A Georgia middle school student advanced Wednesday to the semifinals of the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Eighth-grader Sumedh Garimella, of Duluth, is one of 46 students scheduled to compete in the semifinals on Thursday, according to spelling bee officials. The final round of the Washington D.C-area event – which is being broadcast live on ESPN — concludes Thursday night.
Fifth-grader Charles Li, of Martinez, Ga., was also participating in the competition on Wednesday but did not make it to the semifinals. The two Georgia students are among 281 winners of regional spelling bees participating at this year's event.
In the Wednesday morning round of the oral competition, Charles spelled the word “jacamar” correctly. Sumedh got “perennial” right. In the afternoon round, Charles spelled the word “oniomania” correctly while Sumedh got “spelunker” correct.
In determining the group of semifinalists, spelling bee officials also reviewed a computer-based spelling and vocabulary test participants took on Tuesday. And Sumedh, 14, did well enough to advance to the semifinals.
Semifinalists were expected to take another computer-based test Wednesday evening, which would be used to compute scores on Thursday.
Semifinalists are participating in an oral round of competition Thursday morning. Twelve students are expected to go on to the championship finals.
Charles, who is identified in the competition as speller No. 48, is sponsored by The August Chronicle. He attends Stevens Creek Elementary School in Martinez.
Sumedh, identified as speller No. 49, is sponsored by the Georgia Association of Educators. He attends Richard Hull Middle School in Duluth.
The spellers range in age from 8 to 15, but more than 86 percent are between 12 and 14, according to the spelling bee’s website. Some 138 spellers speak more than one language. In addition, this year’s group of competitors is 51 percent girls and 49 percent boys.
About the Author
