Spell-bound
53 contestants to vie for county bee title
Steer clear of the conference center at AWC today — somebody might put a “spell” on you.
Yuma County’s best spellers will show off their orthographic skills as they compete for the chance to represent the county in the state bee.
This year’s Yuma County Spelling Bee — its 72nd year — has 53 contestants from public, private and charter schools across the county, said Carolyn Marquez, the coordinator for Yuma County’s bee.
Today’s county competition starts with registration at 9 a.m. at the Schoening Conference Center on the campus of Arizona Western College. The “bee” itself starts at 10:30 a.m. and the general public is welcome to attend.
In order to compete in the local, state and national competitions, schools must be members of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Home-schooled students are also eligible to register.
The county bee follows the format put forth by the Arizona Educational Foundation, which conforms to the national Scripps rules, with one exception, Marquez said: Yuma students compete at the county level, not at a district level. Yuma County has seven elementary districts.
The winner of today’s bee will advance to the Arizona Spelling Bee on March 24 at Arizona PBS, 500 N. Central Ave., 6th Floor, Phoenix, AZ 85004, with 26 other spellers from around the state. Each county may send one speller, with the exception of Pima and Maricopa, which send representatives from several regions and their runner-ups.