Zaila Avant-garde facts for kids

Zaila Avant-garde is an amazing American talent. She is a champion speller, a skilled basketball player, and a fantastic juggler. In 2021, she won the Scripps National Spelling Bee. This made her the first African-American contestant to win the competition. She was also the second Black winner overall, after Jamaica's Jody-Anne Maxwell.

About Zaila Avant-garde

Zaila Avant-garde was born in Harvey, Louisiana. Her parents are Alma Heard and Jawara Spacetime. Her father chose her last name to honor the famous musician John Coltrane. Zaila looks up to many inspiring people. She has mentioned Malala Yousafzai, Serena Williams, and Coco Gauff as her heroes. In basketball, she admires players like Stephen Curry, James Harden, Diana Taurasi, Kevin Durant, and Maya Moore.

Becoming a Spelling Bee Champion

Zaila first reached the national level in the 2019 Bee. To prepare for the competition, she used a special study tool called SpellPundit. With this, she learned about 12,000 words every day! Her coach was Cole Shafer-Ray, who had been a Scripps finalist himself. He also coached the runner-up, Chaitra Thummala.

In the 2021 competition, Zaila won the top prize. She correctly spelled the word "Murraya" to become the champion. Winning first place came with $50,000 in cash and other prizes. Because of the pandemic, only 11 finalists competed in person that year. The final session was very quick, lasting less than two hours. Zaila made history as the first African-American contestant to win the bee. Before her, MacNolia Cox was the first African-American contestant to reach the final stage in the 1936 Bee.

Zaila's Basketball Skills

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.

Zaila is a very talented basketball player. She is considered one of the best young players in the US for her age group (class of 2026). Basketball is very important to her. She even holds three Guinness World Records related to basketball, and shares another one! Her parents gave her a Guinness World Records book for her eighth birthday. This gift inspired her to try and break records herself.

On November 14, 2019, Zaila broke her first record. She achieved 231 bounce juggles in one minute using three basketballs. On the same day, she set another record. She made 307 bounces with four basketballs in just 30 seconds. Later, on November 2, 2020, she set a new record. She completed 255 bounce juggles in one minute, this time using four basketballs. She also shares a record for dribbling the most basketballs at once. On January 26, 2021, she dribbled six basketballs, matching a record set by Joseph Odhiambo in August 2000.

Juggling and Unicycling

Besides spelling and basketball, Zaila is also an amazing juggler. In 2020, she won a silver medal at the International Jugglers' Association championship. This was in the Juniors Division, for people 18 years old and younger. She is also very good at riding a unicycle. What's even more impressive is that she can juggle while riding her unicycle at the same time!