Jamaican spelling bee champion Deneiro Hines will compete against 290 other champions in the 90th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee this week in Washington, D.C.
The 13-year-old National spelling bee champion believes that he can become the second Jamaican to win the U.S. Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The 7th grade, Glenmuir High student from Spanish Town, St.Catherine was crowned the 58th National Spelling Bee Champion in February 2017. Hines, listed as Speller No. 122, will compete against children aged 5 to 15 in the preliminary round of this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Jody-Anne Maxwell from Kingston, Jamaica, was the winner of the 1998 Scripps National Spelling Bee at the age of 12. She remains the only Jamaican and non-American to win the trophy in the competition’s history. 1998 was only the second time Jamaica had entered the competition.
This week, the best of the best — the top 291 spellers — are advancing to the finals, according to the National Spelling Bee.
How to watch Scripps National Spelling Bee
Starting May 31, you can see these brilliant kids put their knowledge to the test live on ESPN. Here’s the schedule:
Wednesday, May 31
Preliminaries, Round 2: 8 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Preliminaries, Round 3: 1:15 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Thursday, June 1
Finals, Part 1: 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Finals, Part 2: 8:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Last year, 13-year-old Jamaican Chaunte Blackwood was eliminated in Round Five of the Scripps National Spelling Bee after misspelling t the word photophygous.
In school, Deneiro Hines enjoys mathematics, history and English. During his spare time, Deneiro enjoys watching movies, especially his favourite: Akeelah and the Bee. In the future, he would like to become a bank accountant. Deneiro would like to encourage the boys in Jamaica and around the world to read a lot of books, stay focused and realise their potential.
Scripps National Spelling Bee Prizes
The winning spellers get seriously rewarded for their knowledge — in cash prizes.
1st Place: $40,000 cash prize plus $2,500 U.S. savings bond
2nd Place: $30,000
3rd Place: $20,000
4th Place: $10,000
5th Place: $5,000
6th Place: $2,500
