US / spelling bee 11 Make It to Spelling Bee Finals Week began with record 293 spellers By Newser Editors and Wire Services Posted May 28, 2009 1:39 PM CDT Copied Veronica Penny, 11, of Hamilton, Ontario, competes in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. (AP Photo) Eleven youngsters have advanced to tonight's finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee after surviving today's three semifinal rounds, which began with 41 candidates. Only five were eliminated in the first round, then 20 exited in an extremely difficult second round that knocked out some returning favorites. Among the words that stumped the spellers: "barbotte." (More spelling bee stories.) Report an error