Toronto girl places 5th in Scripps spelling bee
Laura Newcombe, 11, knocked out with 3 others in 7th round
A Toronto girl was out-spelled on Friday at the 83rd Scripps National Spelling Bee in the United States.
Laura Newcombe, 11, misspelled the word "confiserie" during round seven of the championships, giving the spelling "colfeaserie" instead.
Newcombe was the only speller from Canada in the well-known competition. Canada didn't send its usual large contingent to Washington, D.C., this year because of spending cuts stemming from the recession.
Four of eight contestants were knocked out during the round, putting Newcombe in a four-way tie for fifth place overall.
In the 2009 Scripps National Spelling Bee, Newcombe tied for 17th overall.
Also eliminated in the seventh round were Lanson Tang of Bethesda, Md.; Joanna Ye of Harrisburg, Pa.; and Andrew Grose of Madison, Wis.
Backstage, Newcombe told ABC's Erin Andrews that she was happy with what she had accomplished and that she planned to begin studying for next year's bee after giving herself a couple weeks off.
A total of 273 spellers from around the world began the competition earlier in the week, but Newcombe was one of only 10 students to make the finals, televised starting at 8 p.m. ET on Friday.
Prizes worth more than $40,000 US were at stake.
Anamika Veeramani of Cleveland, Ohio, won the spelling bee in the ninth round with her perfect spelling of the word "stromuhr."