WASHINGTON D.C. (Diya TV) — Since its inception, seven Indian-American students have captured gold at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and with this year’s edition right around the corner, students and parents alike are preparing themselves for a chance at the title of best speller.
In order to qualify for the Scripps tournament, students must win a regional tournament in their state.
Aanjaneyaa Venkataraman, 14, of the Mary Institute and Saint Louis Day School, was named regional champion during the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Spelling Bee finals on March 12. It was his fifth attempt at winning the Missouri regional competition.
In North Carolina, the title at the Wake County Spelling Bee changed hands, but stayed in the same family — last year’s champion, Rohan Sachdev, was defeated by his younger brother, Rahul, a seventh grader from Carnage Middle School.
Dwaritha Ramesh, an eighth-grade student from Connecticut, defeated 62 other students from around the state at Quinnipiac University during that state’s competition.
In total, the national tournament will feature 285 competitors all vying for the title of the nation’s top speller, and a $30,000 cash prize. Other prizes include a $2,500 savings bond, a reference library from Miriam-Webster, $2,600 in reference works and a lifetime membership to Britannica Online Premium from Encyclopedia Britannica, as well as a $5,000 cash prize from the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation. This year marks the 89th edition of the six-round tournament.