1. The Bee is open to anyone ages 18 or older. The Bee is intended to be a fun, informal fundraiser for the Knoxville Writer’s Guild.
  2. Contestants do not have to be a member of the Knoxville Writer’s Guild to participate in the Bee.
  3. All words listed in the Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, may be considered for this contest. There’s no official study booklet, but study links will be posted at Knoxvillewritersguild.org.
  4. The entry fee of $12 is non-refundable.
  5.  The judges’ decisions are final.
  6. Spellers must arrive by 6:30 p.m., September 6, 2018, at Scruffy City Hall, 32 Market Square, Knoxville, TN 37902.
  7.  The spelling order will be assigned by the Knoxville Writers Guild.
  8. The pronouncer will correctly pronounce the word and give its definition.
  9. After the pronouncer correctly pronounces the word and gives its definition, the speller will be asked to repeat the word. Then the speller has 30 seconds to spell the word. The pronunciation and definition may be repeated one time at the speller’s request during the 30 seconds. If time lapses, the speller is eliminated.
  10. Having started to spell a word, a speller may stop and start over. However, if letters or their sequence change in respelling, the speller is eliminated.
  11. The competition will be conducted in rounds. Each speller spells one word in each round. If a word is misspelled, the speller is eliminated, but remains on stage until the end of that round. The next word on the pronouncer’s list is given to the next speller.
  12. If none of the spellers in a round spells a word correctly during that round, they will all remain in the competition for a new round, in the same order.
  13. If only one of the spellers remaining in the competition at the start of a round spells a word correctly during that round, that person is the Champion.
  14.  If the Bee runs too long, the judges, at their discretion, may create co-champions or start lightning rounds of 15 seconds each.
  15. First and second place prize winners from previous years are ineligible for this competition.