Regina Danielle Bish, the 2007 Gleaner Children's Own Spelling Bee champion, mulls over a word during the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., yesterday. - Photo by Bill Clark

Jamaica's 2007 Gleaner Children's Own Spelling Bee champion, Regina Bish, has advanced to today's semi-final round of the Scripps Spelling Bee.

Regina started the competition yesterday with 285 other spellers in the 80th edition of the contest being held in Washington, D.C. She passed the written and oral spelling tests yesterday morning in the first round of the competition. In the second round she correctly spelled 'academic' to move on. She was one of 107 spellers to qualify for the quarter-final round, which comprises rounds three and four, in the afternoon.

In round three she got 'alnico', which means a strong alloy. She then spelled 'encephalopathy', which means a disease of the brain, to progress. She keeps Jamaican hopes alive of a second victory in the competition since our first participation in 1997.

The remaining spellers will start the semi-final round at 9:00 a.m. local time. Apart from Jamaica, the only non-American participants hail from The Bahamas, Canada, New Zealand and Puerto Rico.