Last week, 275 students from around the English-speaking world gathered near Washington, D.C., for the 84th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The competition took place over three days, during which contestants did their best to spell words such as panguingue, chlothalidone, ingberlach, psephomancy, völkerwanderung, and the winning word: cymotrichous. In the end, 14-year-old Sukanya Roy from Pennsylvania took the prize. It was her third entrance in the competition. Collected below are 26 images from the event, (one for each letter of the alphabet), capturing its highs and the lows for these young spellers.
The 84th National Spelling Bee
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Anna-Marie Mitroi Spenger of Utah spells a word in the semifinals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee contest at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, on June 2, 2011. #
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From left, Natalie Cervelli, of Bellaire, Ohio, Dhivya Senthil Murugan, of Denver, Colorado, and Katie Kirk, of Valparaiso, Indiana, autograph "bee keepers," similar to a yearbook of the spellers, on Tuesday, May 31, 2011, at the National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. #
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Yuichi Yoshioka, 12, from Tokyo, Japan, sits following the first round test of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee, Tuesday, May 31, 2011, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. #
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Spellers wait to participate in the semi-finals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition June 2, 2011 in National Harbor, Maryland. Spellers participated in the annual competition to win the national title. #
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A list of correctly spelled words is projected as Varsha Senthil, 10, from San Francisco spells her word during round three of the National Spelling Bee, Wednesday, June 1, 2011, in National Harbor, Maryland. #
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Lily Jordan turns away to spell the word "thanatophia" on her hand before spelling it aloud correctly, while participating in the semi-finals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee competition June 2, 2011. #
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Sriram Jagadeesh Hathwar of Painted Post, New York, reacts after he spells a word in the semifinals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, on June 2, 2011. #
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Hanif Harold Brown (R) of St. Thomas puts his head down after misspelling the word "nataka", while participating in the semi-finals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee on June 2, 2011. #
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Nicolas B. Rushlow, 13, left, from Lancaster, Ohio, is embraced by his mother Michelle after being eliminated during the semifinals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee on June 2, 2011. Rushlow spelled 'drusy' incorrectly. #
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Lily Jordan, 14, from Portland, Maine (left), and Dhivya Senthil Murugan, 10, from Denver, Colorado, sit through the end of the semifinals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee on June 2, 2011. #
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Caleb R. Anderson, 14, from Lubbock, Texas, covers his face while correctly remembering how to spell "ipecac" in round three of the National Spelling Bee, Wednesday, June 1, 2011. #
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Lily Jordan, 14, from Portland, Maine, right, is congratulated by other spellers after correctly spelling a word during the semifinals of the National Spelling Bee, on June 2, 2011. #
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Anna-Marie Mitroi Sprenger (left) of Provo, Utah is comforted by her mother after misspelling the word "privatim", while participating in the semi-finals of the 2011 Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland. #
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Dakota Jones of Las Vegas, Nevada, is congratulated by his parents Michael and Jamie Jones, after being eliminated in the Scripps National Spelling Bee after misspelling the word "zanja" in round 15 on June 2, 2011. #
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Joanna Z. Ye, 14, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, reacts after misspelling a word in the finals of the National Spelling Bee, landing her in third place, on Thursday, June 2, 2011. #
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Laura Newcombe of Toronto, reacts after misspelling a word to come in second in the Scripps National Spelling Bee with her parents Zeu Ming Wong and Dalton Newcombe, in National Harbor, Maryland, on June 2, 2011. #
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Sukanya Roy, 14, of South Abington Township, Pennsylvania, reacts after winning the 2011 National Spelling Bee, on Thursday, June 2, 2011. She won by spelling the word "cymotrichous", which relates to wavy hair. #
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