LOXLEY, Alabama — Baldwin County will crown a new champion on Thursday, Feb. 4 when top spellings from throughout the county converge on the Loxley Civic Center for the Baldwin County Spelling Bee Championship.

Isabella Eleogo, who successfully defended her 2014 crown at last year’s competition, has graduated to Baldwin County High School and is no longer eligible for the competition, which is open to students in grades three through eight.

A total of 36 qualifiers from Baldwin County’s elementary, intermediate and middle public schools, plus qualifiers from Bayside Academy in Daphne, Bayshore Christian in Fairhope and Central Christian School in Robertsdale, will compete in Thursday’s spelling bee, which begins at 4 p.m. and continues until a champion is crowned.

“This has become an annual tradition and some of our students spend an entire year preparing for it,” said program coordinator Becky Turner, consulting teacher with the Baldwin County School System’s Elementary Education Department. “It’s something I’ve been a part of as a parent and I’m excited to be involved in helping coordinate the event this year. This event is something that takes a lot of planning and a lot of volunteer help and I’m really looking forward to a great competition.”

While Bay Minette Middle will have a new student, Ariel White, vying for this year’s title there will be four returning competitors from last year, Fletcher Ard of Elberta Middle; John Wesley Jenks, Perdido; Lyric Knight, Pine Grove; and Sephie Milligan, Stapleton.

Other competitors are: Jackson Paul, Bay Minette Elementary; Jillian Dute, Bay Minette Intermediate; Cassidy Granger, Bayshore Christian; Evelyn Prickett, Bayside Academy; Zoe Meadors, Central Baldwin Middle; Mikaela Boecher, Central Christian; Tyler Tate, Daphne East Elementary; Bella Lochrico, Daphne Middle; Anne Nelson, Delta Elementary; Charlier Woerner, Elberta Elementary; Kirsten Holston, Elsanor School; Isabella Tran, Fairhope Intermediate; Peyton Suits, Fairhope Middle; Latisha Rivers, Foley Elementary; Kassey Merchant, Foley Intermediate; John Pratt, Foley Middle; Amily Tiffany, Gulf Shores Elementary; Bailey Helms, Gulf Shores Middle; Kayde Andrews, J. Larry Newton; Katie Miller, Loxley Elementary; Dylan Spivey, Magnolia School; Grace McGowan, Orange Beach Elementary; Caleb Wilson, Robertsdale Elementary; Brenden Provencher, Rockwell; Montana Hance, Rosinton; Kristen Kaylor, Silverhill; Joah Simmons, Spanish Fort Elementary; Natalie Tidd, Spanish Fort Middle; Ashlyn Boehm, Summerdale; Marley Hunter, Swift; and Lauren Thompson, W.J. Carroll Intermediate.

Baldwin County’s Catholic Schools compete with Mobile County schools in district competition to qualify for the state bee and are not included with the other schools.

The state competition, which is sponsored by Adventure Travel, will be held March 12 at Alabaster First United Methodist Church in Shelby County near Birmingham.

Winners from state competition advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee which will be held in May in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, D.C.

The nationally televised event is sponsored by the G.W. Scripps Company, based in Cincinnati. Its website, spellingbee.com, lists winners dating back to 1925.