DARIEN, CT — The Connecticut Spelling Bee will return to West Hartford on Sunday, March 3, and a student from Darien will participate in the seventh annual event.

The student, who is from Middlesex Middle School, will compete with other students from around Connecticut to represent the state at the 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee from May 26 through May 31 at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in Port Washington, Md.

The top CT speller on March 3 will also receive a $1,000 scholarship to the Univerity of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, the site of this year’s competition. Doors will open to the event at 12:30 p.m. on March 3 at the Hoffman Auditorium at the University of Saint Joseph, located at 1678 Asylum Ave. in West Hartford.

The spelling bee will begin at 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Students who have made it to The Connecticut Spelling Bee have already won their school or townwide spelling bees, a news release said. In some cases, that means being the top speller out of as many as 1,200 students.

Over 10,000 Connecticut students in grades 2-8 participated in the spelling bee program this year. Out of that number, 57 are eligible to move on to The Connecticut Spelling Bee.

This makes 2024 the most competitive Connecticut Spelling Bee in recent history, a number that continues to grow each year.

“As Connecticut’s official sponsor of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the Noah Webster House is proud to present The Connecticut Spelling Bee to students from all across the state and we eagerly await this year’s competition,” said Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society Executive Director Jeffrey Mainville, in a news release.

West Hartford is the hometown of Noah Webster, the father of the American Dictionary.

“The students who made it this far are inspiring and we look forward to a spirited showdown,” Mainville added.