diff --git a/frontend/src/lib/hooks/useApi.ts b/frontend/src/lib/hooks/useApi.ts
index 3c01996a..a0230eba 100644
--- a/frontend/src/lib/hooks/useApi.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/lib/hooks/useApi.ts
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import { useCallback, useState } from "react";
+import { useCallback, useRef, useState } from "react";
 import { useNavigate } from "react-router-dom";
 
 type Fetcher<T, Args extends unknown[]> = (...args: Args) => Promise<T>;
@@ -52,22 +52,35 @@ export const defaultRedirectMap: Record<number, string> = {
 export function fetcherApiCallback<T, Args extends unknown[]>(
   fetcher: Fetcher<T, Args>,
   redirectMap: Record<number, string> = defaultRedirectMap,
-  { initialLoading = true }: { initialLoading?: boolean } = {},
+  {
+    loadingGracePeriodMs = 0,
+  }: { loadingGracePeriodMs?: number } = {},
 ) {
   const navigate = useNavigate(); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
   const [data, setData] = useState<T | null>(null); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
   const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
   const [errorStatus, setErrorStatus] = useState<number | null>(null); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
-  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(initialLoading); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
+  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
+  const [hasLoaded, setHasLoaded] = useState(false); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
+  const graceTimerRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null); // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
 
   const call = useCallback( // eslint-disable-line react-hooks/rules-of-hooks
     async (...params: Args) => {
-      setLoading(true);
-
       // reset error and status for incoming data
       setError(null);
       setErrorStatus(null);
 
+      // If grace period is set, delay showing the spinner.
+      // If data arrives before the timer fires, the spinner never appears.
+      if (loadingGracePeriodMs > 0) {
+        if (graceTimerRef.current) clearTimeout(graceTimerRef.current);
+        graceTimerRef.current = setTimeout(() => {
+          setLoading(true);
+        }, loadingGracePeriodMs);
+      } else {
+        setLoading(true);
+      }
+
       try {
         const result = await fetcher(...params);
         setData(result);
@@ -91,13 +104,19 @@ export function fetcherApiCallback<T, Args extends unknown[]>(
           navigate(redirectPath);
         }
       } finally {
+        // Cancel grace timer if data arrived before it fired
+        if (graceTimerRef.current) {
+          clearTimeout(graceTimerRef.current);
+          graceTimerRef.current = null;
+        }
         // notice navigate() is non-blocking, React will still complete the current
         // render/update cycle unless the route changes synchronously.
         setLoading(false);
+        setHasLoaded(true);
       }
     },
-    [fetcher, navigate, redirectMap],
+    [fetcher, navigate, redirectMap, loadingGracePeriodMs],
   );
 
-  return { data, error, errorStatus, loading, call };
+  return { data, error, errorStatus, loading, hasLoaded, call };
 }
diff --git a/frontend/src/pages/home/Home.tsx b/frontend/src/pages/home/Home.tsx
index fb624748..0310b9d2 100644
--- a/frontend/src/pages/home/Home.tsx
+++ b/frontend/src/pages/home/Home.tsx
@@ -45,12 +45,14 @@ export default function Home() {
   const useBeta = searchParams.has("use_beta");
   const forceRefresh = searchParams.has("force_refresh");
 
-  const { data, loading, error, errorStatus, call } = fetcherApiCallback<
-    LeaderboardSummaries,
-    [boolean, boolean]
-  >(fetchLeaderboardSummaries, undefined, {
-    initialLoading: !useBeta,
-  });
+  const { data, loading, hasLoaded, error, errorStatus, call } =
+    fetcherApiCallback<
+      LeaderboardSummaries,
+      // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
+      any[]
+    >(fetchLeaderboardSummaries, undefined, {
+      loadingGracePeriodMs: 200,
+    });
 
   useEffect(() => {
     call(useBeta, forceRefresh);
@@ -97,6 +99,8 @@ export default function Home() {
 
         {error ? (
           <ErrorAlert status={errorStatus} message={error} />
+        ) : !hasLoaded && !loading ? (
+          null
         ) : loading ? (
           <Loading />
         ) : leaderboards.length > 0 ? (