R.E.A.C.H. Foundation Spelling Bee Rules and Procedures
2016 Complete Version
1. The R.E.A.C.H. Foundation (REACH) Spelling Bee is an oral
competition based on contestant single-elimination in the traditional
spelling bee manner. A contestant missing the spelling of a word
(and/or any other infraction listed under Spelling Bee Procedures,
The Contestant’s Role Item 7 of this document) immediately drops
out of the contest, and the next word on the Pronouncer’s Word List
is given to the next contestant.
2. The officials of the Bee shall include a Pronouncer, Head Judge, and
two Judges—one of whom is a timekeeper.
3. The words used in the REACH Spelling Bee that have been
randomly selected and have been approved by PYLUSD. The word
list shall be arranged as follows:
 Word lists comprised of words from each grade level (grades
3 to 6).
 A confidential Challenge Word List of differing levels of
difficulty.
 Word Lists will not include homonyms or synonyms.
4. Words shall be pronounced according the diacritical markings on the
Mirriam-Webster.com and/or Dictionary.com web site.
5. The Merriam-Webster web site shall serve as the final authority for
the spelling of the words in the Spelling Bee.
6. All contestants will be seated on the stage in an order
predetermined by a random drawing of names. Each contestant will
be given a number placard to wear around his/her neck during the
Bee
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7. The REACH volunteers will practice spelling bee words with each
participate before they step on the stage. They will also address
any questions from the contestants relating to the format of the
Spelling Bee.
8. The procedure used by the pronouncer will be (1) pronounce the
word, (2) read the definition of the word, (3) use the word in a
sentence, (4) pronounce the word.
9. The decision to move from one level of difficulty to another will be
made by the agreement of the Pronouncer and Head Judge, when it
is determined the level of the words being used is too easy for the
remaining participants. The words will be selected from the next
grade level up or from the confidential Challenge Word List.
10. No talking will be allowed among the contestants and members
of the audience. If a contestant receives assistance from anyone in
the audience, he/she will be disqualified. The audience is also
requested to remain seated until a break to avoid confusion for the
contestants.
11. Audience members are not allowed to approach the Judges
during the bee. No grievance will be entertained during the bee.
The Judges will make the final decision.
Spelling Bee Procedures
1. Upon receiving the word, the contestant will pronounce the word,
spell the word orally, and pronounce the word again
2. Contestants will not be allowed to write the word before spelling it.
However, “air writing” will be allowed.
3. The Head Judge will have the responsibility for stopping the student
if he/she fails to pronounce the word or if the student pronounces
the word incorrectly.
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4. If the student still begins to spell without pronouncing the word,
he/she will be disqualified from the contest.
5. The contestant must:
 Pronounce the word before spelling. This is to ensure that the
student has heard the correct word.
 Look at the Pronouncer when spelling the word.
 Spell the word orally.
 Pronounce the word again after the word is spelled.
 Speak clearly and loudly. The Judge’s decision is final in
determining the correctness of the spelling, which may be
misunderstood if not spoken clearly.
 The participant may ask for any pronunciation, meaning, or
sentence to be repeated for clarification before spelling. If a
participant takes undue advantage of this rule, he/she will be
advised by the Pronouncer.
Timing
1. A contestant shall have a full minute to spell a word.
2. The contestant shall have 30 seconds from the time he/she
pronounces the word until he/she must begin spelling the word. If
the contestant does not begin spelling at the end of the 30 second
period, he/she shall be reminded by the Pronouncer, who will be
informed by the Timekeeper. The student shall then have an
additional 30 seconds from the time the judges remind the student
to begin spelling until he/she must finish spelling the word. The
Timekeeper shall keep a record of all students who have reached
the 30-second time limit. A yellow sign will indicate the contestant
has 30 seconds left and a red sign will indicate time is up.
3. A contestant will be disqualified if he/she does not follow the above
listed timing rules.
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4. If the Judges and Pronouncer need to discuss a competition-related
matter while a contestant is contemplating a word, they may pause
the time clock, and they will inform the contestant when they pause
and resume the time clock.
Retracing
1. Having started to spell a word, a contestant may stop and start
over, retracing the spelling from the beginning. However, in the
retracing, there can be no change of letters and their sequence
must not differ.
2. If any letters and/or their sequence are changed in the respelling,
the contestant will be disqualified.
Spelling Bee Single Elimination
1. When a contestant misspells a word, he/she immediately drops out
of the contest. The next word is given to the next contestant.
2. When the contestants are reduced to two, (the last contestant
eliminated is the 3rd place winner) the elimination procedure
changes. At that point when one contestant misspells a word, the
other contestant shall be given an opportunity to spell that same
word.
3. If the second contestant spells that word correctly plus the next
word on the Pronouncer’s Word List, then the second contestant
shall be declared the Champion of the competition.
4. If one of the last two contestants misses and then the other, after
correcting the error, misspells the new word submitted to him/her,
the misspelled word shall be referred to the first contestant.
5. If the first contestant then succeeds in correcting the error and
correctly spells the next word on the Pronouncer’s list, then he/she
shall be declared the Champion.
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6. If both contestants misspell the same word, both shall continue in
the contest, and the one who first misspelled the word shall be
given a new word to spell. The pattern will continue until one of the
contestants is declared the Champion.
7. The Pronouncer will move to the confidential Challenge Word List at
the discretion of the Head Judge or when the final two participants
have successfully completed at least three consecutive rounds of
the advanced level without any misspellings.
The Pronouncer’s role
1. The Pronouncer will pronounce the words according the diacritical
markings in the Merriam-Webster web site, read the definition and
sentence provided.
2. The Pronouncer responds only to the contestant’s requests for
repetition of the word’s pronunciation, definition and sentence. The
Pronouncer will grant all such requests as long as they are in
accordance with time constraints outlined above.
The Role of the Judges
1. The Judges will listen carefully, determine whether or not words are
spelled correctly and uphold the rules.
2. The Head Judge will break any ties between the 2 judges.
3. All decisions of the Judges are final.
4. The Judges will not respond to the speller’s questions about the
word and its pronunciation but, if the Judges sense that the speller
has misunderstood the word, the Judges will direct the contestant
and Pronouncer to interact until they are satisfied that reasonable
attempts have been made to assist the contestant in understanding
the word within the time constraints. Occasionally it is impossible to
detect a misunderstanding until a spelling error has been made,
and the Judges are not responsible for the contestant’s
misunderstanding.
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5. The Judges will compare the pronouncer’s pronunciation with the
diacritical markings in the word list. If the Judges feel that the
Pronouncer’s pronunciation does not match the pronunciation
specified by the diacritical markings, the Judges will direct the
Pronouncer to correct the error as soon as it is detected.
6. Other infractions in which a contestant may be disqualified besides
clear misspelling are:
 The contestant does not approach the microphone
when it is his/her time to receive the word unless there
are extenuating circumstances that, in the Judges’ sole
discretion, merit holding the contestant’s word in
reserve and offering it to the contestant after all other
contestants in the round have spelled and before the
close of the round
 The contestant engages in unsportsmanlike conduct
 The contestant utters unintelligible or nonsense sounds.
The Contestant’s Role
1. All contestants will be seated on the stage in an order
predetermined by a random drawing of names. Each speller will be
given a number placard to wear around his/her neck during the
Bee.
2. Contestants will spell in the order they are seated on the stage.
3. The pronouncer will pronounce the words according the diacritical
markings from the Merriam-Webster web site, read the definition
and sentence provided.
4. The contestant faces the Judges and pronounces the word for the
Judges before and after spelling it. Whilst facing the Judges, the
contestant makes an effort to utter each letter distinctly and with
sufficient enough volume to be understood by the Judge.
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5. The contestant may ask the Pronouncer to say the word again,
repeat the definition and/or the sentence. The Pronouncer shall
grant all such requests until the Judges agree that the word has
been made reasonably clear to the contestant. The Judges may
disqualify a contestant who ignores a request to start spelling. Once
the contestant pronounces the word, he/she has thirty seconds to
spell it. The 30 seconds begin when the contestant pronounces the
word. The contestant spells the word and then signals to the judges
that he/she is done spelling by pronouncing the word again. For
instance, the pronouncer gives the word "bee" to the speller. The
speller may ask to repeat the definition and sentence. The speller
proceeds by saying, "Bee, b-e-e, bee." The judges indicate that the
word has been spelled correctly and the speller sits down.
7. Other infractions in which a contestant may be disqualified besides
clear misspelling are:
 Failure to state the word before and after the correct
spelling
 Failure to begin spelling the word correctly within 1
minute
 Failure to approach the microphone within 30 seconds
unless there are extenuating circumstances
 Engages in unsportsmanlike conduct
 Alters the letters or sequence of letters from those first
uttered
 Utters unintelligible or nonsense sounds
 Talking and/or hand signal among the contestants and
members of the audience.
Please Note:
Contestants that are eliminated return to the Green Room off
Stage Left and will remain there until the completion of the bee.
While in the Green Room the eliminated contestants will be
consoled by REACH Foundation and PYLUSD volunteers.
Refreshments will also be provided. These students will also be
able to view a live video feed of the bee.
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