A seventh-grader from Corona advanced to the fifth round of the 91st Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland Thursday by correctly spelling cabaletta, the lively conclusion of an aria or duet.
Aisha Randhawa, who attends Auburndale Intermediate School, was among 41 spellers who advanced to the finals from the record field of 516 by scoring high enough on multiple-choice test with 13 spelling words and 13 vocabulary questions, and correctly spelling her second- and third-round words on stage at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center.
The finals are limited to a maximum of 50 spellers. Spellers’ scores are plotted on a chart beginning at 36. Spellers at each consecutive scoring level are added until no more than 50 spellers have been attained.
Aisha correctly spelled autocratic in Tuesday’s second round and amateur in Wednesday’s third round. The test is considered the bee’s first round.
Aisha tied for 22nd place in the 2016 bee and tied for 35th in the 2017 bee.
Aisha’s favorite book is “White Fang” by Jack London, favorite actor is Gal Gadot, favorite historical figure is Abraham Lincoln and favorite sport is golf.
The spellers remaining in the competition as of 3 p.m. PDT will take a tiebreaker multiple-choice test of 12 spelling words and 12 vocabulary questions. The test was instituted last year in an effort to avoid the bee ending in a tie as it had the previous two years.
There is a limit of 25 consecutive rounds involving three or fewer spellers. At the end of a round when it is mathematically impossible for a single champion to emerge through oral spelling in subsequent rounds, the officials will disclose tiebreaker test scores of the spellers remaining in the competition.
The speller remaining in the competition with the highest tiebreaker test score will be declared champion.
The first segment of the finals will air on ESPN2 through 11 a.m. The concluding segment will begin at 5:30 p.m. and be shown on ESPN
A “play along” version of both segments will air on ESPNU. It gives viewers a one-in-four chance to pick the correct spelling of the given word and informational boxes highlighting the word’s etymology, definition, intelligible pronunciation and part of speech.
This is the 25th year ESPN has carried the bee.
“The relationship with ESPN definitely increased the coolness factor for the bee,” Valerie Miller, the bee’s communications manager, told City News Service. “Spellers love to be on ESPN probably more than anything else.”
The bee is limited to students in eighth grade or below, with this year’s contestants ranging in age from 8 to 15 years old.
The winner will receive $40,000 from Scripps, which owns television stations and newspapers; $2,500 and a complete reference library from the dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster; and $400 in reference works from Encyclopaedia Britannica, including a 1768 Encyclopaedia Britannica replica set and a three-year membership to Britannica Online Premium, plus trips to Hollywood to appear on the ABC late-night program “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and New York City to appear on the syndicated morning talk show “Live with Kelly and Ryan.”
The winner’s school will receive a pizza party from Pizza Hut.
Five Californians have won the bee, but none from Riverside County.
The initial field was 225 larger than last year’s because of creation of the RSVBee program. The invitational program was created “to level the playing field for national finals qualification,” Miller said.
“It is the first opportunity for students who live in unsponsored areas to advance to the national finals,” Miller said. “It also creates a new path for champion spellers in competitive regions, where one speller is declared the winner from thousands of schools, to also earn a chance on the national stage.”