2003

The 76th Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee took place on May 29th, 2003. It was held at the Grand Hyatt Washington, and 251 spellers participated.

Dr. Jacques Bailly became the Head Pronouncer in 2003, following the death of longtime pronouncer Dr. Alex Cameron.

Learn more

About the 76th Bee

Champion

Sai R. Gunturi

Dallas, Texas

Sai R. Gunturi, age 13, sponsored by The Dallas Morning News, won the $12,000 prize by correctly spelling the word “pococurante.”

Sai earned a degree in quantitative economics from Tufts University in 2011 and an MBA from Northwestern University in 2021. He is a consultant for Boston Consulting Group in Austin, Texas, and is the chief product officer of NovaNav, a service that helps providers improve the pre- and post-surgery experience for patients.

Location

Grand Hyatt Washington

at the Independence Ballroom

Winning Word

pococurante(adj)

poh-koh-kyuh-RAN-tee

not concerned : indifferent : nonchalant.

This word came from Italian, which formed it from a Latin word.

OFFICIALS

Directors

Paige P. Kimble

Judges

  • Mary Brooks
  • Dr. Sandra C. Harrell
  • Dr. Ed Low
  • Blake Giddens
  • Dr. Michelle M. Mehta

Pronouncers

  • Dr. Jacques Bailly
  • Dr. Brian Sietsema

SPELLER ROSTERS

  • Naomi Ahsan
  • Anjay V. Ajodha
  • Natalie G. Alexander
  • Chaitanya Allamneni
  • Nidharshan Subra Anandasivam
  • Dawn S. Anderson
  • Justine Victoria Arrington
  • Hari Senthil Arul
  • Daniel Christopher Avery
  • Stefan Christopher Aydt
  • Stephanie Baer
  • Joey L. Barnett
  • Grace Barron-Ott
  • Zachariah D. Basehore
  • Paul-Derek Basque
  • Robert V. Beck
  • Angela Rosemary Benton
  • Richard A. Benua
  • Zoey E. Best
  • Evelyn Diana Blacklock
  • Aubrey Diana Blanche
  • Chelsey Bohr
  • Alexander Hans Bohuray
  • Patrick Andrew Bond
  • Nathanael David Bonnell
  • Chloe L. Bordewich
  • Priyanka Saloni Bose
  • Hannah Rose Bradley
  • Sarah Brand
  • Luke Martin Breckenridge
  • John J. Brooks
  • Joshua A. Brophy
  • Benjamin M. Brown
  • Katie L. Brown
  • Holly E. Burdorff
  • Wesley Burton
  • Jose Antonio Cabal-Ugaz
  • Katherine Lee Caneba
  • Erik Zyman Carrasco
  • Sylvia D. Carroll
  • Caleb John Cassidy
  • Mary Beth Chapman
  • Vincent Yuchi Chen
  • Coburn Kirby Childs
  • Carla Chowpaknam
  • Jacob Wasin Chowpaknam
  • Kenneth Chowpaknam
  • Braden Boone Christian
  • Kaylyn Miranda Christopher
  • Marc Christian Chua
  • Erin M. Clendaniel
  • Katherine Close
  • Brenna Ann Cobb
  • Claudia Eileen Collins
  • Kristin Cummings
  • Samantha Evelyn Davis
  • Brittani Elizabeth Day
  • Patrick J. Delaney
  • Sean Dennison
  • James W. Derr
  • Jordan C. Dick
  • Devinne Marie Dietz
  • Jonathan Elliot Dodd
  • Shayne A. Douglass
  • Hannah Elizabeth Due
  • Amber Leigh Ebsch
  • Joey Felix Emmanuel
  • Racquel Kristina Enad
  • Dominic Ranz Ebarle Errazo
  • Matthew C. Ervin
  • Abigail R. Eustace
  • Olivia S. Fecteau
  • Cheslea Tyler Ferguson
  • Colin John Findley-Meier
  • Stacia Christine Firebaugh
  • Christopher Jordan Floyd
  • Lincoln Charles Fox
  • Alex French
  • An-Hoa Thi Giang
  • Jesse Kenneth Glanz
  • Ashwini Ashok Gokhale
  • JJ (Joy) Goldstein
  • Catherine Christine Gonzales
  • Elisa M. Gonzalez
  • Ramesh Govindan
  • Siri Grandhe
  • Chris Grinstead
  • Lynne Guey
  • Sai R. Gunturi
  • J. Hadad
  • Jonathan Isaac Hahn
  • Shana M. Hakanson
  • Nathan Hammes
  • Shazeen M. Harunani
  • Andrew Scott Harwell
  • Corey K. Hermanson
  • Gerrit Michael Herrygers
  • Kevin E. Hill
  • Shannon C. Hilsey
  • Aaron W. Ho
  • Kathryn Elaine Hocking
  • James Edward Honaker
  • Kyla Davis Horn
  • Heather Elaine Howell
  • Amy (Yawen) Hu
  • Juliana Marie Humphreys
  • Esther Hur
  • Jafar A. Hussain
  • Sana Ishrat Abdul Hye
  • Gracia Ingermanson
  • Jared Gimenez Inting
  • Eric Michael Iverson
  • Erin Maureen Jaeger
  • Bonny Jain
  • Carissa Chey James
  • David M. Jeffers
  • Ashleigh Nichole Johnson
  • Tom Kasmer
  • Frances Masani Kelemete
  • Michelle Alyssa Ker
  • Christine J. Kim
  • Claire E. Kim
  • Gavin Davis King
  • Melody Lynn Kuna
  • Jarrod N. Kunkel
  • Athena Louise Medrana Lao
  • Joshua H. Lee
  • Steven I. Lerner
  • Trevor J. Leslie
  • Karrson Lee Livingston
  • Joseph Francis Lynne
  • Justin D. Malina
  • Ashley Mae Mangalindan
  • Jonathan Mangar
  • Robert A. Marsland
  • Michael R. Martinez
  • Samantha Tan Mascia
  • Nina Sarah Mathew
  • Sydney Kathleen Matlock
  • Courtney Charles McIver Jr.
  • Trudy C. McLeary
  • Morgan Gabriel McMillon
  • Amar Asha Mehta
  • Tim Messina
  • Damian A. Metcalf
  • Catherine Miller
  • Eric Michael Milovac
  • John Minnich
  • Thomas Van Mirus
  • Shruti Mishra
  • Christian Michael Moore
  • Kelly Lynn Morckel
  • Brock N.L. Morgan
  • Jung Meng Mour
  • Kelsey Lynn Nagy
  • Croix Newson
  • Nicholas Van Nguyen
  • Molly Claire Nichols
  • Julia Noecker
  • Kayla E. Oliver
  • Suzanne Yvonne Ordway
  • Amber R. Orwens
  • Samir Sudhir Patel
  • Palak Patel
  • Phil Patrick
  • Marissa J. Patterson
  • Sarah Ann Payne
  • Cari Peacock
  • Charlie James Perkins
  • Emily Danielle Pfefer
  • Hudson Pierce
  • Alesha Lauren Polles
  • Bernice Puache Ponce de Leon
  • Umar Anwar Qadri
  • Grant Newton Raemmen
  • Alisha Diana Ramos
  • Ahmad Bilal Rana
  • Regina R. Reinig
  • Scott Reyes
  • Marie Naomi Richardson
  • Ben K. Riggins
  • John Daniel Rivara
  • Quay Kieran Roberts
  • Derek John Robertson
  • Alexis Faith Rollins
  • Niki Allison Rowe
  • Ainsley Paige Rynders
  • Nathaniel Jay Salazar
  • Joeanne M. Salise
  • Arul Sangani
  • Sammy Sarett
  • Emily Ann Saultz
  • Lucy Ellen Saunders-Pappentick
  • Emily K. Schindler
  • Kimberly Jean Schlesinger
  • Susanna B. Seibert
  • Nabeel A. Shakir
  • Ronald Brian Shaw
  • Katie E. Sheldon
  • Joe Shepherd
  • Bailey M. Shoemaker Richards
  • Christine E. Shoup
  • Tasha L. Silva
  • Destiny Faith Silvers
  • Georgia Suzanne Simonson
  • Jodie M. Singer
  • Benjamin T. Slaughter
  • Margaret Elaine Smeltzer
  • Samantha E. Smiley
  • Natasha Renee Smith
  • Jaydeep K. Srimani
  • Travis Lee Stephens
  • Daniel Austin Steward
  • Dana Jean Sukontarak
  • Sydney Aleksandra Summers
  • Kelsey L. Swaim
  • Keagan Macey Tafler
  • Michael A. Talanca
  • Thomas Alan Talbott
  • John Louis Tandy Tamplin
  • Rajiv Tarigopula
  • Sarah E. Tate
  • Pierre Nicholas Thompson
  • David Scott Tidmarsh
  • Rebecca Eve Tobet
  • Nino Joachim Tolentino
  • Jacob Bruce Trewartha
  • Nicholas James Truelson
  • Kyle L. Trujillo
  • Aqsa Ullah
  • Nektarios Vasilottos
  • Annika M. Verghese
  • Christopher D. Vickery
  • Andy Wade
  • Hannah Wakefield
  • Kanglei Wang
  • Jane Warunek
  • Bria Justine Wash
  • Kevin Joseph Weingartner
  • Cody Wendt
  • Coyt Andrew Westfall
  • Brianne A. Wicks
  • Will Wight
  • Nick A. Williams
  • Marshall Kelly Winchester
  • Yisrael Mordechai Witty
  • Thomas Woodby
  • Anne A. Ye
  • Jessica Michelle Young
  • Paul Yu
  • Jesse Zymet

* Winner
** Runner-Up