Each speller has been assigned a number alphabetically by state, territory, or country. Except for the Round One test portion of the Preliminaries, this is an oral competition conducted in rounds until only one speller remains. Eliminations occur in accordance with Rules 4 and 5 of the Contest Rules of the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Procedure for Oral Competition

For detailed information on the competition procedure and rules, please read the Contest Rules of the 2008 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Here, however, are some key points regarding competition procedure:

• All spellers who have not been eliminated from the competition spell one word in each round.

• Misspelling during the Preliminaries: If a speller misspells during the oral portion of the Preliminaries, the head judge will not ring the bell. Instead, the pronouncer will offer the correct spelling, and the speller is expected to remain seated onstage until the conclusion of the round.

• Misspelling in the Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Championship Finals: The head judge will ring a bell after the misspelling is completed. The pronouncer will then give the correct spelling. A member of our crew will escort the speller backstage to a private area. Upon leaving the private area, spellers are encouraged to meet members of the media for interviews outside the Independence Ballroom.

• A speller may question the judges and pronouncer about a word’s pronunciation, definition, part of speech, use in a sentence and language of origin.

• Once having started to spell a word, a speller may start over, but the letter or sequence of letters already spoken may not be changed.

Procedure for the Round One Test (in the Preliminaries)

In the Round One test, spellers will spell 50 words using a computer keyboard. Only 25 of the 50 spellings will count toward each speller’s Preliminaries score. The 25 words that count toward a speller’s Preliminaries score were labeled “score words” by Bee officials prior to May 25, but score word status will not be apparent to a speller taking the Round One test. Bee officials will publicly identify score words following the conclusion of the Preliminaries on Thursday, May 29.

A sample test was available to all spellers through a secure Web site prior to Bee Week.

The test will be proctored by a member of the Bee’s staff. Dr. Bailly will not appear in person at the test; instead, spellers will hear a recording of Dr. Bailly delivering the word information (just as in the sample test available to spellers prior to Bee Week). The test has no time limit, and spellers are given multiple opportunities to review their answers and word information prior to submitting their final answers.

Access to the testing room during open testing hours will be restricted to spellers who are taking the test, Bee officials, staff, and crew.