2016 - National Spelling Bee

[A.H.Black]

We're late!!!!! Preliminaries started this morning. The second session is now being broadcast on ESPN3 http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index Semi-finals and finals are tomorrow.

Here are the spellers - https://secure.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/speller_roster?year=2016
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Scrippsbee
Here's the test - http://spellingbee.com/sample-test

I don't have a favorite this year. I will root for someone from a state that has never had a winner.

 

[Buzz]

Thanks for posting. What these young kids can do really blows my mind. Good luck to them all!


P.S.
There are kids from other countries on that list. Maybe it is time to call it Scripps International Spelling Bee. LOL

 

[A.H.Black]

From twitter for International viewers

2/2 Int'l fans: Watch the #spellingbee on SONY India & TSN in Canada. Distribution in Latin America will be through ESPN Play.

 

[Debbie S]

There are kids from other countries on that list. Maybe it is time to call it Scripps International Spelling Bee. LOL

I assume they are U.S. citizens temporarily living abroad.

 

[A.H.Black]

I assume they are U.S. citizens temporarily living abroad.

Sometimes but not usually. There have been entrants from other countries for many years. They just need to know how to spell English words. Here's this year's entrant from Japan, for example - https://secure.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/2016/89

I just don't think there are enough countries to change the name. It's still USAcentric.

 

[Cachoo]

We're late!!!!! Preliminaries started this morning. The second session is now being broadcast on ESPN3 http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index Semi-finals and finals are tomorrow.

Here are the spellers - https://secure.spellingbee.com/public/spellers/speller_roster?year=2016
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Scrippsbee
Here's the test - http://spellingbee.com/sample-test

I don't have a favorite this year. I will root for someone from a state that has never had a winner.

At first I thought the test was a piece of cake. At first. Silly me as I should have known the difficulty would increase as we went along. I almost prefer round three over round two.

 

[quartz]

I love the spelling bee kids. They're all so awesome. I will have to record it tomorrow and watch later.

 

[rjblue]

Aww, the little girl from my province was only in grade 2! She missed her word, but how amazing that one so young would make it out of Canada.

 

[A.H.Black]

At first I thought the test was a piece of cake. At first. Silly me as I should have known the difficulty would increase as we went along. I almost prefer round three over round two.

My test didn't match with the audio so I have no idea what my score should have been. I will try again tomorrow to see if it's fixed. Maybe I need to try another browser but I'm on Firefox so it should work.

 

[Japanfan]

My test didn't match with the audio so I have no idea what my score should have been.

I didn't see how to get a score, but I didn't know a lot of the words anyhow and was just guessing. . .and I'm someone who works with words for a living.

 

[A.H.Black]

This year feels like sort of a new beginning, for want of a better term. Lots of first timers. Lots of young spellers. Lots of wrong answers this morning - even on words that seem like they are not that hard.

 

[Sylvia]

Round-by-Round Results: http://spellingbee.com/public/results/2016/round_results

Profiles of the 45 finalists: http://spellingbee.com/public/results/2016/finishers/html?type=semi

Final 10 tonight on ESPN: http://cdn.spellingbee.com/bee/spellers_continuing_in_finals.pdf?2016

 

[A.H.Black]

I knew we were going to start getting "thank you" speeches when they started with all the standing ovations last year. Please no.

Then again, I wish we could go back to the "spell till you drop" format.

 

[Sylvia]

Final 2 boys dueling it out!

Speller No. 152, Jairam Hathwar
Corning Rotary Club, Corning, New York
Age 13, 7th grade
School: The Alternative School for Math and Science
Hometown: Painted Post, New York
Jairam is fan of American professional golfer Jordan Spieth. In addition to golf, Jairam follows politics and elections devoutly. He also travels to India annually during the summer, and this year he is looking forward to seeing Mount Everest. At school, Jairam is especially interested in math and social studies. He hopes to attend Harvard University to study medicine someday so that he can become a physician. Jairam's brother Sriram competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2008, 2009, 2011 (tied for 6th place), 2013 (tied for 3rd place) and 2014 (co-champion). Jairam tied for 22nd place in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 2015, and this year he hopes to improve his final standing.

Speller No. 232, Nihar Janga
Houston Public Media, Houston, Texas
Age 11, 5th grade
School: River Ridge Elementary School
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Nihar loves spelling, and he puts a lot of determination and dedication into learning new words. He also enjoys playing football with his best friends and playing video games — especially his favorite, Batman: Arkham City. Nihar likes movies that motivate him to become "a beneficially influential citizen." His favorite movies areAkeelah and the Bee and the Star Wars and Mission Impossible films. In the future, Nihar aspires to be a neurosurgeon who can develop many cures for serious brain disorders.

 

[A.H.Black]

I almost wonder if Nihar is choreographing this so they can be co-winners. I'm sure he isn't. It's very intense, though. Nihar is amazing.

 

[Sylvia]

CO-CHAMPIONS!

 

[Cachoo]

I almost wonder if Nihar is choreographing this so they can be co-winners. I'm sure he isn't. It's very intense, though. Nihar is amazing.

I think Nihar threw it to keep the other boy in it. If you go back to the previous rounds when there was a word he had not seen or did not remember seeing===quillion?===you could see the blank look followed by mild panic and then triumph when he guessed correctly. But there wasn't the blank look with the words he missed after the other boy missed. He moved quickly. The thing is I don't care if he did this because that is his choice and it was a sweet choice. I believe the host hinted at some point that he thought Nihar might have a photographic memory. At any rate he was the show for me tonight. Amazing and congrats to both of them.

 

[floridaice]

amazing finish -- told my husband we need to remember the name Nihar Janga.

 

[BaileyCatts]

I watch these 8, 10, 11 year old kids and just wonder in amazement what it must be like to be that freakin' smart .... at 10 years old! I can't even pronounce those words, let alone spell them. I be stoopid. The intelligence of these little kids just floors me.

 

[Cachoo]

I was glad to see one of last year's winners involved. Vanya is something of a local hero in the Kansas City area. She has a lot of poise to go with that big brain of hers. I'm curious to see where life takes her after she completes her studies.

 

[Deleted member 40371]

Yet again two Indian-American won the title, the number of Indian-American champions have been disproportionally high.

 

[Aceon6]

Yet again two Indian-American won the title, the number of Indian-American champions have been disproportionally high.

I see it as a "thing" just as Korean American girls playing high level golf is a "thing." People see others who look like them succeeding and it doesn't take long for an activity to become common among members of a subgroup.

 

[Deleted member 40371]

I see it as a "thing" just as Korean American girls playing high level golf is a "thing." People see others who look like them succeeding and it doesn't take long for an activity to become common among members of a subgroup.

Being an Indian, I think it is more to do with how parents actually value scholastic achievements, parents will push their kids more towards a competition like spelling bee than say volleyball or basketball.

 

[Cachoo]

Being an Indian, I think it is more to do with how parents actually value scholastic achievements, parents will push their kids more towards a competition like spelling bee than say volleyball or basketball.

I loved seeing the families out in the audience. They were so delighted. And always the littlest brother or sister was on the lap of another family member--very affectionate. If a child is going to be pushed in a certain direction I do think it helps to have a great deal of love and support in the endeavor instead of always cracking the whip.

 

[paskatefan]

These kids are all incredible. Congrats to Jairam & Nihar!