By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., May 15, 2024 — A field of 245 competitors will participate in the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee from May 28 – 30 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center at National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., in what will unquestionably be a very competitive competition.
Qualifiers from around the United States advanced through local and regional bees that took place throughout the country in April. There are spellers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Texas has the largest representation with 20 national competitors. California and Ohio are next with 17 each, followed by Florida, Illinois and New York with 13 each.
There are 12 competitors from outside the 50 United States, representing The Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Bahamas will be represented by the 2024 Bahamas National Spelling Bee Champion Aarav Balani, a student at Lyford Cay International School, and Eckward Ferguson, a student at Central Eleuthera High School, who finished second in the 2024 BNSB.
The spellers range in ages from 8 to 15. Only 57 spellers are returning from the 2023 field, while 65 spellers have previously competed. More than 73 percent – 180 spellers – are competing in their first Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The 2024 Scripps competition undoubtedly will be very competitive, given the fact that four finalists from 2023 are participating in the 2024 Scripps Bee — Sarah Fernandes, who tied for 10th; Aryan Khedkar, who tied for fifth; Tarini Nandakumar, who finished ninth; and Shradha Rachamreddy, who tied for third.
What’s more, Logan Edwards, Tarini Nandakumar and Shradha Rachamreddy will be competing in their fourth Scripps National Spelling Bees. Edwards and Nandakumar have been to four in a row. Sixteen spellers are in their third Bee, and 13 are making their third consecutive appearance.
As the person who introduced the Scripps National Spelling Bee to The Bahamas’ educational system in 1998 when I was Editor of The Nassau Guardian, as usual I shall be “pulling hard as hell” for our two Bahamas participants to not t only reach the finals, but for one of them to be the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion.
2024 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE REGIONAL PARTNERS On its website, Scripps National Spelling Bee lists the names of its regional partners, including The Bahamas National Spelling, accompanied by the following narrative:
“Thank you to our regional partners who make the Scripps National Spelling Bee possible in communities across the country! Our regional partners embody the spirit of the Bee, committing to education in their local communities.reg
The legacy of regional partnership is rooted in newspapers, but over time has evolved into a diverse collection of media outlets, universities, community organizations, sports teams and convention and visitors’ bureaus. Click on the link below for a list of the regional partners:
https://spellingbee.com/current-regional-partners
MEET THE SPELLERS: Bahamas National Spelling Bee Champion Aarav Balani is Speller No. 8 and Eckward Ferguson, who finished second in the 2024 BNSB , is.Speller No. 9. Below is a link to the MEET THE SPELLERS POST on Scripps National Spelling Bee website:
https://www.spellingbee.com/meet-the-spellers
