# 5-year-old qualifies for National Spelling Bee **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 6, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-year-old-qualifies-for-national-spelling-bee/781592 "2017-03-06T23:32:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-year-old-qualifies-for-national-spelling-bee/781592/1 "2017-03-06T23:32:51Z")
The Bee has strict rules for maximum ages, and after hearing this story, I think it’s time they instituted a minimum one. [http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/03/06/five-year-old-qualifies-national-spelling-bee](http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2017/03/06/five-year-old-qualifies-national-spelling-bee) Does this child even know what she’s really doing? ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-year-old-qualifies-for-national-spelling-bee/781592/2 "2017-03-07T01:04:49Z")
Do any of them? Or are they just fantastic at memorising lists of words? And what the hell language is ‘jnana’ a word from? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-year-old-qualifies-for-national-spelling-bee/781592/3 "2017-03-07T04:23:11Z")
Sanskrit ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-year-old-qualifies-for-national-spelling-bee/781592/4 "2017-03-07T14:47:00Z")
Let me guess, she’s home schooled? Because I know what my kid was doing in public school kindergarten. Kind of embarrassing for the jr. high kids that lost. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-year-old-qualifies-for-national-spelling-bee/781592/5 "2017-03-07T19:06:30Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > Let me guess, she’s home schooled? Because I know what my kid was doing in public school kindergarten. Kind of embarrassing for the jr. high kids that lost. Yup. Makes me wonder what else she’s being taught, other than spelling words. :rolleyes: I also wonder when her birthday is; she may very well be a pre-K student. ETA: Several years ago, they had a 6-year-old who made it into the televised rounds. Don’t know if she’s been back. And then there are the Shivashankar sisters, both of whom won and one of them showed up for the first time when she was about 8 years old. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/5-year-old-qualifies-for-national-spelling-bee/781592/6 "2017-03-08T00:56:53Z")
“Five years old? My, you’re practically a lady.”