Roscoe, Peal City, Illinois, Scripps National Spelling Bee students

Since 1925, children across the country have been competing in classroom, school and regional spelling bees in hopes of making it to the big stage – the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The 96th edition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee begins this year on Tuesday with the preliminary rounds. The competition will continue with quarterfinals and semifinals on Wednesday and finals on Thursday.

In this year’s national competition, the Rockford area will be represented by Ananya Joshi, a 12-year-old sixth-grade student at Roscoe High School, and the Freeport area will be represented by Hendrix Feld, a 13-year-old seventh-grader at Pearl City Middle/High School.

Joshi and Feld will compete against 243 other students from across the country, all vying to be named the next Scipps National Spelling Bee champion.

According to Scripps, Ananya is a well-rounded student who enjoys playing the piano, building with Legos, reading, learning Bharatanatyam, a classical dance form in India, coding in Scratch, and writing essays and short stories. He is a member of the school’s Science Olympiad team, quiz team, student council and band.

Hendrix enjoys learning and building new things, Scripps said, and is a member of the school’s Lego League robotics team. He hopes to pursue a career in engineering or science. His favorite historical figure is Benjamin Franklin and his favorite musician is The Weeknd.

All spellers are between 8 and 15 years old. They come from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Texas has the largest representation with 20 national competitors. California and Ohio are next with 17 each, followed by Florida, Illinois and New York with 13 each. Twelve players are from outside the United States and represent the Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.