50 Qualify for Spelling Bee Finals

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May 29, 2019

The full complement of spellers will take part in the final round of the 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee.

A total of 369 spellers got all their words right through the first three rounds. The rules for the final round stipulate that no more than 50 competitors can move on to the final round. Spelling Bee officials determine the final cuts based on results of the preliminary test, a written examination that competitors completed on Monday.

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The national competition is usually full of siblings, either of current competitors or of past competitors. This year is no exception, with nine sets of siblings competing. One of those making the finals is Hephzibag Sujoe. Her sister Ansun was the 2014 co-champion, along with Sriram Hathwar. That year's joint victory was the first since 1962. After that long of a gap, it took only 12 months to generate another set of co-champions. Vanya Shivashankar and Gokul Venkatachalam shared the crown in 2015. The trend didn't continue.

One speller who won't be in the finals is last year's runner-up, Naysa Modi, of Texas. She spelled all of her words correctly but didn't score high enough on the preliminary test. Competitors needed a combined score of 30 (out of 36) in order to advance.

The complete list of finals participants is here.

One speller who didn't make the finals but had a good day all the same was Akash Vukoti, who celebrated his 10th birthday competing in the Third Round.

The event is taking place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Officials said that the official source of the words that they put to students is the Unabridged Online version of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

More on the national spelling bee

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