27-05-2025
13-year-old San Diego student competing in national spelling bee
(Above: Interview with Duaa Ouznali, San Diego spelling bee champion, on March 7, 2025)
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — An eighth-grader from San Diego County will be competing in the 97th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee near the nation's capital after being crowned the local champion in March.
Duaa Ouznali, 13, from Bright Horizon Academy was named the county's representative to the national competition after she correctly spelled the winning word 'droshky,' a public carriage used in Russia.
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Ouznali beat out more than 90 other spellers at the regional spelling bee at the Jackie Robinson Family YMCA in San Diego, which took place on March 6.
Starting Tuesday, Ouznali will be competing against other regional winners from across the country at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Maryland.
According to her biography on the national spelling bee's website, Ouznali has traveled to Algeria, France and Canada and loves learning about different languages. Outside of school, she also practices tae kwon do and enjoys swimming.
A total of 243 spellers are competing in this year's national competition, including students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Department of Defense schools in Europe.
Competitors from the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria will also participate.
The champion will take home $50,000 plus a medal and the coveted Scripps Cup. They will also earn separate prizes from various organizations, including Merriam-Webster, Encyclopedia Britannica, Scholastic and others.
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