Ananya spells marocain correctly to win the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Ananya Vinay, speller #264, of Fresno, CA is the champion of the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Finalists who were no longer in the competition were invited to sit on stage to watch the Championship Finals.

The 2017 Scripps Spelling Bee champion is Ananya Vinay of Fresno, CA.  Ananya was letter-perfect through 34 rounds. The winning word was marocain, a ribbed crepe fabric used in women’s clothing.

Congratulations also to Rohan Rajeev, an eighth grader from OK, who was the runner-up in this year’s Bee.

Interview for WLKY.

So happy to have my family’s support and love.

Anxious before the start of the Finals this morning.

The Finals started this morning at 10:00 a.m. with 40 spellers.  Rounds 4-7 were tough and the words got progressively harder. At the end of Round 7, 15 spellers remained and will continue to spell tonight in the Championship Finals. I missed my Round 6 word, “piatti,” the Italian word for cymbals. My final ranking this year is 18 – a slight improvement over last year’s 22nd.

The best part of this morning was sitting near some AWESOME people who made me smile and feel more relaxed on stage. Thank you Siyona, Shourav, Jashun, Alex, and Naysa.

Good luck to all of the remaining Finalists!

Speller information is displayed on a big screen while the speller takes his/her word.

The onstage portion of the Spelling Bee is exciting and nerve-wracking!

Many spellers gave interviews shortly after the Finalists were announced.

Congratulations to the 40 Finalists!

My dad spends a lot of time helping me to succeed in the Bee; thanks Daddy!

Hello everyone! Round 2 of the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee commenced this morning. The round started with 291 spellers and ended with 259 spellers. A total of 32 spellers missed their words in this round and were eliminated from the competition. In Round 3, 71 spellers incorrectly spelled their words which left a total of 188 spellers in the competition.

In Round 2, I correctly spelled miniver, a white fur worn by medieval nobles and used chiefly for robes of state.  In Round 3, I correctly spelled Guamanian, which means “of or related to the inhabitants of Guam.”

Up to fifty spellers with the highest scores through Round 3 move onto the Finals which occur tomorrow morning and end in the evening. I was ecstatic when my name was announced to be one of 40 Finalists!

Congratulations to all the other Finalists in the Bee and good luck!

Spellers getting ready for Round 1 – a challenging written spelling and vocabulary test.

Deep breath, relax, and pray!

Tense moments before the start of the Preliminaries Test as Corrie Loeffler gives final instructions.

Round 1 of the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee commenced today with the Preliminaries Written Test. The test contained 12 spelling words worth one point each and 12 vocabulary words also worth one point each. There were an additional two vocabulary words worth 3 points each – one of these words came from a study list provided by the Bee while the other one came from the dictionary. The total number of points that can be accrued in Round 1 is 30. As soon the written test becomes available, I will be sure to post it so you can test your spelling and vocabulary knowledge!

The onstage rounds start tomorrow morning; each of the words in Round 2 and Round 3 is worth 3 points each. If a speller misses onstage, he/she is eliminated from the competition. Up to fifty spellers with the most number of points after Round 3 move on to the Finals which are on Thursday. Finalists will be announced after Round 3 tomorrow evening.

Opening Ceremony of the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Making new friends is the BEST part of Bee Week!

The Memorial Day Barbecue this year was held at Nationals Park.

Nationals Park was the perfect place for the Memorial Day Barbecue!

Posing with George Washington was fun!

Round 1 commences tomorrow; it consists of a written spelling and vocabulary test.

There were many activities to keep the spellers and their families busy!

Dancing was a popular activity with the spellers.

It was exciting to able to see all the spellers’ pictures on the jumbotron at Nationals Park!

Today spellers and their families were treated to a Memorial Day barbecue at Nationals Park, home to the Washington Nationals baseball team and it was quite a thrilling experience! We enjoyed face painting, batting cages, crafts, and inflatables and got a chance to interact with many other families. The Nationals team mascots, “Screech,” “George,” and “Abe” were also there and many spellers did not miss the opportunity to take some “spellfies” with them. This was also a great opportunity to meet other spellers and collect more autographs in my Bee Keeper.

At the Opening Ceremony this evening, we were introduced to Scripps Spelling Bee staff, volunteers, and Bee officials including the pronouncer, Dr. Jacques Bailly, and the head judge, Mrs. Mary Brooks. Tomorrow is the first official day of competition; it begins in the morning with the preliminary written exam (Round 1). On Wednesday, Round 2 and Round 3 will take place on stage.

Good luck to all the spellers competing in the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee!

Kindle is the presenting sponsor of the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee and all the spellers recieved a Kindle Paperwhite today!

The National Spelling Bee is held at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor.

The Bee Keeper contains profiles of all the spellers and National Spelling Bee staff and volunteers.

Getting autographs in their Bee Keepers is a favorite activity for many spellers.

The spellers competing in the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee have all arrived in Washington D.C.!

Bee Week officially kicked off today with a Spellebrity Welcome in which spellers received their “swag bags” and a special gift from Kindle, the presenting sponsor of the Bee.  This was my first opportunity to meet the other spellers and it was so much fun! I saw many familiar faces and many more new faces. Of course, the most exciting part of the event was when I received my Bee Keeper, a picture book with interesting facts about each of the spellers. Each year I vow to collect every speller’s autograph in my Bee Keeper and each year, I fail miserably. However, this year, I am determined to meet all the spellers and get their autographs in my Bee Keeper.