May 30, 2006

Julia Brown of Poway is competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee with 135 other girls and 139 boys. Most of them – 188 – are 13 or 14 years old, but one is 9, the minimum age, and two are 15, the maximum age. More than seven in 10 are in public school, roughly one in 10 is home-schooled or in private school, and one in 20 is in parochial school.

The competitors represent the United States, Europe, Guam, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, American Samoa, Canada and New Zealand.

Here is what they face as the bee begins tomorrow in Washington, D.C.:

Round one is a 25-word written test at 8:45 a.m.

Round two is the first oral test, from 9 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.

Remaining participants go on to rounds three and four in the afternoon and, if more than 45 spellers remain, there could be additional competition.

On Thursday, the semifinal and championship rounds take place before a national TV audience.

The winner receives $30,000, a $5,000 college scholarship, a $2,500 U.S. savings bond and more than $5,000 in reference works. All spellers receive a commemorative watch, Webster's Third New International Dictionary Unabridged on CD-ROM, and at least $125 in cash and prizes.

SOURCE: 2006 SCRIPPS NATIONAL SPELLING BEE

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