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97th Scripps National Spelling Bee

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97th Scripps National Spelling Bee
{
The Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, hosted the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
DateMay 25–30, 2025
LocationGaylord National Resort & Convention Center (National Harbor, Maryland)
WinnerFaizan Zaki
ResidenceAllen, Texas
SponsorDallas Sports Commission
Sponsor locationDallas, Texas
Winning wordéclaircissement
No. of contestants243
Preceded by96th Scripps National Spelling Bee
Followed by98th Scripps National Spelling Bee

The 97th Scripps National Spelling Bee was a spelling bee competition held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The bee marked a special milestone with its commemoration of 100 years of the Bee[a] since the first one ran in 1925.[2] It ran from May 25 to May 30, 2025.[3]

The 2025 bee welcomed 243 spellers from the United States, its territories, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria, Kuwait, and the Bahamas. Preliminary rounds were held on May 27, quarterfinals and semi-final rounds on May 28, and finals on May 29.[4]

The Scripps Bee honored the Akron Beacon Journal as its Regional Partner of the Year, noteworthy given that the paper has sponsored a speller at every bee since its inception in 1925.[5]

In 2026, the bee will be held at the DAR Constitution Hall, with contestants staying at the JW Marriott Washington D.C. 2025 was the last year it will be held in National Harbor.[6]

13-year-old Faizan Zaki won the competition.[7]

Field

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243 spellers competed in this year's bee, a decrease of two from 2024's competition.[8]

The field contained 53 spellers returning from the 2024 Bee, and 65 spellers total who had competed in a prior national competition.[9]

Tarini Nandakumar from Texas competed in her fifth Bee, having placed as high as ninth in 2023. Five spellers were four-time repeaters: Navtaj Singh from Idaho, Harini Murali from New Jersey, Micah Sterling from New York, Avinav Prem Anand from Ohio, and Faizan Zaki from Texas, who was the runner-up in 2024.[10]

Some spellers with notable family connections are Zwe Spacetime, younger brother of 2021 champion Zaila Avant-garde[11] and Vedanth Raju, younger brother of 2022's 2nd-place finisher Vikram Raju.[12] Both of these spellers tied for 10th place.[13]

Eight-year-old second grader Zachary Teoh was the youngest speller in the competition, and also the Houston area's youngest ever representative at the Scripps Bee.[14] He noted that the highlight of his experience was reading the dictionary with Dr. Bailly. He subsequently placed 74th and has the potential to become the Bee's first 7-year repeater should he return each year of his eligibility.[15]

Competition

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Scripps-owned networks ION and Bounce TV aired the competition.

After the first three rounds of competition on May 27, 99 spellers advanced to the quarterfinals on May 28, with 57 advancing to the semifinals later that day.[16]

Nine spellers qualified as finalists after successfully advancing past round 10 in the semifinals:[17]

Esha Marupudi, a 13-year-old seventh grader representing Arizona Educational Foundation of Phoenix, Arizona
Oliver Halkett, a 13-year-old seventh grader representing Los Angeles County Office of Education of Los Angeles, California
Sarvadnya Kadam, a 14-year-old eighth grader representing Tulare County Office of Education of Visalia, California
Sarv Dharavane, an 11-year-old fifth grader representing Georgia Association of Educators of Tucker, Georgia
Harini Murali, a 13-year-old eighth grader representing SNSB Region Three Bee of Edison, New Jersey
Brian Liu, a 13-year-old eighth grader representing SNSB Region Four Bee of Great Neck, New York
Aishwarya Kallakuri, a 14-year-old eighth grader representing Carolina Panthers of Charlotte, North Carolina
Akshaj Somisetty, a 13-year-old eighth grader representing Pennon Education of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old seventh grader representing Dallas Sports Commission of Dallas, Texas[18]

The finalists displayed their high level of skill over the course of eleven rounds on the evening of May 29, as they passed four of the rounds without a single misspelled word.[19][20][21][22] The top six spellers lasted three of those perfect rounds together, all part of a run of 23 words in a row spelled correctly.[23]

Faizan Zaki emerged as the champion [24] in round 21 of the Bee, spelling the world éclaircissement correctly and winning $50,000.[25]

As Associated Press reporter Ben Nuckols noted, he "nearly threw away his opportunity to go from runner-up to champion at the Scripps National Spelling Bee with a shocking moment of overconfidence" as he hastily began spelling commelina incorrectly before checking to see if he knew the word. As third-place finisher Sarv Dharavane and runner-up Sarvadnya Kadam also misspelled their words in the round, they were all reinstated at the time.[26]

Faizan is the first speller since 2001 to claim the championship after having previously been runner-up.[27]

Final rankings

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1st Place:
Faizan Zaki[28]

2nd Place:
Sarvadnya Kadam[29]

3rd Place:
Sarv Dharavane[30]

4th Place (tie):
Harini Murali
Brian Liu
Aishwarya Kallakuri [31]

7th Place (tie):
Esha Marupudi
Oliver Halkett[32]

9th Place:
Akshaj Somisetty[33]

Word list championship round

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Notes

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  1. ^ There were no bees in 1943, 1944, and 1945 due to World War II and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]

References

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  1. ^ Alicia Lee (2020-04-21). "National Spelling Bee canceled for the first time since WWII". CNN. Retrieved 2025-05-04.
  2. ^ "100 years of the Bee". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  3. ^ "Baltimore County elementary school student excited to compete in National Spelling Bee". CBS News. May 1, 2025. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  4. ^ "How to Watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee | Scripps National Spelling Bee". spellingbee.com.
  5. ^ "Beacon Journal named Scripps National Spelling Bee's Regional Partner of the Year". Akron Beacon Journal. March 15, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  6. ^ "How to watch local spellers in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, other things to know". Akron Beacon Journal. May 24, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  7. ^ Hassan, Adeel (29 May 2025). "Spelling Bee Highlights: Faizan Zaki, Once a Runner-Up, is Now a Winner". The New York Times.
  8. ^ "Saipan speller punches return ticket to Scripps National Spelling Bee". Pacific Daily News. April 4, 2025. Retrieved May 4, 2025.
  9. ^ "Scripps National Spelling Bee Media Guide 2025" (PDF). Scripps National Spelling Bee. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  10. ^ "Scripps National Spelling Bee Media Guide 2025" (PDF). Scripps National Spelling Bee. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  11. ^ "Zwe Spacetime, Homeschool Student and Sibling of National Spelling Bee Champion, Wins the 43rd Annual Washington Informer Citywide Bee". The Washington Informer. April 9, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  12. ^ "This 7th grader won the Denver regional science fair and Colorado's state spelling bee in one week". The Denver Post. March 13, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  13. ^ "round 10 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  14. ^ "Houston ISD student becomes youngest regional spelling bee champion". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  15. ^ "National Spelling Bee runners-up rarely go on to win. But Faizan Zaki hopes to defy the odds". The Associated Press. May 28, 2025.
  16. ^ "Akron speller perfect in 1st semifinals Scripps National Spelling Bee word". Akron Beacon Journal. May 28, 2025.
  17. ^ "round 10 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  18. ^ "Meet the 2025 Finalists". Scripps National Spelling Bee. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  19. ^ "round 11 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025..
  20. ^ "round 14 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025..
  21. ^ "round 15 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025..
  22. ^ "round 16 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025..
  23. ^ "Faizan Zaki pulls off dramatic, breathless win at 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee". USA Today. May 29, 2025.
  24. ^ "Faizan Zaki, previous runner-up, wins 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee". Scripps News. May 29, 2025.
  25. ^ "round 21 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  26. ^ "Faizan Zaki wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee a year after finishing runner-up". Associated Press. May 29, 2025.
  27. ^ "Faizan Zaki wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee a year after finishing runner-up". Associated Press. May 29, 2025.
  28. ^ "Faizan Zaki, previous runner-up, wins 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee". Scripps News. May 29, 2025.
  29. ^ "round 20 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  30. ^ "round 19 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  31. ^ "round 17 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  32. ^ "round 13 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  33. ^ "round 12 - spelling round". spellingbee.com. Retrieved May 29, 2025.

See also

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