Scripps Spelling Bee 2018: Meet The Palatine Speller

More than 500 spellers will take part in 2018’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, which officially kicked off Tuesday in Maryland. Of the 519 participants taking part in the annual competition, 26 are from Illinois.

The preliminary rounds take place Tuesday and Wednesday and the finals will be held on Thursday, May 31. On Tuesday and Wednesday, you can watch the Bee on ESPN 3. For the finals, tune into ESPN 2 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. eastern for Part 1 and for Part 2, tune into ESPN at 7:30 p.m.

The preliminaries consist of a multiple choice test and two rounds of spelling onstage, known as round 2 and round 3, respectively, Scripps explains. Spellers are eliminated for spelling incorrectly in either of the onstage rounds. After rounds 2 and 3, no more than 50 spellers head to the finals. (Read the full competition rules here.)

Here is the Palatine speller taking part in the competition:

Calvin Franke, No. 124

Age: 13 | Grade: Seventh

School: Plum Grove Junior High School

Sponsor: Commonwealth Edison

Favorite Author: Bill Watterson of "Calvin and Hobbes" fame

Favorite Sport: Basketball

Favorite Movie: "Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back"

Check back with Patch, and we’ll keep you updated with how the Illinois spellers perform.

And if you’re curious about whether you have what it takes to compete in the Bee, you can take the preliminaries test to find out.

Calvin Franke (Photo by Mark Bowen | Scripps Spelling Bee)