Two of Alaska’s own will be competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s quarterfinals in Washington D.C. this week.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Two of Alaska’s own will be competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. this week. Fourteen-year-old Aidan Cole of Kenai and 13-year-old Andie Seavey of Fairbanks will be representing Alaska in this year’s competition.
With 247 competitors from around the country, the winner will receive more than $50,000 as a cash prize, according to the National Spelling Beein March. This is his second year as a competitive speller, and he says he’s been studying hard for this moment.
“For the most part, I used the Wordbee app, which contains all the words for levels one and two, and for the rest of it, my Language Arts teacher gave me two books to study,“ he said. ”On top of that, I looked at the quarterfinals and semifinals from last year just to get a feel for the words. ”“It was very thrilling to say the least,” he said about his victory.
“I was not expecting to keep going, especially considering my opponent went to Nationals last year. ”, Cole also enjoys math, writing, music, sports and playing video games. Cole said this is his first year making it to the national competition. Seavey is a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Boreal Sun Charter School in Fairbanks.
Outside of spelling, Seavey enjoys playing percussion, knitting, baking and acting in community and school plays, according to the The national competition will pit hundreds of students ranging in age from 9 to 15 against each other for the top prize and will be done in rounds, starting with the The national champion will win a $50,000 cash prize and commemorative medal, as well as various smaller prizes. Second place will get $25,000 and third place will win $15,000.
The pool of contestants come from a range of backgrounds, with 181 of the 247 total attending public schools, 30 attending private schools, 18 attending charter schools, and nine each from homeschool programs and parochial schools, according to competition officials. Preliminary rounds got underway Tuesday and advancing competitors will be in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. The Bee’s semifinals begin at 4 a.m. AKDT.
More information on how to watch is available on the Scripps Spelling Bee The final round will be televised live from 4-6 p.m. Thursday on ION channel. A guide to how to watch the bee isArtist behind Anchorage whale mural says federal law was violated when Dallas work was painted over for FIFA World CupTroopers seen ordering people out of Fairbanks building with rifles in response to armed robbery reportAnchorage students head into summer as district wraps up a turbulent year
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