Spell Bee Format and Rules

Format for Spelling Bee

The competition consists of two parts:

Preliminary Round

On the designated contest date, spellers will be given a written spelling test consisting of 25 words (from a list which students may have received earlier). The pronouncer will say each word and its definition. Spellers will be given 60 seconds to spell each word on their answer sheet. 10 participants for the final round will be selected based on the score in this written test.

Final Round

This is the oral round which will be conducted on a miss-and-out basis until one speller is left. Students will be eliminated at the end of each spelling round if they spelled the word incorrectly. Eliminations will continue until only four spellers remain.

Four Spellers Remaining:

a) Fourth and third places will be determined by the next spellers to be eliminated. All four spellers complete each round. When one contestant misspells a word he is declared fourth. The next speller to make an error will be declared third.

b) If two (or three) contestants misspell a word in the same round there will be a consolation spell-off between those students to determine third and fourth places. They will continue to participate in the following rounds until one of them misspells another word.

Two Spellers Remaining:

a) To decide first and second places – when one contestant misspells a word, the spelling master will give the correct spelling. If the other contestant spells his word correctly he will be declared the winner.

b) If both contestants misspell their word, the judge will give the correct spelling and both contestants will start another round. This continues until one contestant misspells a word and the other spells his correctly.

Rules for Spelling Bee
* Cell phones of all the contestants must be off and all word lists must be away from them.*

1. Preliminary Round (Written Contest): The speller will be given 60 seconds to write down the word after a pronouncer has finished pronouncing and defining the word. The speller is not allowed to ask any questions during the session. At the end of the written segment all answer sheets will be scored and the qualifying names of spellers announced.
2. Final Round (Oral Contest): The contest will be conducted in rounds. Each speller remaining in the spelling bee at the start of a round will spell one word in the round. The words will not be in the same order as the lists the spellers studied. Words the spellers have not studied will be used if the competition warrants it. Spellers are assigned numbers randomly at the beginning of the competition. This will determine their spelling order for the entire Spelling Bee.
3. Role of the Pronouncer: The pronouncer will attempt to pronounce words according to both British and American pronunciations, if different.
4. Role of the Speller: The pronouncer calls out a speller by name and the speller stands. As each word is given to a speller, he  should repeat the word, spell it out slowly and distinctly, and then repeat the pronunciation of the word (example):

PRONOUNCER: “TABLE”

SPELLER: “TABLE” “T-A-B-L-E” “TABLE”

NOTE:

a) Failure to say-spell-say will not eliminate the speller.

b) Both British and American spellings are preferred.

During the Oral Contest a speller can ask the pronouncer to:

1. Repeat the word
2. Define it
3. Use it in a sentence
4. Provide the part of speech

NOTE: Once the speller’s questions (as indicated above) have been answered, the speller must begin spelling the word within 60 seconds. The speller cannot retract or change any part of the response once he/she has begun spelling.

5. Homonyms: If a word has one or more homonyms, the pronouncer indicates which word is to be spelled by defining the word.
6. Misspelling: Upon incorrectly spelling a word, the speller immediately drops out of the competition, except as provided in Rule 5.
7. If all spellers in a round misspell: If none of the spellers remaining in the spelling bee at the start of a round spells a word correctly during that round, ALL remain in the competition and a new round begins.
8. If only one speller in a round spells correctly: If only one speller spells correctly in a round, a new one-word round begins and the speller is given an opportunity to spell the next word on the list (anticipated championship word). If the speller spells this last word correctly, the speller is declared the champion. If not, a new round begins with all spellers from the last round.
9. Interaction with the speller: Because seeing the speller’s lip movements may be critical in detecting misunderstandings or misspellings, spellers are encouraged to face the judges when pronouncing and spelling the word.
10. Notice of rules: The judges ensure that all spellers and audience members are given an opportunity to receive a complete copy of the rules prior to the start of the spelling bee.
11. Misunderstandings: The judges participate in the exchange of information between the speller and pronouncer if they feel that clarification is needed. Also, the judges listen carefully to the speller’s pronunciation of the word; and, if they sense that the speller has misunderstood the word, the judges work with the speller and pronouncer until they are satisfied.
12. Disqualifications for reasons other than clear misspelling: The judges will disqualify a speller (1) who refuses a request to start spelling; (2) who does not approach the microphone when it is time to receive the word; (3) who does not comply with the eligibility requirements; (4) who engages in unsportsmanlike conduct; (5) who, in the process of retracing a spelling, alters the letters or sequence of letters from those first uttered; or (6) who, in the process of spelling, utters unintelligible or nonsense sounds.

Role of judges: Judges are in complete control of the competition. Their decisions are final.