OXON HILL, United States (Reuters) – The 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee got underway on Wednesday (May 31) with 291 word whizzes vying for the top prize, including the contest’s youngest-ever competitor.
Competing for a $40,000 first-place cash prize, spelling virtuosos ranging from 6 to 15 years ago began facing off at Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.
The contest concludes with finals on Thursday (June 1) at the Washington-area resort.
Competitors said it took a lot of hard work to get there, but also a bit of luck.
“I study some roots, you know, Latin and Greek that I could use to piece together some words, but besides that, it’s really all down to chance,” said 14-year-old Haley Jeffers.
The contestants include Edith Fuller of Tulsa, Oklahoma, who recently turned 6 and is the youngest participant to qualify for the national spelling bee.
She is one of more than 11 million youths who competed in earlier spelling bees in all 50 US states, US territories from Puerto Rico to Guam, and several nations from Jamaica to Japan, contest officials said in a news release.
New rules this year are aimed at preventing tie endings like last year’s, when joint winners both got $40,000 cash prizes.
Bee officials will administer a Tiebreaker Test to all spellers in the competition at 6 p.m. (2200 GMT) on Thursday.
The test will consist of 12 spelling words, which contestants will handwrite, and 12 multiple-choice vocabulary questions.
If it is mathematically impossible for one champion to emerge through 25 rounds, officials will declare the speller with the highest tiebreaker score the winner.
If there is a tie on the test, judges will declare co-champions.
