Time to ring the bell: Spelling Bee moves to semifinals, champion to be crowned Friday night

Ding! National Spelling Bee moves to semifinals

WASHINGTON — The semifinals are under way at the 83rd National Spelling Bee.

After starting the week with 273 spellers, the semifinals Friday morning eliminate more spellers, with the telltale bell signaling when a word has been spelled incorrectly.

The champion wins a trophy and more than $40,000 in cash and prizes.

Among the semifinalists are three spellers who made the finals last year. Also advancing to the semis were a boy from New Zealand and a girl who represented Washington, D.C., last year and has since moved to Japan. Officials initially thought 13-year-old Sonia Schlesinger was the first person to represent two countries at the bee, but Tasha Bartch also did so in the 1990s.