The Scripps National Spelling Bee will begin on May 27, 2015, with the finals airing on ESPN on May 28, 2015. This is the 88th annual national spelling bee, making it the nation’s longest-running educational program. It is also the largest, with more than 11 million students participating in this year\u2019s Scripps National Spelling Bee at one level or another.<\/p>\n

The Bee’s purpose is to “help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.” Here are some fun facts about the National Spelling Bee.<\/div>\n

<\/a>
\n* The National Spelling Bee started in 1925<\/strong> with nine contestants.<\/strong> Frank Neuhauser of Louisville, Kentucky,\u00a0 correctly spelled \u201cgladiolus\u201d to win the inaugural Bee.* If you’re wondering how it could have started in 1925 but this is only the 88th annual, the competition was suspended for three years during World War II.<\/strong> The Bee has taken place continuously since 1946.<\/p>\n

* Spellers can return annually, too, and many do.<\/strong>One of this year’s competitors, Vanya Shivashankar, is back for the fifth year. Three others are four-time repeaters.<\/p>\n

* This year, spellers range in age from 9 to 15 years old.<\/strong>The National Spelling Bee website <\/a>explains that “the program is open to students who have neither turned 16 nor passed beyond the eighth grade.” There are 3 9-year-olds this year who made it to the national level. Of the 285 speller, 88 are 13-years-old.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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* There are 285 spellers in the 2015 National Spelling Bee, and there are more girls than boys.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Girls make up 51% of the competitors. Of the 285 competitors, 191 attend public school, 50 attend private school, 18 attend parochial schools, 13 are home schooled, 12 go to charter schools and 1 attends a virtual school.<\/p>\n

Competitors must win a local bee to advance to the national competition and newspapers and other high-profile community businesses and organizations sponsor local bees. Only 13 local spelling bee sponsors are owned by The E.W. Scripps Company<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

* “Spelling bee” is an American term.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No one quite knows the origin of the term “spelling bee” and it was used orally before first appearing in print in 1875. Other known bees are less academic, like logging bees and husking bees, and spinning bees.<\/p>\n

* Dr. Jacques Bailly<\/strong>, the official pronouncer of the Bee, won the National Spelling Bee himself in 1980.<\/p>\n

It’s safe to say he understands what the competitors are feeling as well as anyone.\u00a0 He has been the official pronouncer since 2003. He wrote the book How to Study for a Spelling Bee<\/em>. When not pronouncing at the Bee, he is also a professor at the University of Vermont<\/a>. This is his 13th year as pronouncer<\/p>\n

* The winner takes home big dollars.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

The National Spelling Bee winner takes home a $40,000 cash prize from Scripps and a $2,500 bond from Merriam-Webster. T The second place speller gets $30,000 and third place takes home $20,000.<\/p>\n

* There can be a tie.
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Last year ended in a tie, with two champions sharing the title of champion. Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe were declared winners after they both spelled 12 words correctly in the final round. Sriram’s winning word was ” stichomythia” and Asun’s word was “feuilleton.”<\/p>\n

The 2013 winner, Arvind Mahankali of New York, won by properly spelling the word “knaidel.”<\/p>\n

* The National Spelling Bee is international.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Competitors come not just from the U.S. but from several other countries, including China and Canada.<\/p>\n

* English is not the first language of 21 spellers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know, as if I wasn’t already feeling rather ashamed of my not so stellar spelling.<\/p>\n

Source:<\/strong> Bee Week guide<\/p>\n

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: <\/strong><\/span><\/span>Book Review: The Opposite of Spoiled by Ron Lieber<\/a><\/p>\n

PRIOR POST:<\/strong> 7 Facts about Memorial Day<\/a><\/p>\n

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