Scripps National Spelling Bee 2021: Meet The NoVA Semifinalists

NORTHERN VIRGINIA — A pair of teenagers from Fairfax and Loudoun counties advanced to the semifinal round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The semifinals will be held virtually from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Sunday, June 27.

Akshita Balaji, 14, of Merrifield, representing Fairfax, and Ashrita Gandhari, 14, of Leesburg, representing Loudoun, each spelled two words correctly during Tuesday's quarterfinal rounds and also correctly provided the definition of a third word.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee started last Saturday with 209 spellers from across the U.S. and around the globe, all vying for the championship trophy. Spellers are competing virtually in the first three rounds of competition: the preliminaries, quarterfinals and semifinals.

The top 10 to 12 spellers will join Scripps for the in-person finals on July 8 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.

Akshita Balaji, who attends Carson Middle School in Fairfax County, previously competed in the 2019 spelling bee where she tied for 51st place.

Balaji likes to read, bike and play badminton in her free time. She is learning singing and Indian classical dance, and she learned violin for a couple of years. Akshita taught herself the basics of French using online resources.

Ashrita Gandhari, who attends Stone Hill Middle School in Loudoun County, is participating in her fourth Scripps National Spelling Bee. She previously competed in the spelling bee in 2017 when she tied for 35th place, in 2018 when she tied for 42nd place and 2019 when she tied for 51st place.

She is the vice president of her school's newspaper club, and her favorite book is The Catcher in the Rye. She is also the founder of her school's debate club.

This year’s 209 spellers earned their spots as national competitors by advancing through local and regional bees, competing against contestants representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Department of Defense Schools in Europe.

Four countries are participating in addition to the U.S.: the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana and Japan. The national finalists range in age from 9 to 15.

The champion will receive a $50,000 cash prize.