9-year-old Tucson speller heads to state bee

9-year-old Artharva Bomman is one of two Pima County students who will be heading to the 2026 Arizona State Spelling Bee this weekend.

Bomman, a fourth grader from Legacy Traditional School, and Bryant Banzhaf, a seventh-grader from Marana Middle School, will compete for the title of state champion on Saturday, March 21.

The competition will determine which of the state’s top 28 spellers will represent Arizona at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

This is Bomman’s first state spelling bee, and when asked, he said he was both excited and nervous.

To prepare for the spelling bee, he said he practices at home with online word games.

“I do have flashcards, but I do most of it on online stuff, like apps, like ‘Word Club,’” Bomman said. “By practicing my words with my friend, I learned the longest word in the dictionary, Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.”

And he has a trick to remember it.

“It’s just combining from a lot of words, like pneumonia, ultra, microscopic silica, volcano and cone.”

Spelling bees can be a lot of pressure, especially the state spelling bee, but to handle his nerves on stage, Bomman said he reminds himself to “just breathe.”

When asked how he would celebrate winning the state competition if he wins on Saturday, Bomman said he didn’t know yet, but he would definitely celebrate the occasion.