The Tennessee Titans recently hosted its 7th regional spelling bee at Nissan Stadium, with the top two spellers advancing to compete on an even bigger stage. Champions Armaan Singhvi of Harding Academy in Nashville, and runner-up Jonathan Kelly from Brighton Middle School in Brighton, were the last two standing.
The Titans Spelling Bee program covers 51 counties in middle and west Tennessee. Students who won their school's spelling bee were given an online qualifying test. That online test narrowed the number of students down from 69 to 53. All 53 students were invited to compete at Nissan Stadium.
"We are proud to host these incredible students at Nissan Stadium and celebrate the hard work and preparation that goes into winning a competition of this magnitude," said Tina Tuggle, Vice President of Community Impact for the Tennessee Titans. "The Titans organization is always looking for ways to support the youth across our state, and we look forward to this event each year."
Singhvi and Kelly will now advance to compete in the final rounds against top spellers from across the U.S. and globe at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The final rounds of this year's Bee will be hosted in person at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The finals, featuring 10-12 accomplished spellers, will broadcast live in primetime on ION and Bounce.
"A big congratulations to Armaan and Jonathan, and to all of the participants of the Tennessee regional bee. Competing at this level is the culmination of hard work, perseverance and dedication to lifelong learning – all central tenets of the Bee's yearlong program," said Dr. J. Michael Durnil, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. "Thank you to the Tennessee Titans for creating such a memorable experience for these spellers at Nissan Stadium, and for their continuous commitment to youth education in their region as sponsors of the Scripps National Spelling Bee."
All finalists who will travel to Maryland will have earned the right to compete in the finals by advancing through three levels of virtual competition: the preliminary, quarterfinal and semifinal segments.
The East Tennessee regional spelling bee, which is also supported by the Titans, will be hosted in Knoxville, Tennessee at the end of March.
About the Scripps National Spelling Bee:
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation's largest and longest-running educational program. The purpose of the Scripps National Spelling Bee is to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.
