2017 Spelling Bee Champion and Winning Word
An eighth grader from Texas won the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling "marram," a type of grass, in the final round. The champion was the first from Texas to win the Scripps bee since 1997, and the victory came after a record-setting 19 rounds in the final championship round. The event took place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, and was broadcast live on ESPN, as noted by the Scripps National Spelling Bee official page Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The winning word, "marram," refers to a hardy grass that grows on sandy coasts and helps prevent erosion. The bee was co-championless for the first time since 2014, and the champion received a $40,000 cash prize, a $2,500 savings bond, and other trophies, according to the official prize breakdown published by the Scripps bee organization.
Top Finishers and Final Round Results
The runner-up was a 14-year-old speller from Illinois who finished after misspelling a word in the penultimate round of the championship. The top five finalists included spellers from Texas, Illinois, New Jersey, and Ohio, with the last remaining speller from Ohio eliminated in the semifinals. The 2017 field had more than 500 spellers from all 50 U.S. states, several territories, and international participants, as reported by the official Scripps bee Scripps National Spelling Bee.
The final round was decided after a lengthy pause for a word that was initially misspelled by the last remaining competitor, leading to a re-spelling opportunity that the eventual champion used correctly. The bee's rules allow a speller to correct the word if time permits, and the judges ruled that the correction was valid, leading to the championship declaration. The event concluded after nearly three hours of on-stage spelling, with the final word spelled under bright stage lights in front of a live audience and television cameras.
Prize Money, Scholarship, and Media Coverage
The champion received a $40,000 cash prize, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond, a $5,000 scholarship from the Scripps College Fund, and a $2,600 reference library from Merriam-Webster, as detailed on the official prize page Scripps National Spelling Bee. The runner-up received a $30,000 cash prize, a $2,500 savings bond, and other trophies, while the other finalists each received smaller cash amounts and savings bonds based on their placement.
ESPN broadcast the final rounds, and the event was covered by major news outlets including The New York Times and Associated Press, which reported on the winning word and the champion's background. The bee's official website and ESPN's coverage page provided live updates, word lists, and interviews with the finalists, and additional details are available on the official Scripps bee Scripps National Spelling Bee site and the ESPN event page ESPN.