National Spelling Bee in US: Facts you need to know about it

National Spelling Bee was started with an aim to help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives.

Below are the facts need to know about National Spelling Bee

• National Spelling Bee was started in 1925 with collaboration of nine newspapers.
• Scripps became sponsor of the National Spelling Bee in 1941.
• Scripps National Spelling Bee was not held during the war years of 1943-45.

• Co-champions were declared in 1950, 1957, 1962 and 2014.
• Of the 91 champions, 47 have been girls and 44 have been boys.
• National Spelling Bee witnessed steady growth between the 1920s and the 1970s, and between 1980 and 1990 the number of participants doubled.
• In recent years the program underwent a second growth spurt - and a significant surge in popularity - thanks to live coverage on ESPN.
• For the first time since 1962, the Scripps National Spelling Bee ended in a tie in 2014, with two Indian American contestants sharing the top prize.
• Sriram Hathwar and Ansun Sujoe of Indian origin were named co-champions of the 2014 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Television broadcast history:

• 1946: The national finals were broadcast live on NBC.
• 1974 and 1977: The national finals were broadcast on PBS a taped primetime special.
• 1994-2009: The national finals were broadcast live in daytime on ESPN.
• 2006-2010: The national finals were broadcast live on ABC.
• 2011-2014: The national finals were broadcast live in primetime on ESPN.