Since we're often asked about what we do during the "offseason," we wanted to give our loyal fans a peek behind the curtain and explain why this time of year is very important to the success of the Bee. As we enter the month of August, temperatures are rising, classrooms around the country are being prepared for the return of students and your dedicated Bee staff is deep in the heart of local sponsorship renewals.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee grants a limited number of local spelling bee sponsorships to media organizations, universities, nonprofits and other community leaders.
But local sponsors are more than just a company name on the speller's placard (pictured, left). In fact, as the title of this post states, we often call our local sponsors the "lifeblood of the Bee" because of all they do to help us identify the best spellers in the country.
Among other responsibilities, these local sponsors conduct community spelling bee programs in cooperation with teachers and administrators at area schools. You can read the full list of responsibilities for local sponsors on our FAQ page.
So to answer the original question of what we do during the "offseason," enrolling or renewing local sponsors is just one of the many important things that happen while most students are focused on summer vacation. This is the first step to narrow the field from more than 11 million students down to the roughly 280 who participate in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C.