Following an appeal that he launched after being denied root information on a word, a 13 year-old speller was reinstated in Scripps National Spelling Bee Associated Press reported.
Surya Kapu from South Jordan (Utah) misspelled “Leucovorin”Wednesday was his semifinal round in Maryland. This effectively ended his chance of making it to the finals. Salt Lake Tribune reported.
He sought the root information about Leucovorin which is a medicine to counteract side effects of cancer drugs. According to Associated Press, he and his family claimed Scripps had left out important details when he asked for the word roots.
According to the Associated Press, contestants may ask judges questions about roots. Judges will answer yes if a speller can identify the root and its meaning.
Scripps released a statement after the appeal. It stated that its judges met approximately for two hours before deciding to reinstate Kapu late Wednesday night.
“The judges’ decision to reinstate is backed by a belief in the bee’s mission to inspire the exploration of words and celebrate academic achievement,”The statement was as follows: “Upon further review, it was determined that there was more directly relevant information available in the dictionary to one of the speller’s questions. Based on this, Surya will be provided a chance to participate in Round 7 with a new word.”
Kupa will get his new word at the beginning of Thursday night’s finals. If he correctly spells the word, he will be joining 12 other finalists to compete for more $50,000 in cash or prizes. NBC News reported.
