Schools
National Spelling Bee Run Ends For Local Student
Kitty Shortt, 11, of Clinton, advanced to round four, but is not a finalist in the national competition in Maryland.
Kitty Shortt's journey ended Wednesday at the 2012 SCRIPPS National Spelling Bee hosted in Prince George's County, Maryland.
After the three preliminary rounds of competition, Shortt didn’t advance to the semifinals.
She spelled the word "escargot" correctly in round two and "leucoryx" correctly in round three.
The first round had students take a computerized spelling test with 50 words, of which only 25 would be scored. Then, in the two live rounds, each speller had two chances to test their skills in front of a crowd of 500 audience members. A correctly spelled word in this round earned the contestants three points.
Each contestant could earn up to 31 points. Once the preliminary rounds were over, spelling bee officials tallied and announced the results to the nervous children.
Shortt is a student at the .
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The tension of the competition was sometimes diffused by the joviality
of young contestants, who broke the ice with the pronouncer by
greeting him with a “howdy” or asking, “may I have an easier word?"
The semifinalists competition begins May 31 at 10 a.m. at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland.
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