Surya Kapu, 13, of South Jordan, Utah, will be able to compete in Thursday's finals.
A 13-year-old speller has been reinstated in the Scripps National Spelling Bee following an appeal he launched after he says he was denied relevant root information about a word, the Associated Press reported.
Surya Kapu of South Jordan, Utah, misspelled “Leucovorin” Wednesday during a semifinal round in Maryland, which effectively ended his chance to go to the finals, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
He asked for the root information on Leucovorin, which is a medicine used to counteract the side effects of a cancer drug. He and his family claimed that Scripps left out key details when he asked about the words roots, according to Associated Press
Contestants are permitted to ask questions about roots, and judges answer in the affirmative if a speller can identify a relevant root and its meaning, Associated Press reported.
Following the appeal, Scripps said in a statement that its judges met for roughly two hours before deciding late Wednesday night to reinstate Kapu.
“The judges’ decision to reinstate is backed by a belief in the bee’s mission to inspire the exploration of words and celebrate academic achievement,” the statement said. “Upon further review, it was determined that there was more directly relevant information available in the dictionary to one of the speller’s questions. Based on this, Surya will be provided a chance to participate in Round 7 with a new word.”
Kupa will get his new word at the beginning of Thursday night’s finals. If he spells that word correctly, he will join the 12 finalists who have already advanced to compete for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes, NBC News reported.
