Scripps Spelling Bee 2018: Meet The Washington Spellers

NEWCASTLE, WA - More than 500 young spellers will take part in 2018’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, which officially kicked off Tuesday in Maryland. Of the 519 participants taking part in the annual competition, just 3 are from Washington.

The preliminary rounds take place Tuesday and Wednesday and the finals will be held on Thursday, May 31. On Tuesday and Wednesday, you can watch the Bee on ESPN 3. For the finals, tune into ESPN 2 from 10 a.m. - 2p.m. eastern for Part 1 and for Part 2, tune into ESPN at 8:30 p.m eastern.

All three Washington spellers made the cut after the rounds on Tuesday.

The preliminaries consist of a multiple choice test and two rounds of spelling onstage, known as round 2 and round 3 respectively, Scripps explains. Spellers are eliminated for spelling incorrectly in either of the onstage rounds. After rounds 2 and 3, no more than 50 spellers head to the finals. (Read the full competition rules here.)

Here are the Washington spellers taking part in the competition:

Nidhi Achanta, Newcastle
Speller No. 417
Winner: King-Snohomish County Regional Spelling Bee

Charity-Dakota Jordan, La Conner
Speller No. 483
Winnter: 2018 Skagit Regional Spelling Bee (Mt. Vernon)

Kara Willson, Tonasket
Speller No. 486
Winner: North Central Washington Collaborative Spelling Bee (Wenatchee)

Caption: Charity-Dakota Jordan, of La Conner, in competition at the 2018 Scripps Spelling Bee.

Photo courtesy Mark Bowen