Eight Spelling Bee National Co-Champions Nominated in Unprecedented Competition

Eight candidates were named co-champions at the National Spelling Bee on Thursday night in an unprecedented competition that lasted 20 laps.

The eight finalists beat 565 competitors aged 7 to 14 in the finals at prime time after midnight. The result is the first time that more than two co-champions have been named and that the bee has become increasingly competitive, candidates coaching with coaches and some paying parents to bypbad the traditional path of the competition.

The winners are: Rishik Gandhasri, 13, from California; Erin Howard, 14, from Alabama; Saketh Sundar, 13, Maryland; Shruthika Padhy, 13, from New Jersey; Sohum Sukhatankar, 13, Texas; Abhijay Kodali, 12, Texas; Christopher Serrao, 13, from New Jersey and Rohan Raja, 13, from Texas.

The finalists competed for the $ 50,000 prize in the ESPN National Finals. Each will receive the full prize of the winner.

Earlier in the day, after more than five and a half hours of fierce competition, the number of finalists was reduced to 16 out of 50.

The bee, which was held at the Gaylord National Resort in National Harbor, Maryland, began on Tuesday. The competitors were from the United States and several other countries, including Canada, Ghana and Jamaica.

As the clock struck at 11:30 pm, Jacques Bailly, the long-standing official pronouncer of the Bee, made a remarkable statement.

"The spelled champions," said Bailly, "we are now in unknown territory.

"We still have a lot of words on our list, but we will soon be running out of words that may challenge you, the most phenomenal collection of super spellers in the history of this competition."

Calling the remaining eight competitors "the most phenomenal speller bademblage in the history of this historic competition," Bee's long-time face announced that, if no winner could be crowned at the end of the 20 rounds, all remaining competitors would be declared co-champions.

The eight co-champions correctly spelled the last 47 words of their historic victory, going through five perfect rounds.

The announcement crowned a day that highlighted a level of excellence – and parity – unprecedented in the 94-year history of the bee.

The event has also become "ultracompetitive", in part because of a cottage industry that has developed into a world of increasingly competitive spelling and a controversial new program that allows spelling to get around the road traditional leading to the national event, said Shalini Shankar, author of "Beeline: What Bees Reveal Reveals the New Path to the Success of Generation Z."

"Every year, they get stronger and become harder," she said, "because it's very difficult to get those kids out."

The semifinals were due to finish at 2 pm, but the participants were more resilient than ever. At 3 pm, Bee organizers resorted to what Shankar called a series of extremely hard words "lawn mower" intended to wow the remaining field. It worked, the spellings being knocked out by words that make heads turn, such as Wundtian, Coelogyne and Yertchuk.

Sundar, who has been a Bee veteran for the past four years, reached the final after what he described as the first part of the physically demanding day.

"I was very tired and I did not drink too much water," said the college student from Clarksville, Maryland. "How are you going so fast, if you go to the bathroom, you might miss your turn."

Many things have changed since Bailly won the Bee in 1980.

According to experts, many of the competitors who qualified among the 50 finalists have personal trainers and spend almost every hour of the day before studying to prepare for that moment. The result is an unprecedented field of spellers.

The new invitation program known as "RSVBee", now in its second year, is another game-changing development. In the past, spellers had reached the national event only by winning a regional bee and calling on a sponsor, often a newspaper, to cover the expenses. But with the advent of RSVBee, which provided 292 of this year's 565 participants, families who can offer a $ 1,500 entry fee – plus six nights at the $ 300 Gaylord and other expenses – can bypbad the traditional way to the bee.

"The ball has become a balloon in an unprecedented way," Shankar said. This paid model could "change the character of the bee and his arrival." But she noted that even children participating in competitions under the auspices of a sponsor usually benefit from the help of a paid coach. "So it's rare for you to see anyone in a very humble way to continue playing here.

Darian Douglas has traveled further than most of his fellow comrades. At age 11, the athlete from Kingston, Jamaica, is one of the youngest attackers to rank in the top 50. He won the national bee of his country and was sponsored by his local newspaper, the Jamaica Gleaner. After correctly spelled two words derived from German (kneippism and schlieren), he was knocked out by the diallage, a laminated pyroxene of dark green color or common bronze in some igneous rocks.

Despite his young age, as Jamaica's national champion, he will not be eligible for sponsorship next year. His parents, Tameka and Danian, said that they were considering the RSVBee option but were not sure they could afford it.

"I want to keep fighting," said Darian, "but I do not think I'll be able to do it, maybe I'll go on to other feats."