: psychiatryJean ChappelearAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio

1949: dulcimerKim CalvinCanton RepositoryCanton, Ohio

1950: meticulosityDiana ReynardCleveland PressCleveland, Ohioand Colquitt DeanAtlanta JournalAtlanta, Georgia

1951: insouciantIrving BelzMemphis Press ScimitarMemphis, Tennessee

1952: vignetteDoris Ann HallWinston-Salem JournalWinston-Salem, North Carolina

1953: soubretteElizabeth HessArizona RepublicPhoenix, Arizona

1954: transeptWilliam CashoreNorristown Times Herald, Norristown, Pennsylvania

1955: crustaceologySandra SlossSt. Louis Globe-DemocratSt. Louis, Missouri

1956: condominiumMelody SachkoThe Pittsburgh PressPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1957: schappeSandra OwenCanton RepositoryCanton, Ohioand Dana BennettRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado

1958: syllepsisJolitta SchlehuberTopeka Daily CapitalTopeka, Kansas

1959: catamaranJoel MontgomeryRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado

1960: eudaemonicHenry FeldmanThe Knoxville News SentinelKnoxville, Tennessee

1961: smaragdineJohn CapehartTulsa TribuneTulsa, Oklahoma

1962: esquamuloseNettie CrawfordEl Paso Herald-PostEl Paso, Texasand Michael DaySt. Louis Globe-DemocratSt. Louis, Missouri

1963: equipageGlen Van Slyke III The Knoxville News SentinelKnoxville, Tennessee

1964: sycophantWilliam KerekAkron Beacon JournalAkron, Ohio

1965: eczemaMichael Kerpan, Jr.Tulsa TribuneTulsa, Oklahoma

1966: ratoonRobert A. WakeHouston ChronicleHouston, Texas

1967: ChihuahuaJennifer ReinkeThe Omaha World-HeraldOmaha, Nebraska

1968: abaloneRobert L. WaltersThe Topeka Daily CapitalTopeka, Kansas

1969: interlocutorySusan YoachumDallas Morning NewsDallas, Texas

1970: croissantLibby ChildressWinston-Salem Journal & SentinelWinston-Salem, North Carolina

1971: shalloonJonathan KniselyPhiladelphia BulletinPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania

1972: macerateRobin KralLubbock Avalanche-JournalLubbock, Texas

1973: vouchsafeBarrie TrinkleFort Worth PressFort Worth, Texas

1974: hydrophyteJulie Anne JunkinBirmingham Post-HeraldBirmingham, Alabama

1975: incisorHugh TostesonSan Juan StarSan Juan, Puerto Rico

1976: narcolepsyTim KnealeSyracuse Herald Journal-AmericanSyracuse, New York

1977: cambistJohn PaolaThe Pittsburgh PressPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1978: deifi cationPeg McCarthyThe Topeka Capital-JournalTopeka, Kansas

1979: maculatureKatie KerwinRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado

1980: elucubrateJacques BaillyRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado

1981: sarcophagusPaige PipkinEl Paso Herald-PostEl Paso, Texas

1982: psoriasisMolly DieveneyRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado

1983: PurimBlake GiddensEl Paso Herald-PostEl Paso, Texas

Champions and Their Winning Words1984: lugeDaniel GreenblattLoudoun Times-MirrorLeesburg, Virginia

1985: milieuBalu NatarajanChicago TribuneChicago, Illinois

1986: odontalgiaJon PenningtonThe Patriot NewsHarrisburg, Pennsylvania

1987: staphylococciStephanie PetitThe Pittsburgh PressPittsburgh, Pennsylvania

1988: elegiacalRageshree RamachandranThe Sacramento BeeSacramento, California

1989: spoliatorScott IsaacsRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado

1990: fi branneAmy Marie DimakThe Seattle TimesSeattle, Washington

1991: antipyreticJoanne LagattaThe Wisconsin State JournalMadison, Wisconsin

1992: lyceumAmanda GoadThe Richmond News LeaderRichmond, Virginia

1993: kamikazeGeoff HooperThe Commercial AppealMemphis, Tennessee

1994: antediluvianNed G. AndrewsThe Knoxville News SentinelKnoxville, Tennessee

1995: xanthosisJustin Tyler CarrollThe Commercial AppealMemphis, Tennessee

1996: vivisepultureWendy GueyThe Palm Beach PostWest Palm Beach, Florida

1997: euonymRebecca SealfonDaily NewsNew York, New York

1998: chiaroscuristJody-Anne MaxwellPhillips & Phillips Stationery SuppliersKingston, Jamaica

1999: logorrheaNupur LalaThe Tampa TribuneTampa, Florida

2000: demarcheGeorge Abraham ThampySt. Louis Post-DispatchSt. Louis, Missouri

2001: succedaneumSean ConleyAitkin Independent AgeAitkin, Minnesota

2002: prospiciencePratyush BuddigaRocky Mountain NewsDenver, Colorado

2003: pococuranteSai R. GunturiThe Dallas Morning News, Dallas, Texas

2004: autochthonousDavid Scott Pilarski TidmarshSouth Bend TribuneSouth Bend, Indiana

2005: appoggiaturaAnurag KashyapSan Diego Union-TribuneSan Diego, California

2006: UrspracheKatharine CloseAsbury Park Press/Home News TribuneAsbury Park, New Jersey

2007: serrefi neEvan M. O’DorneyContra Costa TimesWalnut Creek, California

2008: guerdonSameer MishraJournal and Courier Lafayette, Indiana

2009: LaodiceanKavya ShivashankarThe Olathe NewsOlathe, Kansas

2010: stromuhrAnamika VeeramaniThe Plain DealerCleveland, Ohio

2011: cymotrichousSukanya RoyTimes LeaderWilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania

Alabama

1 Kevin Lazenby of Opelika is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Opelika Middle School. His sponsor is Adventure Travel (Birmingham).

Alaska

2 T aia Fagerstrom of Wasilla is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Teeland Middle School. Her sponsor is the Anchorage Daily News.

3 David R. Jones of Fairbanks is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Chugach Extension School. His sponsor is the Daily News-Miner (Fairbanks).

American Samoa

4 Rita Shania Jennings of Pago Pago is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Laulii Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Samoa News.

Arizona

5 Sumaita Mulk of Goodyear is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Gary K. Herberger Young Scholars Academy. Her sponsor is the Arizona Educational Foundation.

6 Aarish Raza of Chinle is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Chinle Junior High School. His sponsor is the Navajo Times Publishing Company (Window Rock).

Arkansas

7 Trevor Paulsen of Harrisburg is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Harrisburg Middle School. His sponsor is the Arkansas Democrat Gazette (Little Rock).

The Bahamas

8 Paloma M. Cartwright of Deadman’s Cay is a 12-year-old seventh grader at N.G.M. Major High School. Her sponsor is The Nassau Guardian.

California

9 Lerick B. Gordon of Fort Irwin is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Fort Irwin Middle School. His sponsor is the Desert Dispatch (Barstow).

10 Brian Jeff ers of Camarillo is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Las Colinas Middle School. His sponsor is the Ventura County Star (Camarillo).

11 Apolonia Gardner of Imperial is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Frank Wright Middle School. Her sponsor is the Imperial Valley Press (El Centro).

12 Nickan Fayyazi of Woodland Hills is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Portola Highly Gifted Magnet Center. His sponsor is the Los Angeles Spelling Bee Collaborative.

13 Justin K. Chuang of Diamond Bar is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Chaparral Middle School. His sponsor is the Friends of the Diamond Bar Library (Pomona).

14 Patrizzia Constanza

Fox-Beaudet of Cottonwood is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Pacheco Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Record Searchlight (Redding).

15 Shruti Amin of Murrieta is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Thompson Middle School. Her sponsor is The Press-Enterprise (Riverside).

16 Jack Maglalang of Orangevale is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Pershing Elementary School. His sponsor is The Sacramento Bee.

17 Dylan Bird of Pebble Beach is a home-schooled 13-year-old eighth grader. His sponsor is the Monterey County Offi ce of Education (Salinas).

18 Isabel J. Cholbi of San Bernardino is a 10-year-old sixth grader at Kimbark Elementary School. Her sponsor is the San Bernardino Spelling Bee Collaborative.

19 Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Francis Parker School. Her sponsor is U-T San Diego.

20 Siddharth Kulkarni of San Jose is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Chaboya Middle School. His sponsor is the San Francisco Chronicle.

21 Sam T.E. Nitz of Costa Mesa is a 13-year-old seventh grader at The Pegasus School. His sponsor is The Orange County Register.


Spellers and Sponsors

22 Alex Howe of Victorville is a 9-year-old third grader at The Academy of Performing Arts and Foreign Language. His sponsor is the Daily Press (Victorville).

23 Bridget Kathleen

Byerlee of Visalia is a 13-year-old seventh grader at George McCann Memorial Catholic School. Her sponsor is the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register.

24 Nick Lambert of Concord is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Pleasant Hill Middle School. His sponsor is the Contra Costa Times (Walnut Creek).

Canada

25 Jennifer Mong of St. John’s, Newfoundland, is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Macdonald Drive Junior High. Her sponsor is The Telegram (St. John’s).

26 Zhongtian Wang of Windsor, Ontario, is an 11-year-old sixth grader at École Monseigneur Jean Noel. Her sponsor is The Windsor Star.

27 Mignon Tsai of Abbotsford, British Columbia, is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Chief Dan George Middle School. Her sponsor is The Vancouver Sun.

China

28 Katharine S. Wang of Beijing is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at QooCo School. Her sponsor is the Community Center Shanghai.

Colorado

29 Eva Kitlen of Niwot is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Sunset Middle School. Her sponsor is Barnes & Noble (Boulder).

30 Frank Cahill of Parker is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Ave Maria Catholic School. His sponsor is The Denver Post.

Connecticut

31 Rahul R. Malayappan of Danbury is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Broadview Middle School. His sponsor is Hearst Connecticut Media Group (Danbury).

32 Kitty Shortt of Clinton is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Abraham Pierson Elementary School. Her sponsor is the New Haven Register.

33 Lily Wang of Oakdale is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Oakdale Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Norwich Bulletin.

34 Sairah A. Sheikh of South Windsor is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Timothy Edwards Middle School. Her sponsor is the South Windsor Community Foundation.

Delaware

35 Pranay Choudary

Malempati of Newark is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Alfred G. Waters Middle School. His sponsor is the Delaware Spelling Bee Collaborative.

District of Columbia

36 Tuli Jahan Bennett-

Bose of Washington is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School. Her sponsor is The Washington Informer.

Europe

37 Anuk Kavan

Dayaprema of Vicenza, Italy, is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Vicenza U.S. Department of Defense Middle School. His sponsor is the European PTA.

Florida

38 Kriyana Reddy of Winter Haven is a 13-year-old eighth grader at All Saints’ Academy. Her sponsor is the Polk County School District Collaborative (Bartow).

39 Kayla Sheffi eld of Fort Myers is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School. Her sponsor is The Daily News (Bonita Springs).

40 Grace Remmer of St. Augustine is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is The Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville).

41 Princeton Salvatore

Ballarino of Naples is a 14-year-old eighth grader at North Naples Middle School. His sponsor is The Naples Daily News.

42 Vaidya Govindarajan of Miami is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Herbert A. Ammons Middle School. His sponsor is The Miami Herald.

43 Christal Schermeister of Pembroke Pines is a home-schooled 12-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is The Miami Herald.

44 Stuti Mishra of West Melbourne is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy. Her sponsor is the Orlando Sentinel.


45 Nikitha Chandran of Valrico is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Brandon Academy. Her sponsor is the Tampa Bay Spelling Bee Collaborative.

46 Yusra Hashmi of Vero Beach is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Giff ord Middle School. Her sponsor is the Treasure Coast Newspapers (Stuart).

47 Ann Marie Brown of Hosford is a 14-year-old eighth grader at W.R. Tolar K-8 School. Her sponsor is the Tallahassee Democrat.

48 Cara Busheme of Boynton Beach is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Christa McAuliff e Middle School. Her sponsor is the Kiwanis Club of West Palm Beach.

Georgia

49 Rachael Cundey of Evans is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Lakeside Middle School. Her sponsor is The Augusta Chronicle.

50 Simola Nayak of Atlanta is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Henderson Middle School. Her sponsor is the Georgia Association of Educators.

Ghana

51 Philemon A. Awan of Ho is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Holy Spirit Catholic Preparatory School. His sponsor is Essence Communications Ltd.

Guam

52 Marcy Ann Acosta

Ermitanio of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Chacha Oceanview Junior High School. Her sponsor is the Pacifi c Daily News.

Hawaii

53 Taggart H.S.

Nakamoto of Kealakekua is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Konawaena Middle School. His sponsor is aio (Honolulu).

Idaho

54 Sarah Sedy of Coeur d’ Alene is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Woodland Middle School. Her sponsor is the Coeur d’Alene Press.

55 Malie Queta Curren of Tetonia is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Teton Middle School. Her sponsor is the Teton Valley News (Driggs).

56 Ian T. Wendt of Moscow is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Moscow Junior High. His sponsor is the Lewiston Tribune.

Illinois

57 Christine Alex of Chicago is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Lenart Regional Gifted Center. Her sponsor is Chicago Public Schools.

58 Simon Ricci of Chicago is a 14-year-old eighth grader at the Latin School of Chicago. His sponsor is the Chicago Spelling Bee Collaborative.

59 Sophia Margareth

Whittemore of Glendale Heights is a 14-year-old eighth grader at St. Walter Catholic School. Her sponsor is Commonwealth Edison.

60 Marlene Santora of North Riverside is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Komarek School. Her sponsor is Commonwealth Edison.

61 Kimberly Jonisse

Belser of Bolingbrook is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Humphrey Middle School. Her sponsor is Commonwealth Edison.

62 Lucas Michael

Urbanski of Crystal Lake is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Immanuel Lutheran School. His sponsor is the Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake).

63 Yasir Hasnain of Forsyth is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Maroa Forsyth Middle School. His sponsor is the Herald & Review (Decatur).

64 Ben Rydecki of Somonauk is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Somonauk Middle School. His sponsor is the Daily Chronicle (DeKalb).

65 Christopher P.

Rademacher of Polo is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Aplington Middle School. His sponsor is The Telegraph (Dixon).

66 Pranav Sivakumar of Tower Lakes is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Barrington Middle School — Station Campus. His sponsor is the Lake County Regional Offi ce of Education (Grayslake).

67 Dhruva Tapan Mehta of Bourbonnais is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center. His sponsor is The Daily Journal (Kankakee).


Spellers and SponsorsContinued

68 Jay N. Shirodkar of Belvidere is a 14-year-old seventh grader at Keith Country Day School. His sponsor is the Boone-Winnebago Regional Offi ce of Education (Loves Park).

69 Sophie Bergman of Bettendorf, Iowa, is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Morning Star Academy. Her sponsor is The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus (Moline).

70 Grant Innis of La Salle is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Lincoln Junior High School. His sponsor is the Peoria Journal Star.

71 Daniel K. Oster of Batavia is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Rotolo Middle School. His sponsor is the Kane County Chronicle (Saint Charles).

72 Parker Elizabeth

Carls of Beardstown is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Beardstown Christian Academy. Her sponsor is The State Journal-Register (Springfi eld).

73 Greg D. Kessel of Rock Falls is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Rock Falls Middle School. His sponsor is The Daily Gazette (Sterling).

74 Andrew D. Stevens of Freeport is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Immanuel Lutheran School. His sponsor is the Carroll/JoDaviess/Stephenson Regional Offi ce of Education (Stockton).

Indiana

75 Star Han of Bloomington is a 12-year-old sixth grader at University Elementary School. Her sponsor is Indiana University.

76 Matthew Zheng of Carmel is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Clay Middle School. His sponsor is Williams Comfort Air (Carmel).

77 Aaron Michael

Manning of Evansville is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Plaza Park International Prep Academy. His sponsor is the Evansville Courier & Press.

78 Kaelyn Reigh Bender of Albion is a 13-year-old seventh grader at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic School. Her sponsor is The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne).

79 Gina Solomito of Indianapolis is a home-schooled 14-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.

80 Pranav Haran of Kokomo is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Western Middle School. His sponsor is The Kokomo Tribune.

81 Casey Hennings of DeMotte is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Kankakee Valley Middle School. Her sponsor is the Journal and Courier (Lafayette).

82 Ross M. DeLong of Upland is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Eastbrook South Elementary School. His sponsor is Indiana Wesleyan University.

83 Andie Marie Reidy of Hartford City is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Blackford Junior High School. Her sponsor is The Star Press (Muncie).

84 Margaret Flaherty

Peterson of Granger is a home-schooled 12-year-old sixth grader. Her sponsor is the South Bend Tribune.

85 Sabin Karki of Terre Haute is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Honey Creek Middle School. His sponsor is The Tribune-Star (Terre Haute).

86 Katie Kirk of Valparaiso is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Immanuel Lutheran School. Her sponsor is the Kankakee Valley REMC (Wanatah).

Iowa

87 Jeremy Ferguson of Mount Vernon is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Mount Vernon Middle School. His sponsor is Iowa State University’s Greenlee School of Journalism.

88 Joshua N. Kalyanapu of Asbury is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Tri-State Christian School. His sponsor is the Telegraph Herald (Dubuque).

Jamaica

89 Gifton Samuel Wright of Spanish Town is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Kingston College. His sponsor is the Jamaica Gleaner.

Japan

90 Haruka Masuda of Chiba City is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Makuhari International School and Shibuya Kyouiku Gakuen Makuhari Junior High School. Her sponsor is The Japan Times.

Kansas

91 Clara K. Wicoff of Iola is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Iola Middle School. Her sponsor is the Great Bend Tribune.



92 Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Regency Place Elementary School. Her sponsor is The Olathe News.

93 Emma Steimle of Lawrence is a 14-year-old eighth grader at West Middle School. Her sponsor is The Topeka Capital-Journal.

Kentucky

94 Emily Keaton of Pikeville is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Christ Central School. Her sponsor is the Kentucky Spelling Bee Collaborative.

Louisiana

95 Nickolas Day of Baton Rouge is a 13-year-old sixth grader at Parkview Baptist School. His sponsor is the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Center (Hammond).

96 Emily A. McGraw of Lafayette is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Our Lady of Fatima School. Her sponsor is the Kiwanis Club of Lafayette.

97 Caleb Miller of Calhoun is a home-schooled 12-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is The News-Star (Monroe).

98 Jessica E. Davis of Metairie is a 13-year-old seventh grader at St. Benilde School. Her sponsor is The Times-Picayune.

99 Venkatesh Sivaraman of Shreveport is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Caddo Middle Magnet School. His sponsor is the Alliance For Education (Shreveport).

Maine

100 Caitlin Marie Hillery of Glenburn is a 14-year-old eighth grader at All Saints Catholic School. Her sponsor is Husson University.

101 Nat Jordan of Cape Elizabeth is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Cape Elizabeth Middle School. His sponsor is the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.

Maryland

102 Olivia Nicole

Simmons of Crofton is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Wiley H. Bates Middle School. Her sponsor is the 21st Century Education Foundation (Annapolis).

103 Shaheer Ali Imam of Catonsville is an 8-year-old third grader at the Al-Rahmah School. His sponsor is Learn It Systems (Baltimore).

104 Reid Aleksander

FitzHugh of Rockville is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Julius West Middle School. His sponsor is The Meakem Group of Wells Fargo Advisors (Bethesda).

105 Jack Nolan of Elkridge is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Mayfi eld Woods Middle School. His sponsor is the Howard County Library (Columbia).

106 Grace Li of Hagerstown is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Boonsboro Middle School. Her sponsor is The Herald-Mail (Hagerstown).

107 Hannah Rebecca

Thomas of Beltsville is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School. Her sponsor is The Gazette & The Star (Laurel).

108 Michelle M. Beaulieu of Callaway is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Spring Ridge Middle School. Her sponsor is The Enterprise (Lexington Park).

109 Christian Thomas

Kincaid of Owings is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Windy Hill Middle School. His sponsor is The Recorder (Prince Frederick).

110 Sydney Christley of White Plains is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Matthew Henson Middle School. Her sponsor is the Maryland Independent (Waldorf ).

Massachusetts

111 Sam Lowery of Charlestown is a 12-year-old sixth grader at the Warren-Prescott School. His sponsor is the Boston Centers for Youth & Families.

278 Zachary Doiron of Brighton is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Edison K-8 School. His sponsor is the Boston Centers for Youth & Families.

112 Katie Hudek of Princeton is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is the Sentinel & Enterprise (Fitchburg).

113 Amber Born of Marblehead is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is The Daily Item (Lynn).

114 Molly K. Cahill of Kingston is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Montrose School. Her sponsor is Comcast (Taunton).


115 Coralee Ashley

Tibeingana Ahabwe

Wade LaRue of Vineyard Haven is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Tisbury School. Her sponsor is The Martha’s Vineyard Times.

Michigan

116 Amulya Parmar of Sterling Heights. is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is The Detroit News.

117 Mwangi Wa Maina of Grand Rapids is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Crestwood Middle School. His sponsor is the Kent Intermediate School District (Grand Rapids).

118 Leland F. Finney of Spalding is a 14-year-old eighth grader at North Central Junior/Senior High School. His sponsor is the Upper Peninsula Spelling Bee Collaborative.

119 Ritvik Reddy Jillala of Spring Arbor is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Warner Elementary School. His sponsor is The Jackson Citizen Patriot.

120 Marissa J. Pruitt of Lapeer is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Rolland-Warner Middle School. Her sponsor is The County Press (Lapeer).

121 Mitchell Lange of Ludington is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Mason County Central Middle School. His sponsor is the Ludington Daily News.

122 Nathaniel F. Britton of Macomb is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Peace Lutheran School. His sponsor is The Macomb Daily.

123 Kuvam Nirad

Shahane of Rochester Hills is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Reuther Middle School. His sponsor is The Oakland Press.

124 Hannah Jackson of Midland is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy. Her sponsor is the Saginaw Independent School District.

125 Brett Tutton of Coloma is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Grace Christian School. His sponsor is The Herald Palladium (St. Joseph).

126 Jack Pasche of Suttons Bay is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Suttons Bay Middle School. His sponsor is the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

127 Kavyapranati

Pratapa of Ypsilanti is a 12-year-old seventh grader at South Arbor Charter Academy. Her sponsor is Willow Run Community Schools (Ypsilanti).

Minnesota

128 Emma Greenlee of Aurora is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Mesabi East High School. Her sponsor is the Lakes Country Service Cooperative (Fergus Falls).

129 Elise K. Stahl of Greenfi eld is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P. (Minneapolis).

130 Antony Joseph of Fairmont is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Fairmont Junior/Senior High School. His sponsor is the South Central Service Cooperative (North Mankato).

131 Roshini Shreya

Asirvatham of Rochester is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Friedell Middle School. Her sponsor is the Southeast Service Cooperative (Rochester).

132 Matthew R. Majerle of Baxter is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Forestview Middle School. His sponsor is the National Joint Powers Alliance (Staples).

Mississippi

133 Dev Jaiswal of Louisville is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Winston Academy. His sponsor is the Mississippi Association of Educators.

Missouri

134 Priscilla Liow of Columbia is a home-schooled 14-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is the Columbia Daily Tribune.

135 Jacob L. Longmeyer of Pleasant Hill is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Pleasant Hill Middle School. His sponsor is the Cass County Democrat Missourian (Harrisonville).

136 Jordan Gabriella

Hoff man of Lee’s Summit is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Pleasant Lea Middle School. Her sponsor is the Jackson County Spelling Bee Collaborative (Kansas City).

137 Adeesh Mishra of Poplar Bluff is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Sacred Heart School. His sponsor is Three Rivers Community College.

138 Joseph R. Snelling of Sedalia is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Sedalia Middle School. His sponsor is the Sedalia Spelling Bee Collaborative.



139 Julian E. Pacheco of Springfi eld is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Pipkin Middle School. His sponsor is Missouri State University’s College of Arts and Letters.

140 Grant Pace of Parkville is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Lakeview Middle School. His sponsor is the St. Joseph News-Press.

141 Gokul

Venkatachalam of Chesterfi eld is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Claymont Elementary School. His sponsor is the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Montana

142 Madelyn R. Kirsch of Lewistown is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Lewistown Junior High School. Her sponsor is Lee Newspapers of Montana.

Nebraska

143 Julia Fiksinski of Elkhorn is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Brownell-Talbot School. Her sponsor is the Omaha World-Herald.

Nevada

144 Megan Allison

Pineda of Reno is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Billinghurst Middle School. Her sponsor is the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

New Hampshire

145 Emma Ciereszynski of Dover is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Dover Middle School. Her sponsor is the New Hampshire Union Leader (Manchester).

New Jersey

146 Angela Wang of Belle Mead is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Montgomery Upper Middle School. Her sponsor is Townsquare Media (Bayville).

147 Bisma Nasir of Blackwood is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Glen Landing Middle School. Her sponsor is the Camden Spelling Bee Collaborative.

148 Sanjana Mohan Malla of Haverstraw, New York, is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Haverstraw Middle School. Her sponsor is The Record and Herald News (Hackensack).

149 Kennith Gonzalez of Union City is an 11-year-old sixth grader at St. Francis Academy. His sponsor is the Hudson County Offi ce of Cultural and Heritage Aff airs (Jersey City).

150 Carson Monks of Montague is a home-schooled 12-year-old sixth grader. His sponsor is the Tri-State Spelling Bee Committee (Montague).

151 Cooper Barth of West Long Branch is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Frank Antonides School. His sponsor is the Asbury Park Press/Home News Tribune.

152 Eboseremhen I. Eigbe of Galloway is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Roland Rogers Elementary School. His sponsor is Townsquare Media (Northfi eld).

New Mexico

153 Jacob Bayly Hunter of Santa Fe is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Edward Ortiz Middle School. His sponsor is The Albuquerque Journal.

New York

154 Massoud S. Sharif of Albany is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Farnsworth Middle School. His sponsor is the Times Union (Albany).

155 Nabeel Rahman of Buff alo is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Casey Middle School. His sponsor is The Buff alo News.

156 Sruti Akula of Horseheads is a 14-year-old eighth grader at the Alternate School of Math and Science. Her sponsor is The Leader (Corning).

157 Gavin J. Buehler of Pultneyville is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Williamson Middle School. His sponsor is the Finger Lakes Times (Geneva).

158 Adam Ferrari of Johnstown is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Wheelerville Union Free School. His sponsor is The Leader-Herald (Gloversville).

159 Dean Joseph

Creedon of Oceanside is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Oaks School #3. His sponsor is Hofstra University.

160 Keerthi

Radhakrishnan of Middletown is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Circleville Middle School. His sponsor is the Times Herald-Record (Middletown).

161 Jabaal A. Allen of Mount Vernon is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Longfellow Middle. His sponsor is the Mount Vernon Inquirer.

162 Arvind V. Mahankali of Bayside Hills is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Junior High School 74 Nathaniel Hawthorne. His sponsor is the Daily News.


163 Alexis Tang of New York is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Spence School. Her sponsor is the Daily News.

164 Kristin A. Ratliff of Cooperstown is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Cooperstown Central School. Her sponsor is The Daily Star (Oneonta).

165 Philip Andrew

Cummings of Oswego is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Oswego Middle School. His sponsor is The Palladium-Times (Oswego).

166 Nicholas Manfred of Moriah is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Moriah Central School. His sponsor is the Press-Republican (Plattsburgh).

167 Emily Theresa Carello

of Syracuse is a 12-year-old seventh grader at H.W. Smith School. Her sponsor is The Post-Standard (Syracuse).

168 Dylan O’Connor of Alexandria Bay is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Alexandria Central School. His sponsor is the Watertown Daily Times.

New Zealand

169 Ryan McLellan of Invercargill is a 13-year-old eighth grader at James Hargest College. His sponsor is the New Zealand Spelling Bee Trust.

North Carolina

170 Meghna Mahadevan of Elon is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Western Alamance Middle School. Her sponsor is the Times-News (Burlington).

171 Olivia Elyse Jones of Charlotte is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Charlotte Preparatory School. Her sponsor is The Charlotte Observer.

172 Zachary Bryson

Jacobs of Clayton is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Clayton Middle School. His sponsor is The Clayton News-Star.

173 Ned Swansey of Durham is a 10-year-old fourth grader at E.K. Powe Elementary School. His sponsor is Duke University’s Offi ce of Durham and Regional Aff airs.

174 Ashrita Vadlapatla of Fayetteville is an 8-year-old fourth grader at Renaissance Classical Christian Academy. Her sponsor is The Fayetteville Observer.

175 Katie M. Danis of Gastonia is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Gaston Day School. Her sponsor is The Gaston Gazette (Gastonia).

176 Aidan Patrick

Markwick of Sanford is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Western Harnett Middle School. His sponsor is the Harnett County Spelling Bee Collaborative (Lillington).

177 Michael A. Bono of Rolesville is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Thales Academy Junior High School. His sponsor is PAGE of Wake County (Raleigh).

178 Vedantanshu Kar of Rocky Mount is a 13-year-old eighth grader at J.W. Parker Middle School. His sponsor is the Delta Center for Life Development, Inc. (Rocky Mount).

179 Hunter Randolph of Sanford is a 13-year-old seventh grader at SanLee Middle School. His sponsor is PAGE of Lee County (Sanford).

180 Sierra Kathleen

Parker of Shelby is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Shelby Middle School. Her sponsor is The Shelby Star.

181 Isabella Mayo of Blounts Creek is a 14-year-old eighth grader at P.S. Jones Middle School. Her sponsor is the Washington Daily News.

182 Landry Ballance of Fremont is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Greenfi eld School. His sponsor is the Wilson Daily Times.

183 Nejat Alkadir of High Point is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Ledford Middle School. Her sponsor is the Winston-Salem Journal.

North Dakota

184 Ty Korsmo of Northwood is a home-schooled 12-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is the North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders.

Ohio

185 Sunny Levine of Medina is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Claggett Middle School. Her sponsor is the Akron Beacon Journal.

186 Spencer Brooks of Columbus is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Bexley Middle School. His sponsor is Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication.

187 Nathan Robert

Dugan of Canton is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Faircrest Memorial Middle School. His sponsor is The Repository (Canton).

188 Manu U. Nair of Union, Kentucky, is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Shirley Mann Elementary School. His sponsor is WCPO-TV Channel 9 (Cincinnati).



189 Mira Kathryn

O’Donnell of Cincinnati is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Sands Montessori Elementary School. Her sponsor is WCPO-TV Channel 9 (Cincinnati).

190 Isabella Marie

Nilsson of Cleveland Heights is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Hathaway Brown School. Her sponsor is The Plain Dealer (Cleveland).

191 Tabitha Esme Wells of Vandalia is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Morton Middle School. Her sponsor is the Dayton Daily News.

192 Veto P. Lopez of Avon is a 13-year-old eighth grader at St. Jude School. His sponsor is the Educational Service Center of Lorain County (LaGrange).

193 Nicholas B. Rushlow of Pickerington is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Lakeview Junior High School. His sponsor is the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette.

194 LeeAnn

Mekkattukulam Jose of Wapakoneta is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Wapakoneta Middle School. Her sponsor is The Lima News.

195 Carter M. Lang of Lowell is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Fort Frye Junior High School. His sponsor is The Marietta Times.

196 Marcus Larenz Clark of Bridgeport is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Martins Ferry Middle School. His sponsor is The Times Leader (Martins Ferry).

197 Michael Steven

Reiner of Wellsville is a 15-year-old eighth grader at Daw Middle School. His sponsors are the Salem News, East Liverpool Review and The Morning Journal.

198 Dharani Kotekal of Wintersville is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Indian Creek Junior High. Her sponsor is The Herald-Star (Steubenville).

199 Spencer Lee Hipsher of Arcadia is a 13-year-old seventh grader at St. Wendelin Catholic School. His sponsor is The Blade (Toledo).

200 Rebekah Stanhope of Kinsman is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Joseph Badger Middle School. Her sponsor is The Tribune Chronicle (Warren).

201 Vishnu S. Nistala of Mentor is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Mentor Shore Middle School. His sponsor is The News-Herald (Willoughby).

202 Max L. Lee of Canfi eld is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Canfi eld Village Middle School. His sponsor is The Vindicator (Youngstown).

Oklahoma

203 Richelle Marie

Zampella of Muskogee is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at the Oklahoma School for the Blind. Her sponsor is the Muskogee Spelling Bee Collaborative.

204 Noah J. Cassidy of Perkins is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is The Oklahoman.

Oregon

205 Katie Carter of Vancouver, Washington, is a home-schooled 12-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is the Portland Tribune.

Pennsylvania

206 Reena Elizebath

Benny of Glen Mills is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Garnet Valley Middle School. Her sponsor is The Chester Spirit.

207 Katie Proffi tt of Spring City is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Owen J. Roberts Middle School. Her sponsor is the Chester County Intermediate Unit (Downingtown).

208 Naomi W. Li of Center Valley is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Southern Lehigh Middle School. Her sponsor is The Express-Times (Easton).

209 Katie Dudding of Dillsburg is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Saint Joseph School. Her sponsor is WITF: Public Media for Central Pennsylvania (Harrisburg).

210 John F. Fulton of Lancaster is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Lancaster Country Day School. His sponsor is the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era.

211 Neha Bhardwaj of Harleysville is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Indian Valley Middle School. Her sponsor is The Times Herald (Norristown).

212 Visha Parmar of Bensalem is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Robert K. Shafer Middle School. Her sponsor is the Pennridge Community Education Foundation (Perkasie).


213 Lena Greenberg of Philadelphia is a home-schooled 14-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is The Philadelphia Tribune.

214 Megan Rose Antoon of Connellsville is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Connellsville Junior High West. Her sponsor is the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

215 Daniel Scott

McGarvey of Williamstown is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Williams Valley Junior/Senior High School. His sponsor is The Republican Herald (Pottsville).

216 Tom Michael Velik of Kutztown is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Kutztown Area Middle School. His sponsor is the Reading Eagle.

217 Devin Reed of Drums is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Drums Elementary/Middle School. His sponsor is the Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre).

Puerto Rico

218 Alexandra I. Harper of San Juan is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Guamani Private School. Her sponsor is the Commonwealth-Parkville School (San Juan).

Rhode Island

219 Emma Vorenberg of Barrington is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Barrington Middle School. Her sponsor is The Valley Breeze (Cumberland).

South Carolina

220 Sheena Wandia

Chege of Greenwood is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Greenwood Christian School. Her sponsor is the Anderson Independent Mail.

221 Austin T. Wood of Barnwell is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Guinyard Butler Middle School. His sponsor is The Allendale Sun.

222 Ian Jef Aquino

Bongalonta of Goose Creek is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Westview Middle School. His sponsor is The Post and Courier (Charleston).

223 Jacob Evers of McColl is a 13-year-old seventh grader at McColl Elementary Middle School. His sponsor is the Pee Dee Education Center (Florence).

224 Isabella Mika

Neubauer of Pawleys Island is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Lowcountry Preparatory School. Her sponsor is The Sun News (Myrtle Beach).

225 Reagan P. Leonard of Spartanburg is a 13-year-old eighth grader at R.P. Dawkins Middle School. His sponsor is the Herald-Journal (Spartanburg).

South Dakota

226 Maria Josephina

Braga-Henebry of Garretson is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is the University of South Dakota.

South Korea

227 Jiwon Seo of Suwon-si is a 15-year-old eighth grader at Hwahong Middle School. Her sponsor is Yoon’s English School (Seoul).

Tennessee

228 Nicole C. Frische of Soddy-Daisy is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Allen Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

229 Claire E. Layne of Buchanan is a home-schooled 14-year-old seventh grader. Her sponsor is The Jackson Sun.

230 Hannah Katherine

Jackson of Fall Branch is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Ross N. Robinson Middle School. Her sponsor is the Knoxville News Sentinel.

231 Valery T. Nguyen-Au of Memphis is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Lowrance Elementary. Her sponsor is The Commercial Appeal (Memphis).

232 Coleman

Swartzfager of Shelby, Mississippi, is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at B.L. Bell Academy. His sponsor is The Commercial Appeal (Memphis).

233 Grace Park of Nashville is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Martin Luther King, Jr. Magnet School. Her sponsor is Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz (Nashville).

Texas

234 Kate Miller of Abilene is a home-schooled 12-year-old sixth grader. Her sponsor is the Abilene Reporter-News.

235 Casey M. Ellis of Amarillo is an 11-year-old fi fth grader at Windsor Elementary. Her sponsor is the Amarillo Globe-News.



236 Victoria Alexis

Epstein of Corpus Christi is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Flour Bluff Junior High. Her sponsor is the Corpus Christi Caller-Times.

237 Chetan Reddy of Plano is a 12-year-old seventh grader at C.M. Rice Middle School. His sponsor is The Dallas Morning News.

238 Abigail Violet

Spitzer of El Paso is a home-schooled 13-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is the El Paso Times.

239 Mark De Los Santos of Arlington is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Holy Rosary Catholic School. His sponsor is Texas Christian University.

240 Alen Peter Saju of Edinburg is a 10-year-old fi fth grader at Freddy Gonzalez Elementary School. His sponsor is Valley Freedom Newspapers (Harlingen).

241 Sivateja Tangirala of Sugar Land is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Fort Settlement Middle School. His sponsor is HoustonPBS.

242 Roland Jay Patricio of Laredo is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Clark Middle School. His sponsor is the Laredo Morning Times.

243 Neloy R. Shome of Lubbock is a 12-year-old seventh grader at All Saints Episcopal School. His sponsor is the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

244 Thomas Rubio of Midland is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Alamo Junior High School. His sponsor is the Midland Reporter-Telegram.

245 Ethan W. Wall of Monahans is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Sudderth Elementary School. His sponsor is the Odessa American.

246 Clancy Dean Carter of Wall is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Wall Middle School. His sponsor is the San Angelo Standard-Times.

247 Sarah Hurlin of Mico is a home-schooled 13-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is the San Antonio Express-News.

248 Pauline Negrete of Edna is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Edna Junior High School. Her sponsor is the Victoria Advocate.

249 Whitney D.

Jameson of Waco is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Connally Junior High School. Her sponsor is BBVA Compass Bank (Waco).

250 Ruth O. Anwasi of Wichita Falls is a 12-year-old seventh grader at Burkburnett Middle School. Her sponsor is the Times Record News (Wichita Falls).

US Virgin Islands

251 Yad B. Bass of Christiansted is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Ricardo Richards Elementary School. His sponsor is The Virgin Islands Daily News.

Utah

252 Jared Ward of Blanding is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Albert R. Lyman Middle School. His sponsor is the Southeast Education Service Center (Price).

253 Sophie M. Choate of Provo is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Westridge Elementary School. Her sponsor is the Daily Herald (Provo).

254 Vismaya Jui Kharkar of Bountiful is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Challenger School. Her sponsor is The Valley Journals (Salt Lake City).

Vermont

255 Ronan Howlett of Cornwall is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Middlebury Union Middle School. His sponsor is The Burlington Free Press.

Virginia

256 Kayla Lynn

Corredera-Wells of Palmyra is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Fluvanna County Middle School. Her sponsors are The News-Virginian and The Daily Progress (Charlottesville).

257 Madison Skye

Fuentes of Danville is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Westover Christian Academy. Her sponsor is the Danville Register and Bee.

258 Andrew L. Marino of Warrenton is a 13-year-old seventh grader at Warrenton Middle School. His sponsor is The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg).


259 Karlesha Da’Brea

Canady of Hampton is a 15-year-old eighth grader at C. Alton Lindsay Middle School. Her sponsor is the Hampton Literary Society.

260 Urna Chakrabarty of Harrisonburg is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Thomas Harrison Middle School. Her sponsor is the Rockingham District Ruritans (Harrisonburg).

261 Luke A.

Thornburgh of Purcellville is a home-schooled 12-year-old sixth grader. His sponsor is the Loudoun Times-Mirror (Leesburg).

262 Sarah A. Phillips of Lynchburg is a 14-year-old eighth grader at Linkhorne Middle School. Her sponsor is The News & Advance (Lynchburg).

263 Caroline Ellissa

Willett of Virginia Beach is a home-schooled 14-year-old eighth grader. Her sponsor is The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk).

264 Jae Canetti of Fairfax is a 10-year-old fourth grader at Hunters Woods Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences. His sponsor is the Fairfax County Times (Reston).

265 Evan Daniel Smith of Henrico is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is the Richmond Times-Dispatch (Richmond).

266 Shayley Grace

Martin of Riner is an 11-year-old sixth grader at Floyd Elementary School. Her sponsor is The Roanoke Times.

267 Victoria Alexandra

Whited of Richlands is a 13-year-old eighth grader at Richlands Middle School. Her sponsor is the Tazewell County Fair Association (Tazewell).

268 Samuel George

Estep of Berryville is a home-schooled 14-year-old eighth grader. His sponsor is The Community Foundation of the Northern Shenandoah Valley (Winchester).

269 Lori Anne C. Madison of Woodbridge is a home-schooled 6-year-old second grader. Her sponsor is the News & Messenger (Woodbridge).

Washington

270 Camille Georgeanne

Murphy of Seattle is a 13-year-old seventh grader at St. Joseph School. Her sponsor is Town Hall Seattle.

271 Jonah Gunter of Leavenworth is a home-schooled 13-year-old seventh grader. His sponsor is the North Central Washington Collaborative Spelling Bee (Wenatchee).

West Virginia

272 Elizabeth Koh of Beckley is a 13-year-old eighth grader at St. Francis de Sales School. Her sponsor is the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

273 Thomas G. Aldridge of Bridgeport is a home-schooled 13-year-old eighth grader. His sponsor is The Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram.


274 Shivali B. Halabe of Morgantown is a 12-year-old sixth grader at Suncrest Middle School. Her sponsor is The Dominion Post (Morgantown).

275 Olivia Grace Archer of Wheeling is a 13-year-old seventh grader at St. Vincent de Paul Parish School. Her sponsor is The Catholic Spirit (Wheeling).

Wisconsin

276 Heloise Cheruvalath of Menomonee Falls is a 14-year-old eighth grader at North Middle School. Her sponsor is the Wisconsin State Journal (Madison).

Wyoming

277 Lia G. Eggleston of Laramie is a 12-year-old eighth grader at Snowy Range Academy. Her sponsor is the Wyoming Spelling Bee Collaborative.

Speller 278 can be found on page 18 under Massachusetts.


Leadership and Permanent Staff

Scripps National Spelling Bee

Paige P. Kimble

Director

Paige is the 1981 national champion and the 1980 runner-up representing the El Paso Herald-Post. She has served the program in various capacities for the past 29 years, including 15 years as director.

Abi C. Evans

Development Manager

Abi works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Company’s corporate offi ce. This is her second year with the program.

Micheal W. Hickerson

Communications Manager

Micheal works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Company’s corporate offi ce. This is his fi rst year with the program.

Corrie E. Loeffl er

Project Manager

Corrie is serving her sixth year on the Bee’s year-round staff after having served six years on staff . She represented the Merced Sun-Star in the 1994, 1995 and 1996 national fi nals, tying for sixth place in 1995.

Cybelle L. Weeks

Sponsorship and Operations

Manager

Cybelle works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Company’s corporate offi ce. This is her 15th year with the program.

Janice S. Liebenberg


Coordinator

Janice works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Company’s corporate offi ce. This is her sixth year with the program.

Nicole A. Dittoe


Assistant

Nicole works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Company’s corporate offi ce. This is her second year with the program.

Sally McMain

Administrative Assistant

Sally works full-time for the program from The E.W. Scripps Company’s corporate offi ce. This is her fi rst year with the program.

The E.W. Scripps Company

Rich Boehne is president and chief executive offi cer of The E.W. Scripps Company.

Tim King, media liaison, is vice president of communications and investor relations for The E.W. Scripps Company.


Dr. Jacques A. Bailly

Pronouncer

Dr. Bailly is the 1980 national champion representing the Rocky Mountain News. He is an associate professor of classics at the University of Vermont. This is his tenth year as pronouncer after having served 12 years as associate pronouncer.

Dr. Brian M. Sietsema

Associate Pronouncer

Dr. Sietsema is an ordained priest of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and serves a parish in Lansing, Michigan. After receiving a doctorate in linguistics in 1989, he was the pronunciation editor for Merriam-Webster from 1990 to 1998. This is Dr. Sietsema’s tenth year as associate pronouncer.

Mary Brooks

Head Judge

Mrs. Brooks is a retired West Des Moines, Iowa, educator. She has served the program in various capacities for the past 41 years, including 26 years as a judge and fi ve years as co-director.

Blake Giddens

Judge

Mr. Giddens is the 1983 national champion representing the El Paso Herald-Post. He is a professional engineer for a civil engineering fi rm in Fairfax, Virginia. This is his 12th year as a judge after having served fi ve years as auxiliary judge and four years on crew.

Dr. Ed Low

Judge

Dr. Low is professor emeritus of English at Metropolitan State College of Denver. This is Dr. Low’s 19th year as a judge for the national fi nals. He has served as head judge for 24 years for Denver’s spelling bee.

George Thampy

Judge

Mr. Thampy is the 2000 national champion representing the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is an investor and associate at Concentric Equity Partners, a private equity fi rm in Chicago, Illinois. This is Mr. Thampy’s fi rst year as a judge after having served six years on staff .

Offi cials


Mark Bowen

Photographer

Mark is a professional free-lance photographer in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Bryan Brandeberry

Production Staff

Bryan is a senior systems engineer for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Chris Burns

Production Staff

Chris is a personal technology systems specialist for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Kaydee Butts

Production Staff

Kaydee is an executive assistant for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Julie Cornwell

Production Staff

Julie is a paralegal for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Gail Farwick

Production Staff

Gail is director of program and vendor management for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dave Giles

Production Staff

Dave is vice president, deputy general counsel and chief ethics offi cer for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Paul Gilman

Stage Manager

Paul is manager of application development for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mary Groene

Production Staff

Mary is a systems analyst for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Bee Week StaffBBBBBB

Tracey Gustafson

Production Staff

Tracy is a digital media planner for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Kara Hadge

Production Staff

Kara is the head of digital media in the United States for the British Council in Washington, D. C. She represented the Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Massachusetts, in the 1999 and 2000 national fi nals.

Jeff Hassan

Production Staff

Jeff is managing director of planning for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Kristin Hawkins

Production Staff

Kristin graduated from the University of Virginia in 2009 and now works in Kingston, Jamaica. Kristin represented the Loudoun Times-Mirror in the 1999, 2000 and 2001 national fi nals, placing second in 2001.

Clinton Hess

Production Staff

Clinton is a program manager for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Robyn Hildal

Media Desk Manager

Robyn is vice president of talent and diversity for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Arielle Kass

Production Staff

Arielle is a business reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in Atlanta, Georgia.

Vagelis “V” Kontopos

Production Staff

V is a senior fi nancial reporting analyst for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.


Chip Mahaney

Production Staff

Chip is senior director for local operations for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Valerie Miller

Production Staff

Valerie is corporate communications manager for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Kevin Moch

Production Staff

Kevin is a second-year PhD student in Classics at the University of California, Berkeley. He represented North Dakota in the 2001 and 2002 national fi nals, tying for third place in 2002.

Bret G. Nealis

Production Staff

Bret is a software engineer for Professional Consulting Services, Inc. , in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Bridget Nealis

Production Staff

Bridget is a personal banker for Fifth Third Bank in Greensburg, Indiana.

Malorie Nealis

Production Staff

Malorie Nealis is a student at The Ohio State University, studying education and mathematics.

Brett Pappas

Production Staff

Brett is an application architect for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Paul Riccobene

Production Staff

Paul is a senior network engineer for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Michele Roberts

Production Staff

Michele is an administrative assistant for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Angie Zeroski Rose

Production Staff

Angie is a marketing process improvement manager at The Kroger Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio. She represented the Herald-Star of Steubenville, Ohio, in the 1989 national fi nals.

Lee Rose

Production Staff

Lee is the director of human resources for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Michael Rose

Technical Representative

Michael is an education consultant with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Ria Farrell Schalnat

Production Staff

Ria is a patent attorney with Frost Brown Todd LLC in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Kimball Sigala

Production Staff

Kimball is a network engineering manager for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Carin Stacy

Production Staff

Carin is a compensation manager for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

David Taylor

Production Staff

David is a senior personal technology systems specialist for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Amy Varon

Production Staff

Amy is a systems analyst for The E.W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Scripps National Spelling Bee312 Walnut Street, 28th Floor

Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Spellingbee.com | Facebook.com/scrippsnationalspellingbee | Twitter.com/scrippsbee

Before and After Bee Week: 513-977-3040

Media Desk During Bee Week: 301-965-5591

Speller & Sponsor Desk During Bee Week: 301-965-5590

About ScrippsScripps (www.scripps.com) delivers quality journalism and

creates valuable marketing environments through television stations, newspapers and a growing menu of digital

products and services that now includes social games. Creative and mission-driven employees “give light so the people can fi nd their own way” at 19 television stations in

major U.S. markets and at newspapers in 13 markets.

Documents

2012 Bee Guide