Zaila Avant-garde

Last updated
Zaila Avant-garde
Born (2007-02-09) February 9, 2007 (age 16)
Harvey, Louisiana, United States
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s) Speller, basketball player, juggler

Zaila Avant-garde (born February 9, 2007) is an American speller, basketball player, and juggler. She won the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee. She is the first African-American contestant to win the bee and is the second Black winner, after Jamaica's Jody-Anne Maxwell. [1]

Contents

Life

Avant-garde was born on February 9, 2007, in Harvey, Louisiana, the daughter of Alma Heard and Jawara Spacetime. Her father chose her last name to honor John Coltrane. [1] She has cited Malala Yousafzai, Serena Williams, and Coco Gauff as inspirations. [2] Her basketball heroes include Stephen Curry, James Harden, Diana Taurasi, Kevin Durant and Maya Moore. [3]

Spelling bee

Avant-garde reached the national level in the 2019 Bee. She used a study resource called SpellPundit to learn about 12,000 words per day. Her coach was former Scripps finalist, Cole Shafer-Ray, who also coached the runner-up, Chaitra Thummala. [1] In the 2021 competition, she won the title by correctly spelling "Murraya". The first place comes with $50,000 in cash and prizes. Due to pandemic concerns, only the 11 finalists competed in person, in a session that took fewer than 2 hours. [1] [4] She is the first African-American contestant to win the competition. Before her, MacNolia Cox became the first African-American contestant to reach the final stage in the 1936 Bee. [5]

Basketball

Basketball, I'm not just playing it... I'm really trying to go somewhere with it. Basketball is what I do. Spelling is really a side thing I do. It's like a little hors d'oeuvre. But basketball's like the main dish. [6]

— Zaila Avant-garde

She is one of the top class of 2026 basketball prospects in the US. [7] Avant-garde is the holder of three basketball Guinness World Records and co-holder of another. Her parents gave her a copy of the Guinness book for her eighth birthday, which triggered her ambition. [6]

On November 14, 2019, she broke her first record, for most bounce juggles in one minute (three basketballs) at 231. [2] That day she also set the record for most bounces of four basketballs in 30 seconds (307). On November 2, 2020, she set the record for most bounce juggles in one minute, using four basketballs (255). She is the co-holder of the record for most basketballs dribbled at one time (six)—set on Jan. 26, 2021 (equalling Joseph Odhiambo's August 2000 record). [8]

Juggling

Avant-garde was the silver medalist at the International Jugglers' Association 2020 championship in the Juniors Division (18U). She is an elite unicyclist and can juggle and cycle simultaneously. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spelling bee</span> Competition

A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite them accordingly.

<i>Murraya</i> Genus of flowering plants

Murraya is a genus of flowering plants in the citrus family, Rutaceae. It is distributed in Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. The center of diversity is in southern China and Southeast Asia. When broadly circumscribed, the genus has about 17 species. A narrower circumscription contains only eight species, others being placed in Bergera and Merrillia.

<i>Spellbound</i> (2002 film) 2002 American documentary film

Spellbound is a 2002 American documentary that was directed by Jeffrey Blitz. The film follows eight competitors in the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee. The film received positive reviews and won several awards, including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Avant-garde refers to a style in experimental work in art, music, culture, or politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Annual spelling bee held in the United States

The Scripps National Spelling Bee is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company and is held at a hotel or convention center in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area during the week following Memorial Day weekend. Since 2011, it has been held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center hotel in National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, just outside Washington D.C. It was previously held at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington D.C. from 1996 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">85th Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 2012

The 85th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Gaylord National, in Oxon Hill, Maryland from May 27 to May 31, 2012, and was broadcast live on ESPN3. The championship finals occurred on May 31, 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">86th Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 2013

The 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held from May 28 to May 30, 2013 at the Gaylord National in Oxon Hill, Maryland and was broadcast live on ESPN3, ESPN2, and ESPN. For the first time, the competition included a vocabulary quiz in addition to the usual spelling challenge. Arvind Mahankali of Bayside, New York won the competition and received the $30,000 grand prize. Including local feeder tournaments, an estimated 11 million children participated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">26th Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 1953

The 26th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, District of Columbia on May 21, 1953, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.

The 76th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held on May 28–29, 2003, in Washington D.C.

The 74th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 29–31, 2001, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.

The 72nd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on June 2–3, 1999, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.

The 70th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C., on May 28–29, 1997, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">68th Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 1995

The 68th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held on May 31 and June 1, 1995, at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">52nd Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 1979

The 52nd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C., on June 6–7, 1979, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">39th Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 1966

The 39th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held in Washington, D.C. in June 1966, sponsored by the E.W. Scripps Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">90th Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 2017

The 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, United States from May 30 to June 1, 2017, with "Bee Week" events running for spellers between May 28 and June 3, and televised coverage on May 31 and June 1. Ananya Vinay, 12, won the competition by successfully spelling "marocain" in the final round. In fact, she made history as she had placed 172nd place in the 2016 Scripps National Spelling Bee, and then she won the 2017 edition. There is a remarkable moment when Shourav Dasari correctly spelled "Mogollon" in five seconds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 2021

The 93rd Scripps National Spelling Bee was held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Bay Lake, Florida. The finals were held on July 8, 2021, and televised on ESPN2 and ESPN. It was won by Zaila Avant-garde, the first African American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and the second black person to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">94th Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling bee held in the United States in 2022

The 94th Scripps National Spelling Bee was a spelling bee that was held at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland. The finals were held on June 2, 2022, and televised on Ion Television and Bounce TV, marking the first time in 27 years that the Bee was not televised on an ESPN network. The winner of the bee was Harini Logan, an 8th–grade girl from San Antonio, Texas, who won with 22 words spelt correctly during the Bee's first spell-off round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">95th Scripps National Spelling Bee</span> Spelling Bee competition held in the United States in 2023

The 95th Scripps National Spelling Bee was a spelling bee competition that was held at Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Louisiana teen Zaila Avant-garde correctly spells 'murraya' to win Scripps National Spelling Bee". ESPN. July 8, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "How a 13-year-old basketball player from Louisiana is inspiring young girls everywhere". Guinness World Records. 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  3. ↑ Gleeson, Scott. "Spelling bee champ Zaila Avant-garde is basketball whiz — and Guinness World Record holder". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  4. ↑ Jones-Smith, Sarah (July 9, 2021). "Zaila Avant-garde won the national spelling bee, but that wasn't her first real victory". Andscape . Retrieved 2021-07-21.
  5. ↑ Cramer, Maria; Petri, Alexandra E. (2021-07-11). "Behind Zaila Avant-garde's Win, a History of Struggle for Black Spellers". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  6. 1 2 WELLS, CARLIE KOLLATH (9 July 2021). "Zaila Avant-garde won the national spelling bee, but basketball is 'what I do.' Watch her moves. From a young age, she always lived basketball". NOLA.com. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  7. 1 2 "Meet Zaila Avant-garde, 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee champion, multiple Guinness World Records holder and basketball prodigy". ESPN.com. 2021-07-09. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  8. ↑ "Does Zaila Avant-garde Hold Basketball-Related Guinness World Records?". Snopes.com. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
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