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  • You don't need to prepare every word in the dictionary to be Be a National Spelling Bee Champion.

  • You don't need to prepare every word in the dictionary to be Be a National Spelling Bee Champion.

Ease

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Speed

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Accuracy

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Competition Information & Rules





Eligibility


  1. Students who are in K - 4 grade, as of April 2025, are eligible to participate in Junior Spelling Bee
  2. Students who are in 5 - 8 grade, as of April 2025, are eligible to participate in Senior Spelling Bee

Registration

  1. All spellers, including current students, must register for the competition by signing up at https://www.spellpundit.com.
  2. Registration fee is $60 (non-refundable). The last day to register is April 4th.
  3. Registration will be on a first come, first served basis and will close after the capacity is reached.

Spelling Bee Schedule

Senior Spelling Bee
Grades 5 – 8 		Junior Spelling Bee
Grades K – 4
Prelims-Semifinals
Groups A & B: April 5th 9 am CT
Groups C & D: April 5th 3 pm CT 		Prelims-Semifinals
Groups A & B: April 19th 9 am CT
Groups C & D: April 19th 3 pm CT
Grand Finals
April 6th 9 am CT 		Grand Finals
April 20th 9 am CT

Spelling Bee Format:

  1. SpellPundit competition contains oral spelling and multiple-choice word meaning (vocabulary) rounds.
  2. Junior and Senior Spelling Bee participants will receive a list of 1,000 words (including spelling and vocabulary). Words for the Round One (spelling) and Round Two (multiple-choice word meaning) will be selected from this list.
  3. All phases of the competition will follow a traditional spell-off format conducted virtually via Zoom. The bee will begin with all registered spellers participating in Round 1 and will progress through successive rounds until a champion is determined. Each round will test participants on spelling and, where applicable, word meanings. Spellers who misspell a word or give an incorrect answer during their turn will be eliminated from the competition. The process will continue until only one speller remains, earning the title of champion.
  4. During oral rounds, each speller has 2 minutes time limit per turn. For spelling rounds, the time begins when the pronouncer first says the word. For multiple-choice word meaning rounds, the time begins when the pronouncer first reads the question and answer choices aloud
  5. A maximum of 15% of each group’s total attendance will advance to the Finals. No tiebreakers will be used to determine the number of finalists; all spellers remaining after the round in which the group size is reduced to the qualifying quota or below will advance. All group finalists will also qualify for the Grand Finals.

Prize Money

A total of $10,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the Spelling Bee winners. The top 10 will receive trophies in addition to cash prizes.

Junior Spelling Bee: Grades K-4 Senior Spelling Bee: Grades 5-8
Junior Spelling Bee Champion: $2500 Senior Spelling Bee Champion: $2500
Junior Spelling Bee First-Runner-Up: $1000 Senior Spelling Bee First-Runner-Up: $1000
Junior Spelling Bee Second-Runner-Up: $500 Senior Spelling Bee Second-Runner-Up: $500
Junior Spelling Bee 4th Place: $250 Senior Spelling Bee 4th Place: $250
Junior Spelling Bee 5th – 7th Place: $150 Senior Spelling Bee 5th – 7th Place: $150
Junior Spelling Bee 8th – 10th Place: $100 Senior Spelling Bee 8th – 10th Place: $100
Total Cash Prizes: $5000 Total Cash Prizes: $5000

The prize money may be redistributed in some special circumstances. For example, if the top prize is shared by 3 people, the total prize money of the top three ranks will be equally distributed.

Oral Rounds Details

Spellers should join the oral competitions using an online link provided by the organizers prior to the start of the oral rounds. Spellers who are late to join the competition will be disqualified.

  1. The oral rounds will be conducted in standard spelling bee format (i.e., a speller will be eliminated from the competition if they misspell their word or provide an incorrect answer).
  2. In each round, the speller has 2 minutes to spell the word they are given, starting from the time when the pronouncer first says the word. The speller may seek information in the first 90 seconds, and no questions are allowed in the last 30 seconds of their time.
  3. If technical or other difficulties are experienced, during spelling a word, the judges may give the speller a different word for the round.
  4. If technical difficulties continue with a small number of spellers, organizers will continue the bee without the spellers who continue to have technical difficulties.
  5. Judges may at their discretion use alternative tools to communicate with spellers, especially if there are many technical challenges.
  6. Parents should not be in the same room as the speller. They can watch the Facebook livestream of the bee from a separate room. No one other than speller should remain in the room while the speller is taking the test.
  7. If a speller is out of the competition, they can continue to watch the bee via YouTube Livestream.
  8. Just like a regular bee, the speller should not receive any external help from any source (e.g. parents, siblings, internet, dictionary, etc.). If the judges believe that a speller is receiving any external help, the speller will be disqualified from the bee.
  9. Prior to receiving each word, the speller should show both hands to the judges. The speller should continue to show the hands while spelling his/her word. The hands should be visible in the Zoom video frame until the speller finishes spelling the word. The secondary device should show the room the speller is in.

Word Lists and Official Dictionary

  1. Spellers will be provided with a word list consisting of 1000 words after registration. The word list for the Junior and Senior Spelling Bee are different.
  2. Students who are registered for the competition will be able to prepare the word lists on SpellPundit website for no additional cost.
  3. Words for the Round One (spelling) and Round Two (multiple-choice word meaning) will be selected from this list.
  4. The Merriam Webster Unabridged Online Dictionary at (http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/) will be the official source for words and word information for the bee.

Computing Requirements

  1. All spellers should have a computer (not a phone or not a tablet) with a microphone and webcam. Spellers without a computer with microphone or webcam are not allowed to participate.
  2. The speller or a parent should have admin rights to install software on the computer, such as Zoom.
  3. In addition to the computer described above, spellers should have a second computer, a phone, or a tablet with webcam. This second device is used to monitor speller’s room.

Online Logistics and Honor System

  1. The entire competition will be held online. During all rounds of competition, spellers must not seek help from any external resources. This includes, but is not limited to, other people (e.g. parents, friends), any devices (e.g. phone, computer, additional computer or monitor, dictionary), or any software (e.g. online dictionary).
  2. Spellers should participate in the bee from a quiet and well-lit room.
  3. Spellers must keep their hands clearly on screen at all times during their turn. Failure to do so will result in a warning, and repeated warnings may lead to disqualification.
  4. Each speller must set up a secondary device that clearly displays both the monitor of their primary device, and any elements of the surrounding environment where an illegal resource could feasibly be hidden. This feed will be recorded along with the main stream, so any suspicious activity will be viewable should later review by officials be deemed necessary.
  5. At judges' request, spellers may be asked to scan their room or show a specific location.
  6. During all rounds of competition, spellers are required to be in front of a webcam, and their physical movements as well as operations on the computer screen will be continuously recorded. Spellers should adjust their webcam position such that judges can see the speller and the surroundings.
  7. While participating in the bee, ideally, the speller should be alone in a room with no one else in the room. If parent(s) and sibling(s) want to be in the room, they should be behind the speller and judges should be able to see parent(s) and sibling(s) at all times. Parents and siblings should not help the speller in any way and if they do so, the speller will be disqualified from the competition.
  8. Spellers should not seek any competitive advantage by any other means. As a general rule, if something is not allowed during a regular spelling bee (e.g. possession of a phone during competition), it is not allowed in this online competition.
  9. Organizers may ask a speller to show the entire room, using the webcam, if they have any questions.
  10. Ultimately, this competition is an honor system and we rely on the integrity of the spellers to uphold the fairness of the competition.

End of the Group Finals

  1. The bee will end when there is only one speller. To win the bee, the last speller has to spell his/her own word and a championship word. If a speller misses the championship word, all the remaining spellers from the previous round will be reinstated.
  2. When there are only three or less spellers remain in the bee, we will begin using a 30-word list. If no speller misses his/her word during this stage, all three will be declared as joint winners and the prize money will be distributed. If one speller misses the word, the remaining two spellers will continue till the end of the 30-word list.

End of the Grand Finals

  1. When the final three spellers remain in the finals, the bee will proceed to the Championship Word List. This list consists of 150 words; however, the championship phase will only go a maximum of 50 rounds, regardless of whether there are words remaining on the list.
  2. If at least two of the final three spellers continue for the full 50 rounds after entering the championship phase, or if at least 100 words pass without an elimination at any prior stage of the bee, all remaining spellers will be declared co-champions, with the grand prize and second prize (and third if applicable) pooled together and divided evenly between them.

Judging

  1. All judges’ decisions are final. Depending on the circumstances of the competition, judges reserve the right to change the rules of the competition. Judges will do their best to preserve the integrity and fairness of the competition.
  2. In case of unexpected technical difficulties, if necessary, judges will select winners using different criteria (such as online written test scores).

Privacy and Permissions

  1. The organizers may record speller's movements and actions on the computer screen during the contest. By registering for the competition, spellers/parents give the organizers permission to record both.
  2. Oral rounds will be broadcast live on various social media channels. All parents, spellers, and other family members who appear on Zoom video, are agreeing to broadcast their images and images of the property.
  3. The organizers may provide contact information of winner(s) to the media.
  4. The organizers may use the recorded material in preparing promotional videos.
  5. The organizers may send newsletters to registered spellers.