81st Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 81st Scripps National Spelling Bee took place on May 30, 2008.

Competition

Two hundred eighty-eight champion spellers competed in the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., the most ever to date.

Most of the spellers were from the United States, with a small showing from other locations such as Ghana, Jamaica, and South Korea. Twenty-two were Canadian.

Champion

The winner was Sameer Mishra, a 13-year-old eighth grader at West Lafayette Junior-Senior High School, in Indiana. He was sponsored by "Journal and Courier" of the same town. His winning word was "". He won $35,000 in cash and more than $5,000 in prizes. [cite web |title = Indiana boy spells 'guerdon' to win national bee |author = Joseph White |url = http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080531/ap_on_re_us/spelling_bee |date = 2008-05-31 |accessdate = 2008-05-31]

In rounds 3 through 15, Mishra spelled "demitasse", "quadrat", "diener", "hyssop", "macédoine", "basenji", "numnah", "chorion", "nacarat", "sinicize", "hyphaeresis", "taleggio" and "esclandre" correctly, in that order.

In a comical moment during the spelling bee, he mistook the word "numnah" for "numb nut" and sarcastically asked if there were any "alternate pronunciations."

Note: Mishra incorrectly spelled "sudation" in Round 2. (He spelled it as "sudatian.") [cite web |title = Scripps National Spelling Bee: Sameer Mishra|url = http://public.spellingbee.com/public/results/round_results/speller/97 |date = 2008-05-31 |accessdate = 2008-05-31] However, a speller's combined score from Rounds 1 and 2 determines whether he or she advances in the competition; thus, a speller can incorrectly spell a word in Round 2 without being eliminated. Single-elimination only begins in Round 3.

TV coverage

The Quarterfinals aired live on ESPN360.com on May 29 from 2:00 to 5:30 p.m. ET.

The Semifinals aired live on ESPN on May 30 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET.

The Championship Finals aired live on ABC May 30 from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. ET.

ee also

* List of Scripps National Spelling Bee champions

References