11 Spelling Bee Finalists Heading to Disney For Championship
Congratulations to the 11 spellers who have successfully advanced through the virtual rounds of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee! These amazing finalists will now advance to the championship match of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling bee on July 8th at Walt Disney World.
After completing the virtual portion of the competition, the final rounds of this year’s championship title are live and in person. The event is being hosted at Walt Disney World Resort inside the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and will be broadcast on ESPN2 at 8 p.m. ET.
The 2021 Finalists made it to where they are now by successfully completing the virtual competition phases of the National Spelling Bee listed below:
- The Preliminaries on June 12
- The Quarterfinals on June 15
- The Semifinals on June 27 – The 30 remaining spellers competed in three very suspenseful rounds:
- Two spelling rounds
- And a word meaning round
Dr. J. Michael Durnil, executive director of the Bee:
“We are honored to introduce our 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finalists. Round after round, this group of spellers proved their mettle, and we look forward to seeing them show off their knowledge and hard work as they square off against the dictionary on the national stage. Congratulations to all of this year’s 209 national qualifiers – they’ve persevered over a year that has been challenging in many ways, and our team is proud to have witnessed their journey.”
The 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finalists are:
- Roy Seligman, 12, from Nassau, The Bahamas. Sponsored by The Ministry of Education.
- Bhavana Madini, 13, from New York. Sponsored by NYC Regional Spelling Bee.
- Sreethan Gajula, 14, from Charlotte, North Carolina. Sponsored by the Carolina Panthers.
- Ashrita Gandhari, 14, from Leesburg, Virginia. Sponsored by Loudoun County Public Schools.
- Avani Joshi, 13, from Loves Park, Illinois. Sponsored by Boone-Winnebago Regional Office of Education.
- Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans. Sponsored by New Orleans Chapter of The Links.
- Vivinsha Veduru, 10, from Fort Worth, Texas. Sponsored by Texas Christian University.
- Dhroov Bharatia, 12, from Dallas. Sponsored by Dallas Sports Commission.
- Vihaan Sibal, 12, from Waco, Texas. Sponsored by Rapoport Holdings, LLC.
- Akshainie Kamma, 13, from Austin, Texas. Sponsored by West Austin Chamber of Commerce.
- Chaitra Thummala, 12, from San Francisco. Sponsored by Bay Area Regional Spelling Bee.
If a spell-off is needed during the in-person Finals on July 8, it will be activated during the closing minutes of the competition. This will only occur if a champion has not yet been declared in a traditional, one-person, one-word round.
The champion of the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee receives the following:
- $50,000 cash prize
- Commemorative medal and the Scripps Cup, the official championship trophy of the Scripps National Spelling Bee
- $2,500 cash prize and reference library from the Bee’s dictionary partner Merriam-Webster
- $400 of reference works, including a 1768 Encyclopedia Britannica Replica Set
- A three-year membership to Britannica Online Premium
Unfortunately, due to the constraints of our country still emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic the in-person portion of the competition at ESPN Wide World of Sports will not be open to spectators.
2021 is the first time that the Scripps National Spelling Bee is offering audiences to view special events including the upcoming pre-show for the Finals on Thursday, July 8, at 7:30 p.m., and the awards ceremony on Sunday, July 11, at 3 p.m.
Audiences can access these livestreams, as well as past virtual events such as the opening ceremony and a presentation from the Bee’s dictionary partner Merriam-Webster, on Facebook and YouTube. More information is available at spellingbee.com.
Find more information and meet the 11 Finalists competing for this year’s title at spellingbee.com. Follow all the action leading up to and during the Finals on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Photos from the Semifinals and Finals will be available on the Scripps National Spelling Bee’s official Flickr page at flickr.com/scrippsbee/.
Spelling Bee Disney Championship Credit: The E.W. Scripps Company
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