Continuing its quest for the best speller in the community, the 2018 South Asian Spelling Bee (www.SouthAsianSpellingBee.com) traveled to Texas and New Jersey this past weekend with stops in Dallas and New Brunswick.
With a huge turnout this year, the Bee attracted some top talent as well as young and new spellers that competed for the coveted prizes and titles.
At the Dallas Regional, current Scripps National Champion and South Asian Spelling Bee alumnus Karthik Nemmani was at hand to interact with spellers and parents. Having attended the South Asian Spelling Bee for 5 years, Nemmani had specific insights about his experience at the event and its contribution to his success.
“The South Asian Spelling Bee gave me exposure and a competitive edge that other bees lacked,†he told a standing room only crowd at the regional.
Sohum Sukhatankar (12) of Dallas, Texas was the regional champ and Rohan Raja (12) of Irving, Texas, was the first runner up at the Dallas Regional.
In New Jersey, Nitya Kathiravan (9) of Edison, New Jersey was the regional champ and Sujata Choudhury (11) of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was the first runner up.
The event is open to children of South Asian descent up to 14 years of age. It will give South Asian children a chance to test their spelling skills in their core peer group. Interested spellers need their parent or guardian to register them online at www.southasianspellingbee.com.
Organized by Touchdown Media Inc., the South Asian Spelling Bee is celebrating its 11th anniversary this year and with regionals being held in 6 locations across the United States. Regional centers for this season include Washington, D.C. Metro, Charlotte, the Bay Area, Chicago, New Jersey, and Dallas. All events will be free to attend and open to the public. An international regional in Accra, Ghana was conducted earlier this year, from where spellers of South Asian descent will qualify for the finals.
“For the past ten years, the Bee has consistently provided a firm platform for the community to come together and hone their craft. It’s become a family activity that contributes towards the overall development of the child. We are proud to enter our eleventh consecutive year and look forward to engaging some of these wonderful spellers,†said Rahul Walia, founder of the South Asian Spelling Bee and CEO of Touchdown Media Inc.
Within the past year the South Asian Spelling Bee has been exhaustively featured in "Breaking the Bee" and an exclusive story on VICE News that followed the journey of South Asian Spelling Bee spellers and the importance of the South Asian Spelling Bee platform being a vital step in their spelling journey.
The top two spellers of each regional competition will advance to the finals to be held in New Jersey in August. Champion’s grand prize of $3,000 will be awarded to the winner at the finals.
This year, the Bee is proudly powered by Kawan- the world’s most popular Roti paratha brand returns as the powered by sponsor and as always, Sony Pictures Networks is the exclusive broadcast partner for the South Asian Spelling Bee and will be airing the series across 120 countries.
“Kawan is proud to return as a sponsor and we have tremendous faith in contributing towards crucial family time for the community. We look forward to getting to know the spellers and their families through this wonderful journey," said Tim Tan, Managing Director Kawan Food.
“Year over year, the South Asian Spelling Bee has made for great programming that gels with our ethos of compete family entertainment. We are all about family values and encourage platforms such as these that highlight the talent of our community,†said Jaideep Janakiram, Head of Americas, Sony Pictures Networks.
Find us on Facebook at South Asian Spelling Bee and you can follow us on our Twitter handle at Spell South Asian.
About Sony Entertainment Television:
Sony Entertainment Television (SET), one of India's leading Hindi general entertainment television channels is a part of Sony Pictures Television (SPT) backed Sony Pictures Networks, which is India’s leading television network. Since its launch in October 1995, SET has created a unique space for itself in the Indian Television industry. Pioneering new waves in television programming, with blockbuster movie premieres, big format non-fiction shows and an impressive array of fiction shows like Dus Ka Dum, Sabse Bada Kalakar, Super Dancer, The Kapil Sharma Show, Indian Idol, Kaun Banega Crorepati, Entertainment Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega, Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanuman, Beyhadh, Kuch Rang pyre Ke Aise Bhi, Bajirao Peshwa, CID, Crime Patrol Bade Acche Lagte Hain, Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap and Itna Karo Na Mujhe Pyar. SET is known for its innovative concepts and exciting formats and is the most preferred family entertainment channel which has been providing strong platforms for more than 700 brands to reach over 93 million households in India. In addition, Sony Entertainment Television is also available in the US, UK, Africa, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Malaysia, Indonesia, Fiji Islands and Seychelles. In total, SET influences over 332 million viewers in the Indian sub-continent, and the South Asian Diaspora worldwide.
About Touchdown Media Inc.:
Touchdown Media Inc. is a specialized South Asian advertising and promotions firm based in New Jersey. Now in its 11th successful year, Touchdown has helped clients- both mainstream and otherwise, reach out to the lucrative South Asian market, Touchdown Media represents more than 35 years of collective experience in this niche market. As a full service ad firm, Touchdown has helped many clients achieve their media and marketing goals within the South Asian Diaspora in the US.
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