98th Scripps National Spelling Bee opens in Washington with 247 spellers

The 98th Scripps National Spelling Bee opened Tuesday at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., drawing 247 young competitors from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three U.S. territories and five countries to vie for more than $50,000 in prizes over three days.

The century-old competition, founded in 1925, draws intense interest from South Asian-American families nationwide — including those across Southern California — as 30 of the past 36 champions have been of Indian heritage.

The three-day event runs through Thursday and tests spellers across preliminary rounds, a written examination, quarterfinals, semifinals and a championship final, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. All words are drawn from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary. Should the final two competitors remain tied, a spell-off tiebreaker settles the title.

Among the notable returning contenders is Sarv Dharavane, who earned third place in 2025 and is back for another run at the title. Also in the field are Shrey Parikh, the 2024 third-place finisher, and Oliver Halkett and Esha Marupudi, who each tied for seventh in 2025, ABC7 reported. The 2025 champion, Faizan Zaki, is ineligible to defend the title under competition rules.

Mina Kimes, an ESPN analyst and Celebrity Jeopardy! champion, steps into the role of television host for this year's broadcast.

The bee has moved to Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., for this edition. The competition has been held annually since its founding in 1925 by the Louisville Courier-Journal — with the exception of a three-year suspension during World War II, from 1943 through 1945, and a cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

To qualify, competitors must be in eighth grade or younger and under the age of 15. All 247 spellers earned their spots by winning regional spelling bees held across the country.

The outsized representation of Indian-heritage spellers — 30 of the past 36 champions — has drawn sustained national attention, particularly from South Asian-American communities that have built robust scholastic preparation programs around the competition.

The competition concludes Thursday with championship rounds to crown the 98th Scripps champion. First place carries a cash prize of $52,500, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.