Latest news with #BeeWeek
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Faizan Zaki Wins 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee After Coming in Second in 2024
Faizan Zaki is the 2025 champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition. The winner, 13, will receive $50,000 in cash from Scripps, $2,500 cash prize and reference library from Merriam-Webster and $400 worth of reference works from Encyclopædia Britannica, according to Scripps. Zaki, of Plano, Texas, was last year's runner-up. He won this year's competition during the 11th round of the finals with the word "éclaircissement," per The New York Times. The word means "a clearing up of something obscure," per Merriam-Webster. This year's rigorous competition featured 243 bright students from across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Department of Defense Schools in Europe. Students from the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria also competed to represent their country. The 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee also marked its 100th year of spelling competitions. Students and their families visited the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Maryland for Bee Week where the centennial competition was held. Participants competed in four separate segments for the coveted Scripps Cup that included the Preliminaries, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Finals. The competition broadcasted on ION began May 27 with the final round airing May 29. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Related: Photos of Former National Spelling Bee Champions (and the Words They Won with) The second round of competition in each phase includes a vocabulary round that was introduced in 2021 to promote 'knowledge and literacy' in competitors, according to the Scripps National Spelling Bee's website. The competition then ends with the historical 'spell-off.' During last year's Spelling Bee competition 12-year-old Bruhat Soma was named the national champion after correctly spelling 29 words in a 90-second tiebreaker. ! The seventh grader from St. Petersburg, Fla., faced off with Zaki in a lightning tiebreaker round for competing in a conventional round. Soma's winning word was "abseil," meaning "a descent in mountaineering by means of a rope looped over a projection above," the Scripps organization announced. Read the original article on People
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dayton teen competes at National Scripps Spelling Bee
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — This week, a local middle schooler is competing at the Scripps National Spelling Bee. After winning the Wright State Regional Spelling Bee for the second consecutive year, Aurora Spisak advanced to the national stage, which culminates today after a two day run. The field of 243 competing spellers from across the country included Spisak, who made it through the first two rounds of the tournament before a few mistakes in the third. Spisak said the experience has been an exciting one, especially being able to represent Dayton. 'It means a lot. I love community so it means a lot to be able to be here for them,' Spisak said. 'I've had a great time. I love Bee Week man, it's so cool.' This year marks the 100th annual National Bee. Today will see the finalist compete for the Scripps Cup. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Marco Island girl will compete in 97th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Scripps National Spelling Bee has resulted in a Florida winner twice in a row: Largo eighth-grader Dev Shah in 2023 and St. Petersburg 12-year-old Bruhat Soma in 2024. Will the Sunshine State pull off a threepeat this year? There will be 12 contestants from Florida among the 243 spellers in the 97th National Spelling Bee. Two contestants have a special tie to Southwest Florida, including one Marco Island student. Here's what to know about this year's spelling bee. "Bee Week" begins with preliminaries at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, May 27. The quarterfinals are the next day, Wednesday, May 28, and the semifinals happen that same evening. The competition wraps up with the finals on Thursday, May 29. Preliminaries, May 27: Will be streamed on Scripps News networks Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, and Laff More, and at from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. ET Quarterfinals, May 28: Will be streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, and Laff More, and at from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET Semifinals, May 28: Will stream live on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, and Laff More, and at from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. ET and air 8-10 p.m. on ION Finals, May 29: Will air live from 8-10 p.m. on ION Encore presentations of the semifinals will air on Scripps News on Thursday, May 29, from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., and of the finals on May 29 from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Scripps Networks can be found free over-the-air as well as on cable, satellite and streaming platforms. You can enter your ZIP code at for instructions on how to watch the Bee in a specific area. There's two contestants from Southwest Florida this year: 14-year-old Nicasio David from Fort Myers and 13-year-old Sophia Jolie Schoenrock from Marco Island. The Collier County Public School District is sponsoring 13-year-old Schoenrock, who attends Marco Island Charter Middle School. According to her official National Spelling Bee biography, Schoenrock loves reading and playing the clarinet. In her free time, she plays catcher and second baseman with the Naples Select Softball Team. Her favorite movie is "Ocean's 11" and her favorite subject in school is algebra. Schoenrock was born in Germany and moved to the United States when she was six years old. She didn't speak any English at the time. Now, seven years later, she's competing in the nation's 97th Spelling Bee. Hadi Abbasi, 12, Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines, Miami Louis Avetis, 12, Discovery Middle School, Orlando Nicasio David, 14, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Fort Myers Cecily Dean, 13, Leon County Home Schoolers, Tallahassee Diego Gallegos, 11, Lakemont Elementary School, Orlando Elias Benjamin Javelona, 13, of Howard Middle School, Belleview Vlada Kozhevnikova, 12, Pinellas Academy of Math & Science, St. Petersburg Moksh Maru, 10, Wilson Elementary School, Sanford Nikhail Sha, 13, Palmetto Middle School, Miami Sophia Jolie Schoenrock, 13, Marco Island Charter Middle School, Naples Sree Vidya Siliveri, 14, Alice B. Landrum Middle School, Jacksonville Aiden Westover, 14, Odyssey Middle School, Orlando A Florida contestant has won four times in the history of the national spelling bee, according to Scripps data: Soma in 2024 on his second try, Shah in 2023 on the third try, Nupur Lala of Tampa in 1999, who won in her second appearance, and Wendy Guoy of West Palm Beach in 1996, who won after four tries. The state with the most wins is Texas, with 16. Twenty-one states have never had a national spelling bee champion. Starting in September, spelling bees in classrooms work up to regional spelling bees in February and March to determine national competitors. Spellers may not be older than 15 or past the eighth grade, and former champions may not compete again. During the spelling bee, kids compete in: Spelling rounds, where they have 90 seconds to correctly spell a word after it has been pronounced. They may ask for definitions, usage, language, the part of speech, alternate pronunciation or just to hear it again, but not in the last 15 seconds. Vocabulary rounds: Originally part of a written test, this was made an onstage element in 2021. Spellers are given 30 seconds to answer a multiple-choice question about the definition of a word. Written test: Spellers who advance through rounds 1 and 2 will take round 3 written test on spelling and vocabulary. Scores determine who moves on to the quarterfinals. Spell-offs: Introduced in 2021, officials may call for a spell-off to conclude the finals. Spellers have 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible while their competition cannot hear. Each speller gets the same words in the same order. Last year, Florida's Bruhat Soma set a record at 29 words. The champion gets $50,000 cash, a commemorative medal, and the Scripps Cup championship trophy. They will also receive $2,500 cash and a reference library from Merriam-Webster, $400 of reference works and a 3-year online membership from Encyclopædia Britannica, the school of their choice gets $1,000 in Scholastic credit, and their school and regional partner get an engraved plaque. Finalists get a commemorative medal and: Eliminated from first round of finals to 7th place: $2,000 6th place: $2,500 5th place: $5,000 4th place: $10,000 3rd place: $15,000 2nd place: $25,000 Semifinalists get a commemorative medal and a $500 gift card, and quarterfinalists get a commemorative pin and a $100 gift card. All competitors receive a prize package, subscriptions to Merriam-Webster, Britannica Online Premium, and the Regional Champions' School, and a 2025 U.S. Mint proof set. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: How to watch Marco Island girl compete in 2025 National Spelling Bee
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Will a Florida kid win the national spelling bee 3 years in a row? When, how to watch
In 2024, 12-year-old Bruhat Soma of St. Petersburg won the 96th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee in a record-breaking 29-word spell-off. The year before, eighth-grader Dev Shah of Largo took the prize with the word "psammophile." Can the Sunshine State pull off a threepeat this year in the surprisingly watchable event? There will be 12 contestants from Florida among the 243 spellers in the 97th National Spelling Bee, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year (it was skipped three times during World War III and once in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Soma and Shah, along with nearly 40 other former winners, will both be attending the 2025 finals in Maryland on May 29 to greet and sign posters, according to a release from Scripps. Soma, now an eighth-grader, will also be featured throughout "Bee Week" during the television broadcast and/or livestream. Here's what to know. Preliminaries will begin at 8 a.m. ET on Tuesday, May 27. The quarterfinals are the next day, Wednesday, May 28, the semifinals happen that same evening, and the finals will be in the evening on Thursday, May 29. Preliminaries, May 27: Will be streamed on Scripps News networks Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, and Laff More, and at from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. ET Quarterfinals, May 28: Will be streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, and Laff More, and at from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. ET Semifinals, May 28: Will stream live on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, and Laff More, and at from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. ET and air 8-10 p.m. on ION Finals, May 29: Will air live from 8-10 p.m. on ION Encore presentations of the semifinals will air on Scripps News on Thursday, May 29, from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m., and of the finals on May 29 from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Scripps Networks can be found free over-the-air as well as on cable, satellite and streaming platforms. You can enter your ZIP code at for instructions on how to watch the Bee in a specific area. Hadi Abbasi, 12, Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines, Miami Louis Avetis, 12, Discovery Middle School, Orlando Nicasio David, 14, Paul Laurence Dunbar Middle School, Fort Myers Cecily Dean, 13, Leon County Home Schoolers, Tallahassee Diego Gallegos, 11, Lakemont Elementary School, Orlando Elias Benjamin Javelona, 13, of Howard Middle School, Belleview Vlada Kozhevnikova, 12, Pinellas Academy of Math & Science, St. Petersburg Moksh Maru, 10, Wilson Elementary School, Sanford Nikhail Sha, 13, Palmetto Middle School, Miami Sophia Jolie Schoenrock, 13, Marco Island Charter Middle School, Naples Sree Vidya Siliveri, 14, Alice B. Landrum Middle School, Jacksonville Aiden Westover, 14, Odyssey Middle School, Orlando A Florida contestant has won four times in the history of the national spelling bee, according to Scripps data: Soma in 2024 on his second try, Shah in 2023 on the third try, Nupur Lala of Tampa in 1999, who won in her second appearance, and Wendy Guoy of West Palm Beach in 1996, who won after four tries. The state with the most wins is Texas, with 16. Twenty-one states have never had a national spelling bee champion. Starting in September, spelling bees in classrooms work up to regional spelling bees in February and March to determine national competitors. Spellers may not be older than 15 or past the eighth grade, and former champions may not compete again. During the spelling bee, kids compete in: Spelling rounds, where they have 90 seconds to correctly spell a word after it has been pronounced. They may ask for definitions, usage, language, the part of speech, alternate pronunciation or just to hear it again, but not in the last 15 seconds. Vocabulary rounds: Originally part of a written test, this was made an onstage element in 2021. Spellers are given 30 seconds to answer a multiple-choice question about the definition of a word. Written test: Spellers who advance through rounds 1 and 2 will take round 3 written test on spelling and vocabulary. Scores determine who moves on to the quarterfinals. Spell-offs: Introduced in 2021, officials may call for a spell-off to conclude the finals. Spellers have 90 seconds to spell as many words as possible while their competition cannot hear. Each speller gets the same words in the same order. Last year, Florida's Bruhat Soma set a record at 29 words. The champion gets $50,000 cash, a commemorative medal, and the Scripps Cup championship trophy. They will also receive $2,500 cash and a reference library from Merriam-Webster, $400 of reference works and a 3-year online membership from Encyclopædia Britannica, the school of their choice gets $1,000 in Scholastic credit, and their school and regional partner get an engraved plaque. Finalists get a commemorative medal and: Eliminated from first round of finals to 7th place: $2,000 6th place: $2,500 5th place: $5,000 4th place: $10,000 3rd place: $15,000 2nd place: $25,000 Semifinalists get a commemorative medal and a $500 gift card, and quarterfinalists get a commemorative pin and a $100 gift card. All competitors receive a prize package, subscriptions to Merriam-Webster, Britannica Online Premium, and the Regional Champions' School, and a 2025 U.S. Mint proof set. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Scripps National Spelling Bee 2025: What to know, dates, how to watch
