NASSAU, Bahamas — Roy Seligman, Anya Hepburn, Maria Sanchez, and Donte Pratt have booked their tickets to compete in the Bahamas National Spelling Bee competition later this year by virtue of their wins at their respective district competitions, The Nassau Guardian reported in an article published on Monday, February 7.
The road to the 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee got underway last week for local spellers who have their eyes on the ultimate prize, the opportunity to represent The Bahamas in Washington, D.C. in June.
Three-time national title holder Roy, a student at Lyford Cay International School (LCIS), sealed his return to the national competition with his fourth consecutive win at the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) district spelling championship.
St. Andrew’s School student Maria Sanchez split the LCIS sweep. She finished second to book her ticket to the national competition. Roy will be joined at the national competition by his schoolmate Aarav Balani who finished third.
Donte Pratt, a fifth-grade student at St. Thomas More School, emerged winner from the 55th Archdiocesan Spelling Bee competition held during Catholic Schools Week.
Donte rose to the top of the field of 15 competitors (12 from New Providence, and three from Grand Bahama) correctly spelling the word “Kerala” – a state on India’s tropical Malabar Coast.
Second-place finisher, Alejandro Asuma, from Xavier’s Lower School, misspelt, “Sioux” – a word that then went to Donte, who spelt it correctly, and who then went on to spell “Kerala”.
Janae Johnson, of Sts. Francis & Joseph School, and Luke Singson, a student at Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Academy, Grand Bahama, who participated virtually, tied for third.
The Abaco district competition was won by Anya, a fourth-grade St. Francis de Sales School student. She will be the lone student from this district to advance to the nationals. See complete Nassau Guardian article at https://thenassauguardian.com/the-hunt-for-top-speller-underway/
EDITOR’S NOTE: This year, the 2022 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE will return to the Washington, D.C., area to begin a new chapter in its nearly 100-year history. The 2022 national competition will air live on ION. “This exciting move will make the Bee accessible to the widest audience ever,” Scripps notes on its website. For more details about how you can watch the Bee and other exciting announcements about the competition, check out Scripps website at https://www.spellingbee.com/competition
