Spelling bee
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A spelling bee is an oral competition where contestants are asked to spell English words. Failure to spell a word correctly disqualifies a contestant, who is removed from the competition. The competition is conducted in rounds until only one contestant remains.
The basic rule of spelling a word in the competition is that once the contestant has started to spell a word, he may start over, but the letter or sequence of letters already spoken may not be changed.
In the United States, spelling bees are annually held from local levels up to the level of the Scripps National Spelling Bee which awards a scholarship to the winner. The National Spelling Bee is sponsored by English-language newspapers; it is also broadcast on ESPN. In 2003, contestants came from the Bahamas and Jamaica as well as the United States.
In 2005, contestant Finola Hackett from Tofield, Alberta contested in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. She was the first Canadian to ever attend the competition.
This kind of competition is depicted in the 2002 Academy Award-nominated documentary, Spellbound.
The etymology of the word "bee" is unclear. Historically, it has described a social congregation where a specific action is being carried out, like a husking bee, or an apple bee.
External links
- Official website of the U.S. National Spelling Bee (http://www.spellingbee.com/)
- information on "bee" (http://www.spellingbee.com/terminology.shtml/)