Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Lori Anne Madison, 6, of Woodbridge, Va., takes her seat as the youngest speller in the National Spelling Bee, before competing in the Bee in Oxon Hill, Md., Wednesday, May 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
By msnbc.com staff and NBC News
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- "W-i-t-t-i-c-i-s-m." And with that word, correctly spelled by Kevin Lazenby, 13, of Opelika, Ala., the 85th National Spelling Bee got under way on Wednesday morning.
Each of the 278 participants spells two words during the day's preliminary rounds, and their scores will be combined with their scores from a 50-word computer test they took Tuesday to determine the field of no more than 50 semifinalists, The Associated Press reported. You can follow along with the day's rounds here.
Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Lori Anne Madison spells a word correctly during the 2012 Scripps National Spelling Bee on Wednesday in National Harbor, Md.
This year's contest includes the bee's youngest speller ever: 6-year-old Lori Anne Madison of Lake Ridge, Va. Lori Anne, speller No. 269, correctly spelled "dirigible" during her turn just before noon Wednesday. The Washington Post reported that she asked for a definition, got the word right and quickly took her seat.
She's a home-schooled student who loves swimming, math and the outdoors -- and says she wants to be an astrobiologist.
"She loves it and she does it because it's a passion, and we never push her into anything and want her to make her own choices," her mother, Sorina Madison, told The Associated Press.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP file
Lori Anne Madison, 6, of Lake Ridge, Va., walks through river water while playing with friends in a park in McLean, Va., on May 11.
NBC News’ Ellie Hall contributed to this report.
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