Nationwide spelling bee runner-up displays on competitors and shifting to Texas

Chaitra Thummala has had a busy summer between moving across half the country and competing in a national spelling bee.

The 12-year-old finished second in the Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals last week, took home a cash prize of $ 25,000, and was ready to be the favorite for the competition next year.

Chaitra’s family moved from San Francisco to Frisco in the middle of their spelling run. The new Texan started taking part in spelling bees at the age of 5 when her first win piqued her interest.

“I’ve been spelling for more than half of my life, so I’m really happy because it has always been my dream to get that far,” said Chaitra about reaching the national finals.

Previously, she finished 51st at the Scripps National Spelling Bee 2019 and is happy about her second place at this year’s event. Zaila Avantgarde, an eighth grader from Louisiana, won the bee in 2021 after correctly spelling “murraya”.

Like many spellers, Chaitra was unable to compete last year because the competition was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Chaitra studied and prepared not only for the national bee, but also for several other smaller competitions. With each bee, the words get harder, which leads to a lot of learning. Chaitra’s strategy is to go through word lists and read books, her favorite series being Harry Potter by author JK Rowling.

“It’s fun to learn everything,” she said. “The spelling bee tells you about many things around the world.”

While Chaitra was preparing for the national competition, her family was preparing for the move. She made sure she had enough time to spell the bees prep in between packs.

While looking for a bigger home for their three children, Chaitra’s father Murali Thummala said the family settled in Texas, which also has no state income tax. The family has settled in well in their new home, and Thummala said he likes Texas, even if it’s a little sunnier than California.

Chaitra’s recent move meant five of the eleven finalists in the National Spelling Bee were from Texas.

Thummala and his wife couldn’t be happier for Chaitra. The prize money is saved for their college fund.

“We expected her to be in the top five, and we’re grateful that she made it into the top two,” he said.

Chaitra said she will compete with different bees all year round and have her eyes on the national competition again. Her favorite thing about the whole experience was having fun and learning as many words as possible.

“It’s really good,” she said. “It feels really good to be second.”

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