The youngest Spelling Bee competitor is only 6 years old
SAN ANGELO, Texas—Contestants at the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee will move to the onstage portion of preliminaries Wednesday after completing a written test of spelling and vocabulary questions Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
Home-schooled first-grader Akash Vukoti of San Angelo, age 6, is the youngest contestant, competing against more than 280 spellers for the title of 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion.
Things are going well so far for Akash, who spent Tuesday being interviewed by the media and went to a news conference with top Scripps representatives, said Krishna Vukoti, Akash's father.
Akash also was chosen to film a commercial to promote the Spelling Bee and was able to interview four other spellers, which will be posted on social media, Krishna Vukoti said.
Akash, who came to San Angelo with his family in August last year, appeared on the "Steve Harvey Show" this spring and was featured on the Harvey-hosted "Little Big Shots" because of his spelling prowess. He has been competing in spelling bees since 2012, when he was 2.
He loves the attention and is having a good time, his father said. On Monday, organizers had a fun day for all the spellers, taking them to the National Zoo, offering fun activities for the kids to play together and holding a barbecue party, Vukoti said.
There's also been time for practicing. It's not that easy to make the top 50 finalists, and there are repeat spellers who have been here two or three times before. Akash is competing against seventh- and eighth-graders, and it will be tough, his father said.
Rounds 2 and 3 of the preliminaries take place Wednesday, showing live on ESPN3 beginning at 7 a.m. Part 1 of the finals will be on ESPN2 at 9 a.m. Thursday, and Part 2 will be on ESPN at 7 p.m. Friday.