May 23, 2024

5-8pm | - "The Champlain Room & Terrace"
 

Join us for a special evening of friendly spelling competition. The Spelling Bee will consist of three rounds of spellers: corporate, collegiate, and high school levels. 

Supporting our "Filling Bellies, Feeding Minds" Initiatives

The Burlington Rotary Club is hosting a Spelling Bee in May 2024 to fill bellies and to feed minds in our community. The club's 3-year food security initiative is increasing access to food to everyone in our region. The club has partnered with the Intervale Center, Hunger Free VT, and Feeding Chittenden to provide volunteer hands, create translated food access videos, and advance the gleaning and food access program distribution at the Intervale. Sound nourishment is the foundation for a healthy body that can concentrate and learn. Literacy is the foundation of knowledge and success: Being literate enables one to follow their educational dreams and studies show that access to books during early childhood is a strong indicator of success later in life. The club is a proud partner with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide monthly free books to kids in Burlington.

 

Meet our emcee for Evening: Tom Messner

Tom Messner served as NBC5’s Chief Meteorologist for thirty one years, not only delivering forecasts from the studio but broadcasting live from area fairs, parades, and other events and visiting thousands of kids in their classrooms. He’s also worked with countless community groups, including Feeding Chittenden, the American Red Cross, United Way, Ronald McDonald House, American Heart Association, Share with a Hungry Neighbor, D.A.R.E, Make-a-Wish and the Alzheimer's Association. Most recently, Tom has joined the business world as a partner with the Vermont Lake Monsters and Bolton Valley Resort, an early-stage investor in local startups, and the founder and host of the video podcast VERMONT STARTUP NEWS.

 

A Big Thank You To All Our Sponsors!

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Let's Have Some Fun!
2024 - OFFICIAL RULES
2024 - OFFICIAL RULES
 BURLINGTON ROTARY'S 
 RAPID-FIRE 
  SPELLING BEE 
-Thursday, May 23, 2024-
Teams:
Each on-stage spelling team consists of three (3) spellers. Each team will be seated on the stage in random order.
During each round teams will spell in the order they are seated on the stage. 
 
Elimination:
 Each team that has not been eliminated from the competition spells one word in each round. Upon incorrectly spelling a word during a round, the team is eliminated from the competition, except as provided under "End-of-Bee Procedure".  All teams eliminated in the same round are tied for the same place.
 
"End-of-Bee" Procedure:
If every team in a round misspells, all remain in the competition and a new round begins with the teams  spelling in their original order. If only one team spells correctly in a round, a new one-word round begins, and the team is given an opportunity to spell the next word on the list (anticipated winning word). If the team correctly spells the anticipated winning word in the one-word round, the team is declared the champion. If the team misspells the anticipated winning word in the one-word round, a new round begins with all the teams who spelled correctly and incorrectly in the previous round. These teams spell in their original order.
 
Time Limits: During each round, the teams have a 1.5-minute (90 second) time limit. Time begins when the pronouncer first pronounces the word. The teams are given a warning (green card) when one minute remains, and then another warning (red card) when 30 seconds remain. The judges/timekeepers, in their sole discretion, may make adjustments in response to unexpected circumstances.
 
Pronouncer/Team Duties:
The pronouncer will give each team a word. During the first minute the team may ask the for the word to be repeated; for a definition of the word; for the word's language of origin and/or that the word be used in a sentence. The team may consult among themselves until the 30 second warning. The team designates a team member to spell the word. The speller must pronounce the word before spelling it and after spelling it. The speller spells the word and then signals to the judges that he/she is done spelling by pronouncing the word again. For instance, the pronouncer gives the word "bee" to the team. The team may ask for the information noted above. Then the designated speller proceeds by saying,
 
"Bee,       b-e-e,      bee."
 
 Once the speller starts the spelling, he/she may restart the spelling of the word again. The speller cannot change the letters, or the order already given. Failure to complete the spelling within the 1.5 minutes is considered a misspelling  The judges will indicate that the word has been spelled correctly by ringing a bell or will give the correct spelling otherwise. If a word is spelled correctly a team will not be eliminated solely because the speller forgot to say the word before or after the spelling.
 
Finality:
The spelling bee is subject to certain time limitations. If more than one team remains at the end of the allotted time the remaining teams may be declared co-champions at the sole discretion of the judges.  Rules are subject to modification - and a “tie-breaker” may be employed.  
 
All decisions of the judges are final.