Yiddish—and Sportsmanship—Were Stand-outs at Last Week's National Spelling Bee Contest
In 1994, some genius at ESPN believed the sports media giant should broadcast the national spelling bee, likely because it’s an alluring mix: nervous, smart kids whose skills represent a phenomena well beyond their years (and who doesn’t want to advertise during that smorgasbord?). ESPN has been broadcasting the event for more than 20 years now, and this year, one Yiddish word played a big role in final round, which concluded last week: chremslach.
When challenged to spell this Yiddish gem, Jairam Hathwar, a 13-year-old finalist from Upstate New York, nailed it. He ended up sharing the title with Nihar Janga, an 11-year-old from Austin, Texas; it’s the third year in a row the title has been shared.