Boston’s Best Spellers Celebrated at 17th Annual Citywide Spelling Bee

Saturday, March 15, 2025 - Family members, teachers, and friends were on hand today to support 24 Boston youth from across the City competing in Boston’s 17th annual BCYF Citywide Spelling Bee. Organized by Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF), the City of Boston’s largest youth and human service agency, and sponsored by the Boston Bruins Foundation, the winner, Sapna Malhota, now goes on to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in May.  

“Congratulations to all of our students who worked hard and made Boston proud at this year’s Bee,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “The City of Boston is honored to celebrate you. Congratulations to Sapna for this accomplishment and all of Boston will cheer you on as you represent our city in the national spelling bee in Washington D.C.”

Over 3,000 young people participated in Boston public and parochial school spelling bees to qualify for the BCYF Citywide Bee. The preparation helps young people improve their spelling, broaden their vocabulary, and build self-confidence. 

"The dedication and skill displayed by our spellers today were truly inspiring, and we're immensely proud of each participant,” said Marta E. Rivera, Commissioner of BCYF. “We’re deeply grateful to the Boston Bruins Foundation for their ongoing partnership in bringing this enriching experience to our city's youth. We extend our sincere thanks to Yusufi Vali, Sebastian Stockman, and Kate Hennigan for their invaluable time and support as judges. We'll be enthusiastically cheering on Sapna as she represents Boston at the National Bee."

Commissioner Rivera opened the speaking program and welcomed the spellers and their families. All spellers were given participation medals. The Bee was held in Rabb Hall at the Boston Public Library’s Copley Branch. Judges were Head Judge: Yusufi Vali, Deputy Chief of Staff, Boston Public Schools; Pronouncer: Sebastian Stockman; Professor of English, Northeastern University; and Records Judge: Kate Hennigan, Program Manager at Boston Centers for Youth & Families.

Sapna Malhotra, age 13, the winner of this year’s Bee, won by spelling "Senecio” correctly.  The second place finisher was Ruslana Roshchin, age 13, from Jamaica Plain and coming in third was Haylee Chen, age 11 from Brighton. The Bee went 16 rounds and one final and one championship round.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running spelling bee. This year’s Boston winner will now advance to compete in the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee.  The one and only national winner from Massachusetts was in 1939. In addition to the opportunity to advance to the National Bee, the BCYF Spelling Bee winner received the Samuel Louis Sugarman Award, a 2025 U.S. Mint Proof Set donated by Mr. Jay Sugarmann in honor of his father, a one-year subscription to Merriam-Webster Unabridged Online, a one-year subscription to Encyclopedia Britannica Online Premium, and a trophy. Second place and third place finishers received a $125 Amazon gift card and trophies. 

Participating Spellers:

Winning words from the previous years of the Bee:

Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) is the City of Boston’s largest youth and human service agency. BCYF operates community centers in Boston that offer a variety of engaging and enriching programs for people of all ages created through community input and need. BCYF also oversees many citywide programs.