14 will spell their way to state championship
Advertiser Staff
The journey to becoming the state's top speller starts tonight as 100 public- and private-school students begin competition in seven district spelling bees.
Fourteen finalists from the district bees will compete in The Honolulu Advertiser's 21st Hawai'i State Spelling Bee on March 26. The championship will be aired on KFVE.
The state champion will be sent to the Scripps National Spelling Bee May 31-June 1 in Washington, D.C.
This year, sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from 100 schools will vie for the 14 finalist spots. Each finalist will receive gifts from Sears, Island Heritage, Consolidated Theatres and Enjoy Snacks. Travel for Neighbor Island participants will be provided by Aloha Airlines.
The state Spelling Bee champion will win an all-expense-paid trip for two to Washington and a $100 U.S. Savings Bond from Jay Sugarman. Merriam-Webster is donating a Third New International Dictionary to the winner and a Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition, to the runner-up.
Other prize sponsors include Radio Shack, Dede and James Sutherland, the Hawai'i Court Reporters and Captioners Association, and Scripps National Spelling Bee. Spellers who compete in the national Spelling Bee win prizes ranging from $50 to $12,000.
Here's a list of the district bees:
Correction: Sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade students from 100 schools are participating in this year’s district spelling bees. Information in a previous version of this story was incorrect.
