Big prizes await National Spelling Bee champ

WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – A new national spelling bee champion will be named Thursday night. Hundreds of spellers competed in several rounds this week in National Harbor, Maryland, and it’s now down to the final eight.

Some of the young wordsmiths shared how they navigated the competition’s early rounds, and some of their favorite words.

“Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis,” 13-year-old Sonia Kulkarni spelled aloud.

It’s the longest word in the dictionary, and one of Kulkarni’s favorites.

The St. Louis speller is one of 245 from across the country in Maryland this week to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

“I’ve definitely spent a lot of hours preparing for this for several years,” Kulkarni said.

To make it to the national stage, the spellers all had to win local and state contests. 13-year-old Simran Sanders from Syracuse says it’s really not that hard to make it past regionals.

“All you have to do is memorize a list of a little over 4,000 words,” Sanders said.

The spellers have been through a lot over the past few years. This year’s competition comes not long after COVID disrupted learning for many and caused the Bee to cancel in 2020.

“We’re still coming a little bit off the COVID slump,” Official Pronouncer Jaques Bailly said.

Bailly says he can still see some of those effects.

“I think we’re still getting some ups and downs in terms of preparedness and what they’re ready for in their experience,” Bailly said.

But win or lose, Bailly says what these spellers learn in the process is something they’ll never forget.

“So, you’ve won a lot more than this huge, wonderful media event could possibly give you,” Bailly said.

Even students who did not advance to the finals are keeping their head high, like 11-year-old Amara Chepuri from St. Petersburg, Florida.

“If you lose, that just means that you will get better,” Chepuri said.

13-year-old Ryan Creary from Newark, New York also shared advice for future spellers.

“You can do it. Like, I’m here on this stage, and you just need to believe in yourself,” Creary said.

The champion will take home $50,000 cash, a trophy and other awards.

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