May 31, 2012

FINAL UPDATE: 14-year-old Snigdha Nandipati from San Diego, California correctly spells the french word “guetapens” to win the 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship.
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For most of us growing up, our dreams of spelling glory are dashed right in the classroom, never making it out to regional competitions and state-wide spelling bees. And no matter how many games of Words with Friends some of us play, we’ll still never be spelling gurus like the 278 kids from around the country who are invited each year to participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Once again, with excitement and curiosity, we look forward to watching this year’s crop of young spellers battle it out. Wednesday’s preliminaries are sure to not disappoint with a mix of newbies, three of last year’s finalists — Nabeel Rahman, Arvind Mahankali and Samuel Estep, and the youngest speller to ever compete, Lori Anne Madison, who is only 6-years-old. Only 50 competitors will go on to tomorrow’s semifinals.

In preparation of Thursday night’s finals, let’s take a look at the thoughts, yawns and reactions on the bright faces from today’s preliminaries, along with those of previous national contestants. We’ve also included the winning words and their definitions from 2000-2011.

‌– Stokely Baksh and Liz Pillow contributed to this post.

: May 31, 2012: Snigdha Nandipati, 14, of San Diego, California, celebrates with her mother after winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee at National Harbor in Maryland. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

: May 31, 2012: Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego, California, left, hoists the championship trophy with Richard A. Boehne, President and CEO of The E.W. Scripps Company, Nandipati won the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Snigdha Nandipati of San Diego, California, holds the trophy after she has won the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Nandipati became the champion after she correctly spelled the word “guetapens” in round 13. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

: May 31, 2012: Nicholas Rushlow, 14, of Pickerington, Ohio, salutes goodbye after incorrectly spelling a word in the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at National Harbor in Maryland. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

: May 31, 2012: Lena Greenberg of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reacts after misspelling “geistlich” during the final rounds of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Emma Ciereszynski of Manchester, New Hampshire. ponders the spelling of “ridotto” during the final rounds of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. She misspelled the word. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Grifton Wright of Jamaica, grimaces after misspelling “ericeticolous” during the final rounds of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Lena Greenberg of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania celebrates spelling her word correctly, and advancing to the final round, during the Scripps National Spelling Bee semi-finals at National Harbor, Maryland. (Gary Cameron/Reuters)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Spelling Bee contestant Nicholas Rushlow of Pickerington, Ohio, reacts after he correctly spelled his word during round 6 of the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee competition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Nine spellers have advanced to compete in the final of the competition. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

: May 31, 2012: Abigail Violet Spitzer of El Paso, Texas celebrates after spelling her word correctly during the Scripps National Spelling Bee semi-finals at National Harbor, Maryland. (Gary Cameron/Reuters)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Arvind Mahankali of Bayside Hills, New York struggles with his word during the Scripps National Spelling Bee semi-finals at National Harbor, Maryland. (Gary Cameron/Reuters)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Frank Cahill of Denver, Colorado, competes in the semifinals of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Jordan Hoffman of Kansas Ctiy, Missouri competes in the semifinals of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Six-year-old Lori Anne Madison ponders upon a question during a news conference at the Scripps National Spelling Bee semi-finals at National Harbor, Maryland. Madison, who was eliminated in Wednesday’s round, is the youngest speller in the Spelling Bee’s history. (Gary Cameron/Reuters)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Stuti Mishra of Orlando, Florida, competes in the semifinals of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Spelling Bee contestant Vismaya Jui Kharkar of Bountiful, Utah, tries to spell her word during round 6 of the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee competition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Nine spellers have advanced to compete in the final of the competition. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Emma Ciereszynski of Dover, New Hampshire, competes in the semifinals of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Spelling Bee contestant Jae Canetti of Fairfax, Virginia, celebrates after he correctly spelled his word during the round 4 of the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee competition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Fifty spellers have advanced to compete in the semifinals on the last day of the competition. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Gifton Samuel Wright of Spanish Town, Jamaica, competes in the semifinals of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 31, 2012: Speller Sumaita Mulk of Goodyear, Arizona, rejoices after she correctly spelled her word during the round 4 of the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee competition at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. Fifty spellers have advanced to compete in the semifinals on the last day of the competition. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

: May 31, 2012: Finalist Jordan Hoffman (bottom left) claps for fellow finalist Lena Greenberg (top left) as she celebrates spelling her word correctly during round 6 of the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: Six-year-old Lori Anne Madison reacts after mispelling the word “ingluvies” during the third round of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. Lori who is the youngest speller to participate failed to make it to the finals of the annual competition. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: Spellers participate in the second round of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: Margaret Flaherty Peterson of South Bend, Indiana spells a word correctly during the second round of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: 6-year old Lori Anne C. Madison from Woodbridge, Virginia, the youngest speller on record with the Scripps National Spelling Bee, adjusts the microphone before spelling a word correctly during the second round in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: 6-year old Lori Anne C. Madison smiles after spelling a word correctly during the second round of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: ESPN reporter Samantha Steele tries to spell a word after the second round of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: Sam Lowery, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, works out a word in the air during the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 30, 2012: Lena Greenberg of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, tries to calm her nerves before competing at the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 30, 2012: Naomi W. Li of Cente Vvalley, Pennsylvania, rejoices after correctly spelling “eremic” at the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 30, 2012: Michael Reiner of Wellsville, Ohio, flashes a big grin after correctly spelling “fete” at the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. (Chuck Myers/MCT)

: May 30, 2012: Katharine S. Wang reacts to spelling a word correctly during the third round of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: Alex Howe reacts to misspelling a word during the third round of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2012: Kitty Shortt spells a word correctly during the third round of the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: June 1, 2011: Andrew Joseph Bernhard, of Victoria, Texas, reacts after misspelling a word during the second round of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: June 1, 2011: Spellers wait for their turn to spell a word, during the second round of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in National Harbor, Maryland. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

: June 1, 2011: Adam Ferrari (front), of Johnstown, New York, celebrates spelling his word correctly during round three of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor, Maryland. (Molly Riley/Reuters)

: June 1, 2011: Miles Shebar (L) of New York, waits his turn during round three of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center at National Harbor, Maryland. (Molly Riley/Reuters)

: June 1, 2011: Robbie Palmisano of Baltimore (R) yawns while waiting his turn to spell a word in the preliminary round of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee contest at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. (Larry Downing/Reuters)

: June 1, 2011: Emily Durell of Annapolis spells a word in the preliminary round of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee contest at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. (Larry Downing/Reuters)

: June 4, 2010: Sonia Schlesinger, 13, of Tokyo, Japan, reacts before spelling her name during the semi-finals of the 2010 National Spelling Bee in Washington. (Molly Riley/Reuters)

: June 4, 2010: NBA basketball player Shaquille O’Neal makes an appearance onstage with 2009 National Spelling Bee champion Kavya Shivashankar (L) after the semi-finals of the 2010 National Spelling Bee in Washington. (Molly Riley/Reuters)

: May 28, 2009: Ramya Auroprem (L) of San Jose, California, hi-fives with Alex Clifton Wells (R) of San Diego, California, after she correctly spelled the word “purlieu” during round four of the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition in Washington, DC. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

: May 30, 2007: In Round 3 of the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee this afternoon, Kennyi Aouad, 11, of Terre Haute, Indiana, was convulsed when he heard the whimsical sound of the word he was given to spell: sardoodledom. He spelled it correctly. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)

: May 30, 2007: David Brokaw, 11, of Baltimore, a sixth grader at Friends School, yawns as he awaits his turn on stage to spell. He correctly spelled “marathon” in the preliminary round of the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee that morning. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)

: May 31, 2007: Selena Grace Roper, 13, reacts as she realizes she has misspelled the word “sejant” and is out of the National Spelling Bee finals. (Andre F. Chung/Baltimore Sun)

: June 1, 2006: Katharine Close, 13, of Spring Lake, New Jersey, reacts after winning the 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC. Katharine won after spelling the word “Ursprache.” She is the first female winner of the bee since 1999. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

: June 1, 2005: Theodore Yuan, 12, of Lincolnshire, Illinois yawns while participating in the 78th annual National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. (Linda Spillers/AP Photo)

: June 2, 2005: Anurag Kashyap, 13, from Meadowbrook Middle School in Poway, California, wins the 78th Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee after spelling appoggiatura correctly in Washington, D.C. Kashyap was sponsored by the San Diego Union-Tribune. (Chuck Kennedy/KRT)

: June 3, 2004: David Tidmarsh, 14, of South Bend, Indiana gets emotional prior to winning the 77th annual National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. The winning word was “autochthonous.” (Linda Spillers/AP Photo)

: June 1, 1995: Justin Carroll concentrates on the word “synchretized,” which he spelled in the final round of the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee at the Capitol Hilton in Washington, DC. Carroll, an eighth grader at Wynne Junior High School in Wynne, Arkansas, won the Spelling Bee by correctly spelling the word “xanthosis.” (AFP Photo)

According to the Scripps National Spelling Bee site:

The spellers range in age from 6 to 15 years old, but 84% are between the ages of 12 and 14 years old.
Parents and family members serve as coaches for 238 spellers.
This year’s group of competitors is 48.9% boys and 51.1% girls.
Math is named as a favorite subject by 110 of this year’s spellers. Science is the next most popular subject.
Twenty spellers have at least one relative who has competed in previous national finals.
The spellers’ favorite words this year: include cwm, serendipity and humuhumunukunukuapuaa.

Previous winning words from SpellingBee.com’s “Champions and Their Winning Words.” (Definitions from Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.com)

2012 guetapens: (noun) ambush, snare, trap.
2011 cymotrichous: (adjective) having wavy hair.
2010 stromuhr: (noun) An instrument for measuring the quantity of blood that flows per unit of time through a blood vessel.
2009 Laodicean: 1. (adjective) lukewarm or indifferent, especially in religion, as were the early Christians of Laodicea. 2. (noun)a person who is lukewarm or indifferent, especially in religion.
2008 guerdon: 1. (noun) a reward, recompense, or requital. 2. (verb, used with object) to give a guerdon to; reward.
2007 serrefine: (noun) A small spring forceps used for approximating the edges of a wound, or for temporarily closing an artery during surgery.
2006 Ursprache: (noun) a hypothetically reconstructed parent language, as Proto-Germanic, the ancestor of the Germanic languages.
2005 appoggiatura: (noun) a note of embellishment preceding another note and taking a portion of its time.
2004 autochthonous: (adjective) pertaining to autochthons; aboriginal; indigenous ( opposed to heterochthonous).
2003 pococurante: 1. (noun) a careless or indifferent person. 2. (adjective) caring little; indifferent; nonchalant.
2002 prospicience: (noun) [L. prospicientia, fr. prospiciens, p. pr. of prospicere. See Prospect.] The act of looking forward.
2001 succedaneum: (noun, plural) a substitute.
2000 demarche: (noun, plural) 1. an action or gesture by a diplomat, especially a formal appeal, protest, or the like. 2. a statement, protest, or the like presented to public officials by private citizens, interest groups, etc. 3. a procedure or step; move; maneuver.
1999 logorrhea
1998 chiaroscurist
1997 euonym
1996 vivisepulture
1995 xanthosis
1994 antediluvian
1993 kamikaze
1992 lyceum
1991 antipyretic
1990 fibranne
1989 spoliator
1988 elegiacal
1987 staphylococci
1986 odontalgia
1985 milieu
1984 luge
1983 Purim
1982 psoriasis
1981 sarcophagus
1980 elucubrate
1979 maculature
1978 deification
1977 cambist
1976 narcolepsy
1975 incisor
1974 hydrophyte
1973 vouchsafe
1972 macerate
1971 shalloon
1970 croissant
1969 interlocutory
1968 abalone
1967 Chihuahua
1966 ratoon
1965 eczema
1964 sycophant
1963 equipage
1962 esquamulose
1961 smaragdine
1960 eudaemonic
1959 catamaran
1958 syllepsis
1957 schappe
1956 condominium
1955 crustaceology
1954 transept
1953 soubrette
1952 vignette
1951 insouciant
1950 meticulosity
1949 dulcimer
1948 psychiatry
1947 chlorophyll
1946 semaphore
1942 sacrilegious
1941 initials
1940 therapy
1939 canonical
1938 sanitarium
1937 promiscuous
1936 interning
1935 intelligible
1934 deteriorating
1933 torsion
1932 knack
1931 foulard
1930 fracas
1929 asceticism
1928 albumen
1927 luxuriance
1926 cerise
1925 gladiolus

One Comment

kittyrock3601
May 31, 2012 @ 21:16:56

kitty short is in my class i spelled her last name wrong shortt this is why i did not make the class spelling bee

Faces of the National Spelling Bee: Snigdha Nandipati spells “guetapens” FTW

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