ATLANTA –– They came from all corners of state: Walker, Chattooga, Forsyth, Cobb, DeKalb, Gwinnett, Atlanta (City), Fulton, Henry, Rockdale, Muscogee, Bibb, Columbia, Montgomery, Cook, Randolph, and Bryan counties. Twenty spellers ranging from 9 to 14 years old, from 4th through 8th grades, all came with the same goal in mind — becoming Georgia’s next spelling champion.
After over 275 words over 14 rounds (including vocabulary), 11 year old, 5th grader Sarv Dharavane from Austin Elementary in DeKalb County emerged as the winner of the 64th Annual Georgia Association of Educators (GAE) State Spelling Bee. This was Sarv's second straight year as Georgia's Spelling Champion. He, along with runner-up, 12-year-old, 7th grader Sara Daoud from Greenbrier Middle School in Columbia County, will both represent Georgia in the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championships in National Harbor, Maryland, May 26-30, 2025.
In the 14th round, after Sara misspelled the word "Epauliere," Sarv correctly spelled the next two words, "Berghaan" and "Compas," to become the state spelling champion for the second consecutive year.
Sarv said, “When I received the word Compas, my mind flipped through the dictionary. About 50 options came to mind. But after asking for the appropriate information, I began spelling and the next thing I heard was "that is correct" and I couldn't believe it! I'm sure these next two months will fly by!"
Sara, for her part, said, “I am very excited because I have never done anything like this before! I think it will be a great experience and I'm probably going to try to read the whole dictionary to prepare."
GAE President Lisa Morgan said, “Congratulations to both Sarv and Sara and all of these great young spellers. It is a joy to see how far they’ve come and the self-confidence they’ve exhibited in handling the pressure and competition. We, of course, wish the best of luck to our two spellers and their families as they travel to Maryland and the national championship.”
Sarv and Sara received first and second place trophies, respectively. Both received an al-expenses-paid trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee and $1,000 (GAE), an Apple iPad Mini (Horace Mann Insurance Companies), a $50 gift card (Best Buy of Cumming, GA), an online subscription dictionary (Merriam-Webster), a one-year online subscription (Encyclopaedia Britannica), one 2025 U.S. Mint Proof Set (Samuel L. Sugarman Award) and a GAE Bee Champion lapel pin.
All contestants received a GAE State Bee participant lapel pin.
View contest pics at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gaecomm/albums/72177720324488359
Individual photos available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gaecomm/albums/72177720324415077
Winning video at: https://youtu.be/f1fyQLRIbLY
