Tampa Bay-area students won the National Spelling Bee in both 2023 and 2024.
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay will once again represent at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, this year with the smarts of Pinellas County middle schooler Park Allen.
East Lake Middle School student Park Allen, 14, is one of 12 Florida kids taking part in this year’s spelling bee competition.
Currently in the eighth grade, Park has already racked up several academic accomplishments, including three medals at Science Olympiad and third place at the state Future Business Leaders of America competition.
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Outside of academics, Park enjoys playing soccer, basketball, piano, video games and watching Marvel movies. And, as his name may imply, he loves to go to parks and see nature.
Park’s favorite food is a Cuban sandwich, a fitting choice for a Tampa Bay-area student!
There are 247 young spellers competing in this year’s championship tournament. Park is being sponsored in the competition by the University of South Florida.
Tampa Bay is no stranger to the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Local students won the competition in both 2023 and 2024.
Largo’s Dev Shah was 14 years old when he won the National Spelling Bee in 2023. And Tampa’s Bruhat Soma was just 12 years old when he took home the title in 2024.
Here’s when and where you can watch the Spelling Bee championship on TV:
Preliminaries: 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., Tuesday, May 26, on Scripps SportsQuarterfinals: 8 a.m. – 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 27, on Scripps SportsSemifinals: 8-10 p.m., Wednesday, May 27, on Ion TelevisionFinals: 8-10 p.m., Thursday, May 28, on Ion Television