National Spelling Bee championship gets under way

Washington, June 1 (UNI) A two-day national spelling bee championship gets under way here today.

The event organised by media conglomerate Scripps Howard chain is a 25-word, multiple-choice test, followed by a round of oral competition in which each speller gets a crack at one word.

The contestants are asked to spell a word correctly and proceed.

If they fumble, the bell rings and they are allowed to ask questions about a word's pronunciation, definition, part of speech, use in a sentence and etymology.

About one-fourth of the spellers, or 66, including a bunch of Indian-American kids, are making repeat appearances, in their fifth and final bee.

ABC will broadcast the final championship rounds of the bee in high definition. Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts will host the ABC broadcast.

Spellers are in the age group of nine to 15.

The Louisville Courier-Journal started the bee in 1925. The E W Scripps Co., a media conglomerate, assumed sponsorship in 1941, according to the Spelling Bee website.

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