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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. |
The following are recent winners of the
competition:
* 1994 - Ned Andrews, Knoxville, Tennessee
* 1995 - Justin Carroll, Memphis, Tennessee
* 1996 - Wendy Guey, West Palm Beach, Florida
* 1997 - Rebecca Sealfon, New York, New York
* 1998 - Jody-Anne Maxwell, Kingston, Jamaica
* 1999 - Nupur Lala, Tampa, Florida
* 2000 - George Thampy, St. Louis, Missouri
* 2001 - Sean Conley, Aitkin, Minnesota
* 2002 - Pratyush Buddiga, Denver, Colorado
* 2003 - Sai Gunturi, Dallas, Texas
* 2004 - David Tidmarsh, South Bend, Indiana
* 2005 - Anurag Kashyap, Poway, California
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