Scripps National Spelling Bee guide: How to watch, notable spellers, rules and prizes

Nbcwashington · May 26, 2026 · 715 words · By Ben Nuckols; The Associated Press

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What to know about Scripps National Spelling Bee guide: How to watch, notable spellers, rules and prizes

The best young spellers in the English language are competing at the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week, continuing a more than century-old tradition.

Claims checked 24

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

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Center100%

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2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The best young spellers in the English language are competing at the Scripps National Spelling Bee this week, continuing a more than century-old tradition.

Why it matters

The three-day competition begins Tuesday and concludes Thursday night.

Common ground

The first bee was held in 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: Scripps National Spelling Bee guide: How to watch, notable spellers, rules and prizes?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Third place: $15,000?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/scripps-national-spell…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 24 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 14

check_circle Corroborated 6

info Single Source 3

verified Verified By Reference 1

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Claim 1: “Third place: $15,000.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “In order to compete, spellers must not have advanced beyond the eighth grade or be older than 15.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim is only present in the Nbcwashington cross-reference; no other provided evidence sources confirm the specific age and grade eligibility requirements.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — spellers must not have advanced beyond the eighth grade or be older than 15.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/sc…

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Claim 3: “All other finalists: $2,000.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “The top returning finisher from 2025 is Sarv Dharavane of Dunwoody, Georgia, who finished third last year as an 11-year-old fifth-grader.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 5: “Thirty of the past 36 champions have been of Indian heritage, including last year’s winner, Faizan Zaki.”

CORROBORATED

An NBC report and a web search result confirm that 30 of the past 36 champions have been of Indian heritage, and Faizan Zaki is identified as a champion of Indian heritage.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — On May 29, 2025, returning entrant Faizan Zaki of Allen, Texas, who was first runner-up in 2024, won the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee title and trophy ...Missing: heritage, | Show results with:h…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scripps_National_Spell…

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web search NEUTRAL — 6 hours ago · The winner: 7th grader Bruhat Soma from Florida spelling 29 of 30 words correctly compared to Faizan Zaki of Texas who spelled 20 correctly. The ...
https://www.facebook.com/WorldNewsTonight/posts/nearly-300-y…

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web search NEUTRAL — 8 hours ago · US National Spelling Bee Competition Champion. Faizan Zaki, a 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion from Allen, Texas, is an Indian ...
https://www.facebook.com/scrippsnationalspellingbee/posts/in…

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Claim 6: “The winner receives a custom trophy and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “The words for the test, and for all subsequent rounds, are taken from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim regarding the use of the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary is only found in the Nbcwashington cross-reference.

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cross reference SUPPORTS — The words for the test, and for all subsequent rounds, are taken from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary.
https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/sc…

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Claim 8: “This year's bee has 247 spellers representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, three U.S. territories and five other countries: The Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “Fourth place: $10,000.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “Oliver Halkett, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Los Angeles who finished in a tie for seventh last year.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “The first bee was held in 1925, when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington.”

CORROBORATED

The claim is confirmed by both the Nbcwashington cross-reference and Wikipedia, which states the competition began in 1925 and was initially organized by The Courier-Journal in Louisville.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Scripps National Spelling Bee (formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and commonly called the National Spelling Bee) is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The competitio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Scripps_National_Spell…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Scripps National Spelling Bee, formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scripps_National_Spelling_Bee

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelling_bee

+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 12: “Fifth place: $5,000.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 13: “First place: $52,500 in cash, reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, a custom trophy and commemorative medal, and $1,000 in flight credits from Delta Air Lines.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 14: “This year’s champion will be the 111th, because the bee ended in a two-way tie several times and an eight-way tie in 2019.”

SINGLE SOURCE

CBS News explicitly reports that although it was the 98th bee, Shrey Parikh is the 111th champion due to previous ties, including an eight-way tie in 2019.

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web search NEUTRAL — Although this was the 98th bee, Shrey is the 111th champion because the bee ended in a two-way tie several times, and an eight-way tie in 2019. Shrey finished third in 2024 but lost his school bee las…
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shrey-parikh-2026-scripps-natio…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — After flubbing a chance to win earlier in Thursday’s Scripps National Spelling Bee final, the 13-year-old from the Dallas area came back and spelled “éclaircissement” correctly to become champion.
https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/spelling-bee?page=8

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — How to tie a tie - easy and quick, step by step. The Windsor (aka Double Windsor, Full Windsor) is a popular way of tying a necktie with a sharp, symmetrical...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXJx8j7JpKY

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Claim 15: “Second place: $25,000.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 16: “ESPN NFL analyst and recent “Celebrity Jeopardy!” champion Mina Kimes has joined the bee as its television host.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results and the Nbcwashington cross-reference confirm that ESPN analyst Mina Kimes is the host for the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 98th Scripps National Spelling Bee was a spelling bee competition being held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. out of a desire to bring the bee back to D.C. proper after being held at t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/98th_Scripps_National_Spelling…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Mina Mugil Kimes (born September 8, 1985) is an American journalist who specializes in business and sports reporting. She has written for Fortune, Bloomberg News, and ESPN. She is a senior writer at E…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mina_Kimes

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Scripps National Spelling Bee will take place over three days between May 26-28 at Washington, D.C.'s historic Constitution Hall. How to watch 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2026/05/27/mina-kimes-…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 17: “Shrey Parikh... winning the South Asian Spelling Bee, the SpellPundit National Spelling Bee and the Words of Wisdom Spelling Bee.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 18: “Shrey Parikh, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Rancho Cucamonga, California, who finished third in 2024.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 19: “Esha Marupudi, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Chandler, Arizona, who also tied for seventh last year.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 20: “This is the 98th bee”

CORROBORATED

Web search results specifically mention that the 2026 competition is the 98th Scripps National Spelling Bee, and Wikipedia confirms the 98th bee was held at Constitution Hall.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 21: “the bee returns to the nation's capital this year at Constitution Hall”

CORROBORATED

The Nbcwashington report and a Wikipedia entry for the '98th Scripps National Spelling Bee' both confirm the event was held at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.

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+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 22: “The bee is broadcast and streamed on channels and platforms owned by Scripps, a Cincinnati-based media company.”

CORROBORATED

Confirmed by Nbcwashington and multiple web search results stating the bee is broadcast on platforms owned by Scripps, a Cincinnati-based media company (specifically mentioning Ion).

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The National Spelling Bee was formed in 1925 as a consolidation of numerous local spelling bees, organized by The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scripps_National_Spelling_Bee

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Thirty of the past 36 champions have been of Indian heritage, including last year’s winner, Faizan Zaki. How can I watch the Scripps National Spelling Bee? The bee is broadcast and streamed on channel…
https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/national-international/scrip…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The bee is now broadcast on Ion — owned by Scripps, a Cincinnati-based media company — and when Wednesday's last semifinal round had a lengthy delay after six of the first 10 spellers missed their wor…
https://www.cpr.org/2024/05/30/florida-seventh-grader-carrie…

+ 1 more evidence source

verified

Claim 23: “it was canceled from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II and again in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple news sources confirm the 2020 bee was canceled due to COVID-19. While the 1943-1945 gap is not explicitly detailed in the provided snippets, the 2020 cancellation is strongly verified by multiple sources.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 24: “Sixth place: $2,500.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.