Malvern Girl Competing In Scripps National Spelling Bee

MALVERN, PA — The 92nd annual Scripps National Spelling Bee is nearly here and one Malvern whiz kid is planning to compete this year. More than 560 children from all 50 states will vie for a shot at becoming the nation’s preeminent speller.

Malvern's Jordi De Jong is competing in the competition.

De Jong, 14, will be Speller No. 361.

She finished in a tie at 323rd in the 2018 competition.

She is an eighth grade student at Villa Maria Academy Lower School and is sponsored by Chester County Intermediate Unit

Preliminary multiple-choice tests will be held Monday, May 27. Onstage spelling competitions will be held all day the following Tuesday and Wednesday, with finalists competing Thursday, May 30. No more than 50 spellers will advance to the finals Thursday.

Interested viewers can watch every word Wednesday on the Watch ESPN app. On Thursday, finalists will begin spelling on stage at 10 a.m. Eastern Time and this part of the competition will air live on ESPN 2. After the field is narrowed down to roughly a dozen finalists, ESPN will air the spelling bee finals live Thursday night.

The event will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The champion will receive a $50,000 prize.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.