The Scripps National Spelling Bee (formerly known as the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee) is a highly competitive annual spelling bee run on a non-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company, held at the Grand Hyatt Washington hotel in Washington, DC.
The National Spelling Bee was formed in 1925 as a consolidation of numerous local spelling bees. The bee is held in late May or early June of each year, and is open to students under sixteen years of age who have not yet completed the eighth grade nor won a previous National Spelling Bee. Its goal is educational: to encourage children to perfect the art of spelling. The winner of each year's bee is awarded a cash prize including $12,000 from the Scripps National Spelling Bee and a cup. Other prizes include a $5,000 cash award from Leapfrog, a $5,000 cash award from Franklin Electronic Publishers, a $5,000 scholarship from the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation, a $1,000 savings bond from Merriam Webster along with a reference library, and a set of the Encyclopedia Britannica, one set of the Great Books of the Western World, and the 2005 Britannica CD.
Every speller receives a commemorative watch from Scripps Howard, a $20 gift certificate from Franklin Electronic Publishers, a $100 savings bond, and the Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged on a CD.
The 2002 Academy Award nominated documentary Spellbound followed eight competitors during the 1999 competition, including winner Nupur Lala.
A thirteen-year-old eighth-grader, Anurag Kashyap, won the 2005 spelling bee on June 2nd, correctly spelling "appoggiatura" in the nineteenth round. This year, there were 273 spellers. Last year, there were only 15 rounds with 265 spellers.
Website: http://www.spellingbee.com/