Only three competitors, all of whom are female, advanced to the fourth round: Thummala, Avant-garde and 13-year-old Bhavana Madini. Scripps National Spelling Bee Genre: Spelling bee: Frequency: Annual (late May or early June) Location(s) National Harbor, Maryland (2011present) Washington, D.C. The 11 finalists of the Scripps National Spelling Bee sit on stage as the Finals begins, during a visit by US First Lady Jill Biden, in Orlando, Florida on July 8, 2021. 'I just feel happy about how far I went,' said 11-year-old Vivinsha Veduru, after she was eliminated on the word chrysal. The third round, another traditional spelling round, dashed the hopes of three more competitors.
All six sailed through the round, with some taking just seconds to answer. The winning word came after the runner up, Chaitra Thummala, 12, from San Francisco, misspelled the compound word 'neroli oil.' After correctly spelling 'Murraya,' Avant-garde took home. Six competitors advanced to the second round of the final, where they were tasked with answering multiple choice questions about word definitions. Murraya is 'a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees having pinnate leaves and flowers with imbricated petals,' according to Spelling Bee officials. The preliminary, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, which brought the number of competitors from 209 to 11, were all held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. The bee's final round was the first of this year's competition to be held in person, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
