At the first national spelling bee, in 1925, only nine spellers competed for the title. This year, there are 281 spellers at the national bee.
Want some more facts about the spellers? Here are a few:
- 27 percent of this year's spellers are repeat performers, or are related to someone who has been to the Bee before.
- English is not the first language of 34 spellers.
- There are 169 spellers who speak a language other than English at home.
For more numbers, check out our statistics page.