David Habibi of Chabad Academy spelled both of his words correctly in the second and third rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but the fifth-grader failed to make it to the semifinals of the contest in Washington, D.C.
Local Spelling Bee Champ Knocked out of National Contest
David Habibi of Chabad Academy spelled both of his words correctly in the second and third rounds of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but the fifth-grader failed to make it to the semifinals of the contest in Washington, D.C.
Habibi took on all comers in Myrtle Beach’s spelling bee in March. He clinched the win with “ephemeral.” He liked his chances heading into the national contest.
“I think I have a good chance of winning,” he told the Canwest News Service on Wednesday. “Well, a chance.”
But the first round apparently tripped him up. The contest is divided into three rounds before the semifinals. In the first, the spellers are asked to spell 50 words at a computer. Only 25 will count, but the spellers aren’t told which ones. In the second and third rounds, spellers attempt words on stage in a more traditional format. The scores from each round are added together to determine who moves on.
Habibi correctly spelled “gauche” and “schadenfreude” in the second and third rounds, broadcast on ESPN3 today. The results of the first round are not provided for each speller, but Habibi did not move on to the semifinals after scores were tabulated.
No spellers from either of the Carolinas remain. The semifinals and finals will be broadcast Friday on ESPN.
Nice
Very nice. I bet he didn’t learn how to spell in Yeshiva.
to 1
hahhahahaha
reader and speller
the bottom line is that this child make a big kiddush Hashem as it was televised on national tv proving that what the Torah says is true. “ a wise and understanding nation”. Commentators made note of his yalmaka saying the “stylish hatted” David had a memorable exchange with the announcer at national bee
22
hahhahahahahahah
awesome!
Go David Habibi! You Rock!