2005 Spelling Bee

Laura Ann Brown, 13, of Rainbow City, Ala., officially starts the Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 1, 2005. Brown advanced to the final rounds before losing on the word "tropholytic," a scientific term referring to an aquatic habitat where light cannot penetrate the lowest level of a lake.

Competition started with 273 spellers, each of whom won local contests sponsored by newspapers. The first-place winner receives $28,000 in cash, scholarships and bonds, plus books from Encyclopedia Britannica.

James Clark, 14, of Nahunta, Ga., left, and Joesph Sheperd, 13, of Waynesboro, Ga., await their turns while participating in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, June 2, 2005. Both fell out of the competition in round seven. Clark misspelled the word "keratinophilic," which means "exhibiting affinity for keratin, as in hair, skin, feathers, or horns." Shepherd lost on "tombolo," which is "a sandbar that connects an island to the mainland or to another island."

Jonathan Horton, 12, of Gilbert, Ariz., pauses while participating in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2005. Horton spelled his first word, "parenchyma," which is a type of plant tissue, correctly.

Stacey-Ann Yanique Pearson, 14, of St. Andrews, Jamaica, pauses prior to spelling her word during the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2005. Most of the contestants at the bee's start were from the United States and its territories, but 14 were foreign students. There were 11 from Canada and one each from the Bahamas, Jamaica and New Zealand.

Finola Mei Hwa Hackett, 13, of Alberta, Canada, participates in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2005. The seventh-grader mastered "whiffet," a small or unimportant person, in round six.

Elicia Chamberlin, 14, of Wilton, N.H., participates in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2005.

Katherine Seymour, 14, of Huntingtown, Md., "writes" her word on her hand while participating in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 2, 2005. Seymour drew laughs from the audience when, after asking for the definition and language of origin for the word "incunabula," she asked the judge, "how do you spell that?" The judge replied, "I wish I could tell you." She misspelled the word, but got applause as she left the stage.

Participants in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, from left, Danielle Tacey, 11, of Anchorage, Alaska, Jonathan Horton, 12, of Gilbert, Ariz., and Levi Foster, 14, of Fayetteville, Ark., await their turns, in Washington, D.C., June 1, 2005.

George Hornedo, 14, of Indianpolis, "writes" his word on the back of his placard while participating in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 1, 2005.

Theodore Yuan, 12, of Lincolnshire, Ill., yawns while participating in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 1, 2005. "Just coming to Washington was the goal," said the seventh-grader, who said he was a bad speller until fifth grade, then surprised his parents by winning the first time he entered his school's spelling bee.

Evan O'Dorney, 11, of San Ramon, Calif., adjusts the microphone while participating in the 78th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, in Washington, D.C., June 1, 2005. O'Dorney smiled widely and clapped for himself after he correctly spelled "insessorial," which refers to birds that perch, allowing him to cling to his spot going into the sixth round.

Anurag Kashyap, 13, of Poway, Calif., celebrates after becoming the 2004 U.S. spelling champ, June 2, 2005, having correctly spelled "appoggiatura," a melodic tone. Kashyap, a straight-A middle-school student whose favorite subject is science, said he felt "just pure happiness."