The 2025 Eastern Shore Regional Spelling Bee will be held March 1 at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore campus.

The best spellers from public and private elementary and middle schools in Dorchester, Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties convene annually at UMES on the first Saturday of March for a regional competition where the winner qualifies for the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Opening in 1973, and later dedicated in 1974, the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts is a 1,167-seat venue that offers the spellers a sense of what to expect at the national competition in Washington, D.C.

UMES has sponsored the free event since 2013, save for 2021, due to the COVID pandemic.

The winner receives a keepsake medallion and an all-expense paid trip to the nation’s capital in late May to compete with top spellers nationally.

Since its inception, the regional spelling bee has provided students in grades three through eight with an opportunity to showcase their spelling and vocabulary skills – with one getting the chance of a lifetime opportunity to compete on national television for the right to be called the country’s best speller.

Registration for school champions or homeschoolers is open at spellingbee.com along with resources to prepare for the Bee.

*In the case of inclement weather, updates and information for spellers will be posted on this page.

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