The Scripps National Spelling Bee, a long-standing tradition, takes place this week in Washington D.C. The competition started Tuesday and will conclude on Thursday night. This marks the bee’s 98th occasion, with the first held back in 1925.
After being hosted in suburban Maryland for years, this year it returns to the nation’s capital at Constitution Hall close to the White House. Serving as the television host for this event is ESPN NFL analyst and recent “Celebrity Jeopardy!” champion, Mina Kimes.
Spanning since 1925, the bee was not held from 1943-1945 due to World War II and in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current champion will be the 111th due to repeated ties over the years, including an unusual eight-way tie in 2019. Notably, 30 of the last 36 winners are of Indian heritage, including last year’s champion, Faizan Zaki.
The spelling bee is broadcast and streamed on platforms owned by Scripps, a media company based in Cincinnati. On Tuesday, preliminary rounds streamed on the Scripps Sports Network and the website spellingbee.com. The schedule was from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT.
Wednesday saw the quarterfinals, available on the same platforms from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and semifinals from 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. A tape-delayed broadcast of the semifinals aired on ION from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. All finals, on Thursday, aired on ION at the same evening time.
The finals, along with semifinals, were viewable on additional channels and services like ION Plus, Bounce, Grit, Laff, The Spot, and more.
What are the rules of the Scripps National Spelling Bee?
Participants qualify through regional bees nationwide. To enter, spellers cannot be beyond the eighth grade or older than 15 years. Competitors face two preliminary rounds with words from a provided list; this includes a spelling round and a multiple-choice vocabulary portion.
Advancing past preliminaries leads to a written spelling and vocabulary test from which about 100 top finishers move forward to the quarterfinals. Word selections are sourced from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary going into these stages.
As the competition progresses through quarterfinals and semifinals, competitors are eliminated via oral spelling and vocabulary questions. Only around a dozen advance to the finals, where a unique tiebreaker, the “spell-off,” may be employed should two participants remain.
Who is competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee?
This year’s event features 247 competitors from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and territories including five countries: The Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, and the United Arab Emirates.
Sarv Dharavane of Dunwoody, Georgia is the top returnee from last year, having placed third as an 11-year-old fifth-grader. He still has two years to qualify.
Potential contenders include:
- Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old from Rancho Cucamonga, California, previously third in 2024 and having won several prestigious spelling events since.
- Oliver Halkett, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Los Angeles, tied for seventh last year.
- Esha Marupudi, a similarly aged eighth-grader from Chandler, Arizona, also tied for seventh previously.
What are the prizes for the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion?
The champion receives over $50,000 in cash and prizes, alongside a custom trophy. Specific prize breakdowns are:
- First place: $52,500 in cash, reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, custom trophy, commemorative medal, and $1,000 in flight credits from Delta Air Lines.
- Second place: $25,000.
- Third place: $15,000.
- Fourth place: $10,000.
- Fifth place: $5,000.
- Sixth place: $2,500.
- All other finalists: $2,000.
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