Scripps National Spelling Bee celebrates 100 years: How to watch and what to expect
The Brief
The 2025 bee marks the 100th anniversary of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, founded in 1925.
A total of 243 spellers are competing this year, with finals airing Thursday, May 29, on ION from 8–10 p.m. EDT.
This is the 97th competition; three years were missed due to World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic.
OXON HILL, Md. - The Scripps National Spelling Bee is celebrating a century of competition, language, and academic excellence. First held in 1925, the event has grown from a newspaper-sponsored gathering to a global showcase of spelling talent, now hosted at a convention center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.
Although this is the bee's 100th anniversary, it is technically the 97th time the competition has taken place. The bee was canceled from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II and again in 2020 during the pandemic. Thanks to multiple years with co-champions, this year's winner will be the 110th champion.
What's next
The Scripps National Spelling Bee finals will air live on ION on Thursday, May 29, from 8 to 10 p.m. EDT. This is the final round of a three-day competition featuring the top young spellers from across the U.S. and abroad.
Earlier rounds were streamed across Scripps-owned platforms—Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More, and SpellingBee.com—on the following schedule:
Tuesday, May 27: Preliminary rounds streamed from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. EDT
Wednesday, May 28: Quarterfinals streamed from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., followed by semifinals from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. The semifinals also aired on ION in a tape-delayed broadcast from 8 to 10 p.m.
Dig deeper
There are 243 spellers in the 2025 competition, including:
Participants from all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.
Spellers from Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands
International competitors from Canada, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait, Nigeria, and the Bahamas
Top contenders to watch:
Faizan Zaki, 13, runner-up last year from Allen, Texas
Aishwarya Kallakuri, 14, winner of the SpellPundit National Bee
Avinav Prem Anand, 14, runner-up in the Words of Wisdom Bee
Vedanth Raju, 12, younger brother of 2022 runner-up Vikram Raju
Harini Murali, 13, returning finalist and sister of 2020 standout Navneeth Murali
Tarini Nandakumar, 14, a five-time bee competitor from Round Rock, Texas
Indian American spellers continue to lead the field, having won 29 of the past 35 championships since 1999.
The backstory
To qualify for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, students must win a regional spelling bee and meet eligibility requirements—they must be in eighth grade or below and no older than 15.
The competition begins with two preliminary rounds: one oral spelling round and one multiple-choice vocabulary round. Spellers who advance then take a written spelling and vocabulary test, which determines who moves on to the quarterfinals.
From the quarterfinals through the finals, all rounds are oral. If judges are unable to determine a winner through standard rounds, they may use a "spell-off" tiebreaker to crown the champion. All words used in the bee are selected from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.
By the numbers
Prizes for the finalists:
1st place: $52,500 in cash, reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, and a $1,000 school donation
2nd place: $25,000
3rd place: $15,000
4th place: $10,000
5th place: $5,000
6th place: $2,500
All other finalists: $2,000
The Source
This article is based on Associated Press reporting and official information from the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Details include competition history, schedule, rules, and participant profiles, as well as prize structure and broadcasting info.
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