Contact:
AARP Toll-Free
1-877-926-8300

Rules

Rules and Regulations - General

1. The Eleventh Annual National Senior Spelling Bee will be held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, on June 17, 2006.
   
2. Participants must meet the requirement of being at least fifty years of age at the time of the Bee. No other restrictions exist except as described in paragraph 12 below.
   
3. First, Second and Third place finalists will be awarded cash prizes of $100, $50 and $25 respectively; and will additionally be awarded plaques attesting to their achievement. Other contestants will be awarded Certificates attesting to their participation. Persons with the three (3) highest scores, and any ties, in the written rounds, shall be awarded appropriate certificates.
   
4. The Spelling Bee will consist of two major segments, in the first of which all contestants will be required to spell one hundred written words, given in four rounds of 25 words each. The scores achieved in this part of the Bee will be used to qualify for the oral rounds which qualification shall be 50% of the registrants plus 1, plus ties if any, the number not to exceed fifteen, plus ties if any. Contestants other than those qualifying for the oral rounds will, at this point, be excused from further competition in the Bee.
   
5. The oral rounds will consist of each contestant, in a blind draw for a predetermined order, being given a word to spell orally, consistent with established oral word lists. Each contestant will remain active in the oral rounds until such time as s/he incorrectly spells a total of three words.When a contestant misspells a word, a bell will sound and a judge will advise as to the correct spelling.
   
6. Before each segment, a judge will advise the contestants of specific rules to be followed as appropriate to either the written or oral part of the contest. Failure to follow the stated rules will result in individual words being judged incorrectly spelled.
   
7. All words used in the Spelling Bee have been taken from Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, 2003. No capitalized, hyphenated, double nor triple words nor words of a multiple spelling will be used.
   
8. Words will be pronounced according to the diacritical markings in the Dictionary cited above.
   
9. The Pronouncer will pronounce each word twice, designate its part of speech, provide its definition, give its usage in a complete sentence, and pronounce it a 3rd time. With the approval of the Judges, the Pronouncer may give a fuller explanation of the meaning of the word or provide additional information to ensure that the contestant understands the word to be spelled.
   
10. A contestant wishing additional information must make such request while that word is under discussion. Such consideration will be given by the Pronouncer until such time as the Judges determine that the word has been properly and reasonably defined and illustrated. The Judges have the right to disqualify any speller who declines a request to start spelling.
    
11. The Judges are in control of the competition. Their decisions are final and absolute on all questions.
    
12. A contestant having once won the National Senior Spelling Bee is ineligible for further competition.

Rules and Regulations - Specific

1. There will be a written test of 100 words
   .
2. The Pronouncer will inform contestants:
   1. They are to write or print clearly, erase cleanly, placing only 1 word on a line.
   2. Lowercase letters i and j must be dotted.
   3. Lowercase letters t and x must be crossed.
   4. Block letters (i.e., printing in capitals) are acceptable, but once begun, each letter of every word must be printed as a block letter. The block letter I must have cross bars at both the top and bottom of the upright.
   5. Failure to meet these requirements will result in words being judged as incorrectly spelled.
   6. Written test papers will be returned to the contestants for their information at the beginning of the oral rounds.
      
3. Oral rounds will follow the written portion of the contest.
   
4. The Judge will inform contestants:
   1. Participants must speak clearly and loudly.
   2. Pronunciation of the word before spelling is required to ensure that the Speller has correctly heard the word to be spelled.
   3. The Speller may make three attempts at oral spelling of each word.
   4. Final pronunciation of the spelled word is required and indicates completion of the spelling.