Scripps National Spelling Bee 2009 Semi-Finals and Finals Update

by Jon Azpiri | May 28, 2009 at 08:59 am

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It's time again for the 2009 National Spelling Bee, the spelling competition that is like the Super Bowl of word nerds. Dozens of pre-teens from around the US make their way to Washington, DC for the Bee, which thanks to the being broadcast on ESPN, is treated like a sporting event.

As anyone who has seen the classic documentary Spellbound will tell you, the Scripps Spelling Bee can offer more drama than the just the NBA Finals.

More than 293 contestants came to DC for this year’s competition, which began May 26. The field has been narrowed down to 41 as the competition heads to the semi-finals on Thursday.

This year's contest features a few intriguing story lines. All eyes will be focused on 13-year-old Sidharth Chand, who finished in second place last year after misspelling “prosopopoeia.”

Other favorite include Josephine Kao of Carmichael, CA and Kavya Shivashankar of Olathe, KS. Canada is also represented at the spelling been as Claudine Broussard of Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, and Veronica Penny from Hamilton, Ontario.

The semi-finals are slated for Thursday. The finals will take place Thursday night and will air on ABC.

For those not near a TV, they can track the 2009 Scripps Spelling Bee via Twitter.