In these days of spell check and autocorrect, you wonder just who, exactly, takes the time to study for spelling bees anymore. But every year students compete for a spot in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., which just wrapped up its third round of preliminaries.
Out of the 281 spellers, 46 are advancing to today’s semifinals. Competitors had to spell and define words Wednesday to determine whether or not they would advance.
Only one from the Pacific Northwest is left in the competition: Tea Freedman-Susskind of Redmond, northeast of Seattle. This is the 13-year-old’s first time at the national bee after she correctly spelled “acetylene” at a regional competition. Freedman-Susskind spelled coffle and dulcinea to qualify for the next level. (Don’t know what those words mean? Look them up! If Tea could do it, so can you.)
Oregon was represented by seasoned speller Divya Amirtharaj, a middle-schooler from Beaverton who was competing in the national spelling bee for her second year. She didn’t make the semifinals cut, despite wearing her lucky shirt. But at 12 years old, Amirtharaj could still compete in coming years.
