Two boys from Toronto are among the top three winners of the national spelling bee competition that happened over the weekend.
The 36th Spelling Bee of Canada (SBOC) took place at Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel in Richmond Hill on May 28, after a series of regional competitions across the country.
SBOC is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing Canadian youth, parents, teachers and the Indigenous community with opportunities to participate in the educational process and to celebrate academic achievement.
Over 70,000 children have competed in the national spelling bee since it began in 1987.
This year, the winners were among 60 final contestants and spelling bee champions from three age categories who advanced to the in-person finals and competed live to win the ultimate title.
The first place winner is Parnavdeep Singh Kundi, 12, from British Columbia, with the winning words “Erse” and “precocial.”
In second place is Olive Reilly, 12, from Central North York, Ontario and in third place is Ethan Lin, 13, from Etobicoke, Ontario.
In the primary division for children between six and eight years old, eight-year old Ayaan Ahmad from Wood Buffalo, Alberta took the grand prize with the winning words, “pigeonhole” and “astronaut.”
In the competition for junior competitors from ages nine to 11, nine-year-old Alston Li from British Columbia won against her competitors by correctly spelling “multidimensional” and “entrepreneur.”
