VA Students To Compete In 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee

Eleven young spellers from Virginia are headed to historic Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., later this month for what amounts to the Olympics for kids who casually know the linguistic roots of obscure words.

The annual Scripps Spelling Bee begins with preliminary rounds on Tuesday, May 26, and concludes on Thursday, May 28, with the final round. The 101st spelling bee features 247 spellers from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Department of Defense Schools in Europe.

Spellers from Virginia are:

• Layla Barrett, 14, an 8th grader from Chatham Middle School, Pittsylvania County
• Israel Mensah, 9, a 4th grader from Stafford Elementary School, Stafford County
• Kitcha Shankar, 12, a 7th grader from Thomas Harrison Middle School, Harrisonburg
• Dhiya Sudhakar, 11, a 6th grader from Gum Spring Middle School, Loudoun County
• Viky Tanamala, 11, a 6th grader from Belmont Ridge Middle School, Loudoun County
• Siya Sampath, 12, a 7th grader from Ronald W. Reagan Middle School, Prince William County
• Laasya Mohan, 10, a 4th grader from Floris Elementary School, Fairfax County
• Aadhya Vijayakumar, 13, an 8th grader from Rocky Run Middle School, Fairfax County
• Suhani Joshi, 14, an 8th grader from Hampton Roads Academy, Newport News
• Ashvin Pinnamaraju, 11, a 6th grader from Cave Spring Middle School, Roanoke County
• Taran Shivkumar, 14, an 8th grader from George H. Moody Middle School, Henrico County

ION is the official television home and primary national broadcaster of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

ION, a free channel on most cable, satellite and streaming platforms, will broadcast the semifinals and finals beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern on May 27 and May 28.

By the time spellers reach the nationals, they’ve already survived classroom bees, school bees, district bees, county bees, regionals, and state-level competitions just to earn a seat under the lights at the national landmark concert hall.

Past spellers have been tripped up in the final round by such words as “gomphosis,” the specialized fibrous joint that anchors and holds your teeth in place within the jawbone; “tauromachian,” the art, practice, or technique of bullfighting; and “pyrrolidone.”

Words in the final round are especially difficult because they come from many rare and complex language origins, including Welsh, Yiddish, German, Sanskrit, and Nahuatl. Contestants must understand spelling patterns from multiple languages, many of which include silent letters and unusual pronunciations that do not match English spelling rules. They often contain unpredictable vowel combinations and complicated consonant patterns that make them challenging to hear and spell correctly.

In addition, many words in the final round come from scientific taxonomy, medicine, music, or botany, exposing spellers to highly specialized vocabulary with obscure meanings. French spellings, as well as Greek and Latin roots, add another layer of difficulty because they include accents, silent endings, and unfamiliar letter arrangements.

To prepare for the rigorous competition ahead, spellers are handed a 4,000-word study guide along with a cautionary reminder that the competition will “often end with words you haven’t studied.”

The format itself is ruthless, including spelling, vocabulary rounds and written rounds, and the possibility of a 90-second spell-off to decide ties in the final round.