2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee Begins Today in Washington D.C.

    WASHINGTON, May 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The 2007 Scripps National
 Spelling Bee begins today in Washington D.C., featuring top spellers from
 across the U.S. and including competitors from Europe, Guam, Jamaica,
 Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, American Samoa, Canada
 and New Zealand.
     The 286 champion spellers, ranging in age from 10- to 15-years-old,
 will be competing for the Scripps National Spelling Bee Championship, which
 will be determined during the semifinal and championship rounds of the
 competition Thursday, May 31. The spellers have qualified to compete in the
 national competition by winning locally sponsored spelling bees in their
 home communities. The national competition will be held in the Independence
 Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Washington.
     The ABC Television Network will provide live coverage of the
 championship rounds from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., EDT, on Thursday, May 31. Good
 Morning America anchor Robin Roberts will host the ABC broadcast.
     Semifinal rounds of the bee will air live earlier in the day on ESPN
 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT. SportsCenter anchor Chris McKendry will host
 the ESPN broadcast.
     The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation's largest and longest-
 running educational promotion. The competition is administered on a
 not-for- profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company in Cincinnati and 280
 local sponsors. The majority of local spelling bee sponsors are daily and
 weekly newspapers.
     The purpose of the National Spelling Bee is to help students improve
 spelling, increase vocabularies, learn concepts and develop correct English
 usage that will help them all of their lives. The program is open to
 students who have not reached their 16th birthday on or before the date of
 the national finals and who have not advanced beyond the eighth grade by
 Feb. 1, 2007.
     The spelling bee is primarily an oral competition conducted in rounds
 until only one speller remains. Preliminary and quarterfinal rounds -
 including a 25-word multiple-choice test - will be held Wednesday, May 30.
 The semifinal and championship rounds will be held on Thursday, May 31.
     The National Spelling Bee word panel has compiled a list consisting of
 more than 1,000 words that will be used in the national competition.
     Cash prizes for competitors range from $50 to $20,000 for the national
 champion. All spellers receive a commemorative watch; the Samuel Louis
 Sugarman Award, which consists of a $100 EE U.S. Savings bond; Webster's
 Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, on CD-ROM from
 Merriam-Webster; a $20 gift certificate from Franklin Electronic
 Publishers; and an iQuest handheld from LeapFrog.
     The national champion also receives an engraved loving cup, a $5,000
 cash award from Franklin Electronic Publishers, a $5,000 cash award from
 LeapFrog Enterprises Inc., a $5,000 scholarship from Sigma Phi Epsilon
 Educational Foundation; from Merriam-Webster, a $2,500 U.S. Savings Bond, a
 reference library, and a $5,000 cash award and 50 reference works to the
 school or library of the champion's choice; and from Encyclopedia
 Britannica, reference materials valued at more than $3,800.
     Information about the 2007 Scripps National Spelling Bee can be found
 online at www.spellingbee.com.
     About Scripps
     The E. W. Scripps Company (www.scripps.com) is a diverse and growing
 media enterprise with interests in national cable networks, newspaper
 publishing, broadcast television stations, interactive media, and licensing
 and syndication.
     The company's portfolio of media properties includes: Scripps Networks,
 with such brands as HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network, Fine Living and Great
 American Country; daily and community newspapers in 17 markets and the
 Washington-based Scripps Media Center, home to the Scripps Howard News
 Service; 10 broadcast TV stations, including six ABC-affiliated stations,
 three NBC affiliates and one independent; Scripps Interactive Media,
 including leading online search and comparison shopping services, Shopzilla
 and uSwitch; and United Media, a leading worldwide licensing and
 syndication company that is the home of PEANUTS, DILBERT and approximately
 150 other features and comics.
 
 

SOURCE The E. W. Scripps Company