Eligibility: A speller qualifying for the 2022 SNSB national finals must meet these requirements:

(1) The speller must not have won an SNSB national finals.

(2) The speller must attend a school that is officially enrolled with the SNSB.

(3) The speller must not have passed beyond the eighth grade on or before August 31, 2021.

(4) The speller must not have repeated any grade for the purpose of extending spelling bee eligibility. If the speller has repeated any grade, the speller must notify the SNSB of the circumstances of grade repetition by March 31, 2022; and the SNSB will, at its sole discretion, determine the speller’s eligibility status on or before April 30, 2022.

(5) The speller — or the speller’s parent, legal guardian or school official acting on the speller’s behalf — must not have declared to another entity an academic classification higher than eighth grade for any purpose, including high school graduation equivalency or proficiency examinations and/or examinations such as the PSAT, SAT or ACT.

(6) The speller must not have earned the legal equivalent of a high school diploma.

(7) The speller must not eschew normal school activity to study for spelling bees. The SNSB defines normal school activity as adherence to at least four courses of study other than language arts, spelling, Latin, Greek, vocabulary and etymology for at least four hours per weekday for 34 of the 38 weeks between August 23, 2021, and May 16, 2022.

(8) The speller must not have reached his/her 15th birthday on or before August 31, 2021.

(9) The speller must have been declared a champion of an SNSB-sanctioned final local spelling bee taking place on or after February 1, 2022, or be a spelling champion selected to compete in the national finals through an official SNSB program.

(10) The speller, upon qualifying for the 2022 SNSB national finals, must submit to the SNSB a completed Champion Bio Form, a Certification of Eligibility Form, a signed Appearance Consent and Release Form, and a photo. The speller will notify the SNSB — at least 24 hours prior to the first day of the SNSB national finals — if any of the statements made on the Certification of Eligibility Form are no longer true or require updating. The speller’s sponsor will provide access to the necessary forms.

(11) The speller must not have any first-, second- or third-degree relatives (i.e., sibling, parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, half-sibling, first cousin or great-grandparent) who are current employees of The E.W. Scripps Company.