Hinsdale Speller Competes In National Bee

HINSDALE, IL — A Hinsdale 12-year-old and student at Hinsdale Middle School competed in Scripps National Spelling Bee. Although Atman Balakrishnan, speller No. 153, didn't make it to the finals, he made it through two rounds, spelling two words correctly.

Only 41 spellers made it to the finals, based on test scores of a written test they took earlier in the week.

You could say spelling runs in the family, as Atman's dad Balu Natarajan is the 1985 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. According to the Bee, Balakrishnan lists his favorite sport as soccer, loves math and his favorite food is dosa.

In the second round for Balakrishnan, he spelled the word 'vitascope' correctly.

On Tuesday, Balakrishnan also spelled the word 'cantico' correctly in his first round.

The preliminaries of the Bee are held Tuesday and Wednesday, with the Finals beginning on Thursday. Last year, Ananya Vinay of California, won the Bee by spelling 'marocain,' which is a type of dress fabric.

According to the Bee, the winner receives a $40,000 cash prize and trophy from Scripps, $2,500 cash prize and a complete reference library from Merriam-Webster, a $400 of reference works including a 1768 Encyclopædia Britannica Replica Set and a three-year membership to Britannica Online Premium, a pizza party for the Champion's school from Pizza Hut, a trip to New York City for the Champion to appear on Live with Kelly and Ryan, and a trip to Hollywood for the Champion to appear on ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Photo credit: Mark Bowen/Scripps National Spelling Bee