Who is Sriram Hathwar?

According to the Detroit Free Press, 8-year-old Hathwar is one of the youngest competitors in the Scripps Spelling Bee. He turned 8 last month and hails from Painted Post, NY. He is one of the youngest ever to enter the competition.

When on stage he looks almost timid, his age shows, but his skill level never quivers. With his quaint little glasses he seems to spit out words before nerves have the chance to overtake him. He is a great speller winning on words such as "parallelogram and impervious" in the past.

He is the son of two physicians who wait on the sidelines to congratulate him, regardless of the outcome. He is said to be preparing diligently for the next round of competitions, the national spelling bee.

The spelling bee works with a set number of students who have won local spelling bees at their respective schools. These students are than promoted to a higher level, eventually winning their way into the national spelling bee where they will compete against other winners. The national spelling bee is televised and can lead to fifteen minutes of fame for the winner, looks like Hathwar is already there; his age has made him a shoe-in for the spotlight.

Interestingly enough, there are over twenty three thousand words on the Scripps word list, and a course offered throughout the school year training children to be better spellers and prepare for the spelling bee.

The Scripps Spelling bee is the nation's largest educational competition, according to their website and has nearly 300 sponsors. Children enrolled in the competition must be under the age of fifteen at the date of September 1st 2007, must not be higher than the eight grade in their education as of February 1st 2008 and must be enrolled in one of the eligible schools in the 2007-08 school year.