The last few words were rattled off in a swift spelling duel, with only two finalists still on the stage, Chaitra Thummala and Zaila Avant-garde. “Does this word contain like the English word murray, which would be the name of a comedian?” Zaila asked, referring to the actor Bill Murray and drawing laughs from the pronouncer and the judges. Zaila, who just finished eighth grade in her hometown, Harvey, La., showed a prowess for spelling at 10, when her father, who had been watching finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee on ESPN, asked her how to spell the winning word: marocain. But she did not start spelling competitively until two years ago, when she asked her parents if she could compete in the regional spelling bee. “I really like that word,” Zaila said.

Source: International New York Times July 08, 2021 19:00 UTC