About Our Program

Organization

We are the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by
The E.W. Scripps Company and over 260 sponsors in the United States, Europe, Canada, New Zealand, Guam, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, and American Samoa. Our headquarters office in Cincinnati, Ohio, coordinates the national finals, enrolls sponsors, and produces word lists and study materials. This office operates year round.

Each sponsor organizes a spelling bee program in its community, usually with the cooperation of area school officials. The champion of the sponsor’s final spelling bee advances to the finals in Washington, D.C.

Sponsorship is available to daily and weekly newspapers serving English-speaking populations around the world. However, sponsorship is not limited to newspapers owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. In fact, only 19 sponsoring newspapers are owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. A complete listing of sponsors may be found here.

If a community desires participation and its local newspaper cannot assume sponsorship, special consideration for sponsorship may be given to a high-visibility organization or business within that community. Such businesses or organizations must demonstrate a history of promoting academic achievement in their communities.

Purpose

Our 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.

Eligibility

In general, the program is open to students who have not reached their 16th birthday on or before the date of the national finals and who have not passed beyond the eighth grade at the time of their school finals. A complete listing of eligibility requirements may be found in the Contest Rules of the 78th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee.

History

This is the 78th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The Louisville Courier-Journal started the event with nine contestants in 1925. In 1941 Scripps assumed sponsorship of the program. There was no Scripps National Spelling Bee during the World War II years of 1943, 1944, and 1945. Co-champions were declared in 1950, 1957, and 1962. Of the 80 champions, 42 are girls and 38 are boys. Click here for a complete listing of champions and their winning words.

What is the origin of the term spelling bee?

The Story of the National Spelling Bee: Text from an early 1930s brochure