New Zealand Vegemite Spelling Bee Competition Rules 1.

The competition will be run by the New Zealand Spelling Bee Trust (NZSB). Participant eligibility Criteria 2. The competition is open to all Year 8 students in 2010 who attend schools that have enrolled with the Scripps National Spelling Bee and have not reached the age of 16 on or before 1 June 2011, are eligible for a passport, and may legally undertake travel to the United States in May/June 2011. Schools Level Round Written competition 3. The first round (Schools Level Round) will be conducted by way of a written spelling test (the Top 100 Test), administered by a nominated Manager in each participating New Zealand school. 4. The Top 100 Test will comprise 50 words from a list that participating Spellers have been given to study by the Manager prior to delivery of the test, and 50 words that do not come from the list. 5. The Top 100 Test papers will be marked by the Manager of the Schools Level Round and sent to NZSB where they are ranked to determine the top 200 spellers nationwide who will advance to the Regional Semi-Final. If for some reason a semi-finalist cannot attend their Regional Semi-Final, NZSB reserves the right to invite the speller ranked after them. 6. The decision of the NZSB will be final. Regional Semi-Finals and National Final - Oral spelling bee 7. The Regional Semi-Finals and National Final will be held by way of an oral spelling bee. 8. The oral spelling bee will be conducted in rounds. 9. The competition panel will comprise a Pronouncer and a Judge. 10.Each Speller will be asked to spell one word in each round. 11. In each round, the Pronouncer will read a word to be spelled by the Speller. The Speller

must spell the word, out loud, correctly. 12. If the Speller fails to spell the word correctly, the Speller will be eliminated from the competition. 13.All Spellers who correctly spell their word in a particular round will advance to the next round. 14.After the Pronouncer reads the word to the Speller, the Speller should repeat the full word before spelling it, and again after spelling it. However, if the Speller fails to repeat the full word before and after spelling it, the Speller will not be eliminated. 15. The role of the Pronouncer is to: a. strive to correctly pronounce the word (according to the Concise Oxford English Dictionary 11th ed.); and b. if the Speller asks, use the word in a sentence, define the word, confirm whether the word is a noun, verb, adjective (or other) and provide the language of origin of the word. 16. The role of the Judge is to determine whether the Speller has spelled the word correctly and address any appeals lodged by Spellers. 17. The Judge will attempt to determine whether a Speller misunderstands the meaning of a particular word, and clarifying that misunderstanding. The Judge will make all reasonable efforts to do so. However, if the Judge fails to detect a misunderstanding by a Speller, and the Speller does not correctly spell the word, the Speller will be eliminated, and will not be entitled to a new word. 18. The Speller may ask the Pronouncer to: a. repeat the word; b. define the word; c. use the word in a sentence; d. confirm whether the word is a noun, verb, adjective (or other) and/or e. provide the language of origin of the word. The Pronouncer will grant all requests for clarification made by the Speller until the

Judge considers that the word has been made reasonably clear to the Speller.19. The Judge may request that the Speller start spelling if the Pronouncer has provided answers to all eligible questions asked and one minute has passed. The Judge may disqualify any Speller who ignores a request to start spelling. 20. The Speller must spell the word out loud. The Speller may not write the word on paper. 21. Having started to spell a word, the Speller may pause and/or restart spelling from the beginning. In restarting, however, the Speller may not change any letters or their sequence from those first pronounced. If the Speller changes the letters or their sequence in the re-spelling, the Speller will be eliminated. 22. It is important that Spellers pronounce each letter so it can be clearly heard. 23.A Speller can appeal a decision to eliminate them from the competition if the Speller believes that they have grounds to be reinstated. The verbal Appeal must be communicated to the Judge by the Speller before the appealing Speller would have received his/her next word had he/she stayed in the competition. To minimise disruption to the pace of the spelling bee, and the concentration of the Spellers, the Judge(s) are under no obligation to stop the spelling bee to discuss the appeal with the Speller or his/her parent/caregiver or teacher. 24. The Judges decisions with respect to any Appeal delivered are final and are not subject review or reversal by either the NZSB or Scripps National Spelling Bee. 25. If, during a round, no Speller spells their word correctly, all Spellers will remain in the competition. A new round will begin and the Spellers will receive their words in the original order. 26. If during a round only one Speller spells a word correctly, that Speller will be declared the winner of the competition. 27. All spellers eliminated in the same round will be tied for the same place. 28. However, if there is a tie for runner-up in a Regional Final or the National Final, the Judge will hold a further round (or rounds, as necessary) with those Spellers eliminated in the final round to determine a single runner-up.

29. The Concise Oxford English Dictionary (11th edition) will serve as the final authority for the spelling of words. If more than one spelling is listed for a word that the Pronouncer has asked the speller to spell, any of the spellings for that word in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (11th edition) will be accepted as correct if all of the following three criteria are met: a. the pronunciations of the words are identical; b. the definitions of the words are identical; and c. the words are clearly identified as being standard variants of each other. 30. If a word has one or more homophones (different spellings and meanings but the same sound), the Pronouncer will make it clear which of those homophones is meant. If the Pronouncer does not make this clear, as adjudicated by the Judge, either by defining the word or by distinguishing the homophones, the Judge will accept any correct spelling of any homophone of the word. 31.Spellers will not be disqualified for failing to note that a word starts with a capital letter. 32. The decision of the Judge will be final on all questions. 33. NZSB, the Pronouncer, the Judges and sponsors will not enter into any discussions about the rulings made in the Spelling Bee. Note: As the purpose of the competition is to find a local champion who will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, USA, the New Zealand Competition Rules are very similar to those which govern qualifying spelling bees in the United States