Horizon International School

Spelling Bee Rules

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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.
6. 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.

7. 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.

8. When the contestants are reduced to two, the elimination procedure changes. At
that point, when one contestant misspells a word, the other contestant shall be given
the opportunity to spell the same word. If the second contestant spells that word
correctly and correctly spells the next word on the pronouncer's list, then the second
contestant shall be declared champion. If one of the last two speller misses and the
other, after correcting the error, misspells the new word submitted to him or her, then
the misspelled new word shall be referred to the first speller. If the first speller, then
succeeds in correcting the error and correctly spells the next word on the list, he or
she shall be declared the champion. If both spellers misspell the same word, both
shall continue in the contest and the one who first misspelled the word shall be given
a new word. The contest continues under the rules mentioned above.

9. Determining the winner: In any round, if only ONE student spells a word
correct, a new one-word round begins and the student is given a chance to spell the
new word (anticipated winning word). If the student spells this last word correctly,
he/she is declared the winner. If NOT, a new round begins with all spellers from the
last round.

10. A protest may be made by anyone who disagrees with how a participant is
eliminated. However, you may NOT argue that another person should be removed
from the contest. The deadline to protest is at the end of that current round. If there
are only 2 or 3 players left, the protest must be voiced immediately.

11. 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.

12. This is the most important rule of all. Please have fun and relax, whether you’re
a participant or a spectator!

13. Winners will be rewarded with nicely decorated certificates.

______________________Be careful. ________________________

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 approach the microphone 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.

Judges:

Grades 6 - 7 competition

Supervisor
 Grade 7
List 1: 1. beige 2. decision 3. completely 4. recruit 5. sleigh 6. maneuver 7. briefcase

8. perfume 9. preserve 10. biscuit 11. coughing 12. shrieking 13. piercing 14. auditor

15. lieutenant 16. experimental 17. heterogeneous 18. weirdest 19. unyielding

20. calculator 21. thirtieth 22. beguiling 23. beauteous 24. preferably 

List 2: 1. ostrich 2. bushwhackers 3. language 4. penguin 5. exhilaration 6. overwhelmed

7. chandelier 8. executive 9. dichotomy 10. brochure 11. extinguish 12. exhibit

13. exhausted 14. distinguished 15. recitation 16. whirlpool 17. exotic 18. whimsical

19. nonchalant 20. cliche 21. exempt 22. bilingual 23. exasperate 24. guacamole

25. exertion 

List 3: 1. receiving 2. qualified 3. mimicking 4. prophesied 5. accompanying 6. overlooked

7. traveled 8. managed 9. accepted 10. bragging 11. bragged 12. managing 13. traveling

14. nourishing 15. lighting 16. overlooking 17. mimicked 18. qualifying 19. panicked

20. nourished 21. accompanied 22. lighted 23. accepting 24. horrifying 25. panicking

26. horrified 27. prophesying 

List 4: 1. anniversary 2. casually 3. vacuum 4. Delaware 5. recognize 6. gratitude

7. mathematics 8. memory 9. secretary 10. realm 11. diamond 12. category 13. victim

14. miniature 15. badminton 16. juvenile 17. audition 18. vaudeville 19. ingenious

20. favorites 21. penitentiary 22. disgusted 23. auxiliary 24. Tournaments
 

List 5: 1. giraffe 2. Connecticut 3. possession 4. parallel 5. recommend 6. constellation

7. affirmative 8. buffoon 9. approximately 10. accommodate 11. questionnaire

12. Caribbean 13. embarrass 14. belligerent 15. cinnamon 16. permission

17. accomplishment 18. commitment 19. penicillin 20. mayonnaise 21. confetti

22. concussion 23. corrosion 24. interruption 25. gimmick 

List 6: 1. would 2. capital 3. passed 4. straight 5. freeze 6. wood 7. strait 8. phrase 9. writes

10. aisle 11. isle 12. principal 13. higher 14. hire 15. stationary 16. rights 17. gorilla

18. hostile 19. stationery 20. capitol 21. idle 22. idol 23. frees 24. frays 25. hostel

26. guerilla

List 7: 1. inspire 2. operator 3. combine 4. inspiration 5. operatives 6. crimes 7. indicate

8. imitation 9. imitate 10. depart 11. regulate 12. regulation 13. deprive 14. exception

15. combination 16. academic 17. academy 18. departure 19. deprivation 20. criminals

21. exceptional 22. implication 23. indicative 24. implicate 

List 8: 1. safety 2. personality 3. flexibility 4. university 5. cruelty 6. electricity 7. publicity

8. subscription 9. anxiety 10. society 11. ejection 12. consideration 13. reduction

14. specialty 15. sincerity 16. security 17. reality 18. recognition 19. credibility

20. deception 21. hospitality 22. deposition 23. addiction 24. condemnation