KANSAS CITY, Mo. — How do you spell “champion?” S-H-A-R-M-A.
The Jackson County Spelling Bee is the source of national attention, after judges ran out of words on February 22.
Now, more than 300 words later, there is finally a winner.
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After 95 rounds worth of spelling, including 29 on Saturday, seventh grader Kush Sharma settled it all with one meaningful word. He spelled the word ‘definition’ to become Jackson County champion.
The 13-year old from Frontier School of Innovation finally finishes the contest, two weeks after it began. He’ll move on to the nationally-televised Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C.
“I’m proud of that because I made it into the national spelling bee,” Sharma said. “It’s been like a goal of mine since I was little. Now, I just want to win the nationals.”
However, Sharma didn’t rise to the win without a moment of controversy.
When Hoffman, the fifth grader from Highland Park Elementary in Lees Summit, misspelled her word ‘stifling,’ her family filed a protest. Judges say the Hoffman’s contended the word had been mispronounced. Spelling judges disagreed, and Sharma spelled his word to win it.
“I’m just really excited that I’ve gotten this far,” Hoffman said. “Every kid that’s participated in the bee has done an amazing job.”
The two have become celebrities of sorts, doing interviews with the national media in the two weeks since the contest’s first rounds.
Sharma hoped to win the spell-off, but when this all began he didn’t anticipate winning a new friend. During the past two weeks, he and Hoffman have become great friends.
Hoffman says she will be cheering for Kush at the national level in late May.
Sean spells it out on his FOX 4 Facebook page. Come give him an L-I-K-E.
