2015 Willesborough Junior School Spelling Bee Rules
1. Spellers wishing to enter the 2015 Willesborough Junior School Spelling Bee should sign
up with their class teacher before the end of Friday 20th March.
2. Two word lists are available for download on the school website. One list is for spellers
in years 3 and 4, the other list is for spellers in years 5 and 6.
3. In competition, after the pronouncer gives the speller a word, the speller will be
encouraged to say the word out loud before spelling it and after spelling it. If a speller
forgets to say the word before or after, the judge may not disqualify the speller.
However, pronouncing the word helps in two ways. 1) The pronouncer will know that the
speller has heard the word correctly if he or she pronounces it before beginning to spell
it. 2) Saying the word after spelling it will let the judges know that the speller has
finished.
4. The speller may ask the pronouncer to say the word again, define it, and/or use it in a
sentence. The pronouncer shall grant all such requests until the judges agree that the
word has been made reasonably clear to the contestant. Judges may disqualify any
speller who ignores a request to start spelling.
5. Having started to spell a word, a speller may stop and start over, retracing the spelling
from the beginning, BUT in retracing there can be NO change of letters or their
sequence from those first pronounced. If any letters or their sequence is changed in
the respelling, the speller will be eliminated. In other words, a speller can’t correct
himself, even while it is still his or her turn.
6. Spellers may use a whiteboard to write down the word they are spelling. However, rule
5 will still apply. Once letters have been written on the whiteboard, they cannot be
changed and neither can the sequence in which they have been written.
7. There will not be an official time limit for each word in this particular spelling bee.
However if the pronouncer or judge feels that a participant is repeatedly taking too
much time to spell each word, they will be reminded to speed up their responses. If this
request is ignored, they may be eliminated.
8. The contest shall be conducted in rounds. Each speller remaining in the spelling bee at
the start of a round shall spell one word in the round. Spellers are assigned numbers
randomly at the beginning of the competition. This will determine their spelling order
for the entire Spelling Bee.
9. If a word has one or more homonyms (like bear and bare), the pronouncer will indicate
which word is to be spelled. If the listed word is not properly identified, either by
defining it or using it in a sentence, any correct spelling of any homonym of the word will
be accepted.
10. Misspelling: Upon incorrectly spelling a word, the speller immediately drops out of the
competition. If all of the members of a round misspell their words, a new round begins,
with everyone participating in the same order as before.
11. Determining the winner: In any round, if only ONE speller spells a word correctly, a
new one-word round begins and the speller is given a chance to spell the new word
(anticipated winning word). If the speller spells this last word correctly, he/she is
declared the winner. If NOT, a new round begins with all spellers from the last round.
12. When only two spellers remain, the procedure for determining the winner will be this: if
one speller misspells a word, the second speller must spell the same word plus one more
in order to be declared the winner. If they spell the first word incorrectly, then the
round is tied and the first speller receives a new word and the competition continues.
If the second speller spells the misspelled word correctly but fails to spell their own
word correctly, the first speller is asked to spell this word and then one other in order
to win. Basically, if someone gets one wrong, their opponent must spell that word plus
one other to win.
13. Judges are in complete control of the competition. Their decisions are final. Spelling
bees are like sporting events in which referees call the plays as they see them. Players
don’t always agree with the decisions or like them, but accept them as part of good
sportsmanship.
14. This is the most important rule of all. Please have fun and relax, whether you’re a
participant or a spectator!
Disqualifications for reasons other than clear misspelling:
The judges will disqualify a speller (1) who refuses a request to start spelling; (2) who
repeatedly takes too much time to spell each word after being reminded not to. (3) who does
not step forwards when it is time to receive the word; (4) who engages in cheating or
unsportsmanlike conduct; (5) who, in the process of retracing a spelling, changes the letters or
sequence of letters from those first originally said; (6) who, in the process of spelling, utters
unintelligible or nonsense sounds.