Amara Chepuri, a sixth-grader from Manatee County, Florida, won the Tampa Bay regional spelling bee. However, a controversy erupted regarding her eligibility, and the runner-up, Vlada Kozhevnikova, was sent to the national competition instead.
The dispute centers on the interpretation of rules regarding the exhaustion of the word list during the school-level bee. Amara’s teacher indicated a tiebreaker would occur if the list was exhausted; but it was not, and she felt the rule wasn't followed. Amara's family maintains that the school did not exhaust the list as agreed upon. After this, she participated in a homeschool co-op bee and won, advancing to the regional bee, which she then won, but was declared ineligible due to her participation in this other bee.
The Chepuri family contends Amara was never officially disqualified from her school bee since she appealed the decision and was not given a hearing prior to the regional competition deadline. They argue this means she should have been eligible to participate through another qualifying event, a claim that Scripps National Spelling Bee strongly disputes.
Scripps officials state they've reviewed the situation and maintain their decision. They emphasize that a speller disqualified at any level of the regional bee may not seek advancement through another regional partner or school.
The Chepuri family has pursued legal counsel, appealed to various organizations, and is considering court-ordered mediation. Amara, initially enthusiastic about the possibility of being Florida's third consecutive national spelling bee winner, is now disillusioned. Her father aims to use this experience to advocate for changes to ensure similar situations are prevented in the future.