CNN
–
History was made Thursday night when Harini Logan, 14, won his first-ever spell in the 2022 National Scripps Spelling Championship.
The San Antonio, Texas native received a trophy and a $50,000 check.
Harini came face-to-face with Vikram Raju, 12, in Spell, a formula that tested contestants on how many words they could spell correctly within 90 seconds.
Harini spelled 21 out of 26 words correctly, while Vikram got 15 out of 19 words right.
“I honestly think it’s surreal, it’s my fourth time at The Bee,” said Harini, holding the trophy. “This is a dream, this is my fourth bee and I’m overwhelmed with it.”
Of the first ever spell, Harini said, “At first I was a little uncomfortable and decided to take it… I just had to take a deep breath and tell myself to go in there and do my best and whatever happens, happens.”
Spelling Bee, which features elementary and middle school students spelling words that would cause most adults to stumble, had a turbulent few years.
Because of Covid-19, the competition has been canceled in 2020 – a big change for what has been billed as the country’s largest and longest-running educational program. (The National Spelling Bee was launched in 1925.)
The bee came back last year, but with a few changes. The event featured three completed rounds virtually, rather than in person, with 209 contestants — down from 562 contestants in 2019. The finals were then held in person at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida, rather than at National Harbor in Maryland, where the event was usually held in Last few years.
Although pre-pandemic numbers remain low, this year he started with 234 riders, up from last year. who started, only 12 Participate in the final competition Thursday.
Another big change this year was Bee’s TV broadcast. Despite nearly three decades on ESPN, the contest has been broadcast on ION and Bounce. ESPN has been the home of Scripps National Spelling Bee since 1994, longer than any of the current contestants have been alive.
The preliminary rounds began on Tuesday, while the quarter-finals and semi-finals were held on Wednesday.
This year he hosted Livar Burton. The Emmy and Grammy winner hosted the semi-finals and final of the event.
In a statement in December, Burton called the position an “honour.”
“Like so many people, I look forward to competing every year and am excited to be part of this wonderful tradition that celebrates excellence,” he said.
.