Spelling Bee Competition Day Checklist
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On spelling bee day, the plan is simple: get a full night’s sleep, eat breakfast, arrive early with only what you need, and know exactly what happens at the microphone. When it’s your turn, face the judges, say the word, ask your questions, spell each letter clearly, then say the word again. Once a letter is spoken, it can’t be changed. Between rounds, rest and breathe. If you miss a word, one word doesn’t undo the work you’ve done.
The night before
Start with sleep. The CDC recommends 9 to 12 hours of sleep for children ages 6 to 12 and 8 to 10 hours for teens ages 13 to 17 (CDC). Work backward from your wake-up time to choose a bedtime. The CDC’s tips for better sleep include going to bed and getting up at the same time every day and turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime (CDC), so keep bee week’s schedule steady and put screens away early the night before.
If you want to review, keep it light: quiz yourself on a short set of words you already know well, then stop. Lay out your clothes and pack your bag so the morning is calm.
The morning of the bee
Eat breakfast. A CDC report on US high school students notes that, compared with skipping breakfast, eating breakfast can help support students’ readiness to learn and has been linked with better cognitive performance and academic achievement (CDC). Choose a breakfast you normally eat.
Plan to arrive early so you have time to find your seat, check in and settle down. If nerves show up, how to stay calm at a spelling bee has tools to use before your turn.
What to bring
- The registration details or confirmation your bee asked for
- A water bottle and a small snack for breaks, if your bee allows food and drink
- A sweater or extra layer
- Something quiet to do during long breaks, such as a book
- A copy of your bee’s rules, or a plan to read them when they’re handed out
Scripps’ suggested rules say officials should give spellers and audience members a chance to receive a complete copy of the rules before the bee starts (Scripps 2027 Suggested Rules). Leave word lists and study notes with a parent. At the national finals, spellers may not wear or bring anything that could be seen as having potential to convey spelling advice, and may not have writing on their bodies that could help them, unless it’s an approved accommodation (Scripps 2026 Contest Rules).
If a speller has a diagnosed and documented condition, parents should request accommodations from the bee’s officials well before bee day (Scripps 2027 Suggested Rules).
How a turn at the microphone works
The current Scripps season is the 2026-2027 program year. Scripps says the Contest Rules of the 2027 Scripps National Spelling Bee will become available in late fall of 2026 (Scripps). Until then, the current-season document is the 2027 Suggested Rules for Spelling Bees, which Scripps provides as guidance for local bees. Local officials are encouraged but not required to use them, and their decisions are final (Scripps). Ask your bee’s officials which rules they use.
Under the 2027 Suggested Rules (Scripps 2027 Suggested Rules):
| What happens | What the rules say |
|---|---|
| Walking up | Judges disqualify a speller who doesn’t approach the microphone when it’s time to receive the word. |
| Hearing the word | Face the judges and try to pronounce the word before and after spelling it. Judges may not disqualify you for skipping this. |
| Asking questions | You may ask for the word again, a definition, a sentence, the part of speech, the language(s) of origin and alternate pronunciations. Asking a question can’t get you disqualified. |
| Spelling | Say each letter distinctly and loudly enough for the judges to understand. You need the correct letters in the correct order. |
| Starting over | If you retrace a spelling, you can’t change the letters or their order from what you first said. |
| Unclear sounds | Judges disqualify a speller who makes unintelligible or nonsense sounds while spelling. |
The questions you can ask are covered in detail in what you can ask in a spelling bee.
Time limits
The 2027 Suggested Rules don’t set a time limit, so your local bee decides. At the 2026 national finals, spellers had 90 seconds per word in oral spelling rounds, starting when the pronouncer first said the word, with a countdown clock on a monitor. The judges and pronouncer didn’t talk with the speller during the final 15 seconds. A speller who hadn’t given a correct, complete spelling when time ran out was disqualified. Spellers showed they had finished by saying the word after spelling it (Scripps 2026 Contest Rules).
One rule where Scripps pages differ
The “School Spelling Bee ABCs” on Scripps’ rules page say to declare a champion when only one student moves on to the next round and then spells correctly in that one-student, one-word round (Scripps). The newer 2027 Suggested Rules say that if only one speller in a round spells correctly and everyone else misspells, that speller is immediately declared the champion (Scripps 2027 Suggested Rules). The 2027 document is the current season’s rulebook. The ABCs match the 2026 version of the suggested rules. Your local officials decide which procedure applies.
Pacing yourself between rounds
Treat breaks as recovery time. Sip water, eat your snack if you’re allowed one, stretch, and look away from the stage for a bit. Before each turn, try a few slow, deep breaths. In a study of 122 Primary 5 students, taking deep breaths before a timed math test reduced how anxious the children felt and improved their scores (Khng, 2017).
Listen to the pronouncer during other spellers’ turns so the voice feels familiar when it’s your turn. Try not to replay words you think you might have missed.
If you miss a word
Under the 2027 Suggested Rules, a speller who misspells is eliminated right away. The exception is when no one in the round spells correctly. In that case, everyone stays and a new round begins (Scripps 2027 Suggested Rules).
It’s fine to feel disappointed. Give yourself a moment, then notice what went right: you prepared, you stood up in front of an audience and you spelled under pressure. Ask yourself what the word can teach you. Maybe it came from a language whose patterns you haven’t studied yet, or had a root worth learning. That can shape your practice for next season with spelling bee word lists and practice at home.
For parents
The APA suggests reminding children of times they worked hard and improved when they slip into negative self-talk, and letting them work through low-stakes problems on their own (APA). If you believe a ruling was wrong, the 2027 Suggested Rules allow appeals only on specific grounds and within a strict deadline (Scripps 2027 Suggested Rules). Read your bee’s rules before the day so you know the process.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to say capital letters, hyphens or spaces when you spell?
No. Under the Scripps 2027 Suggested Rules, spellers don't need to note capitalization, diacritical marks, hyphens or other punctuation, or the space between words in an open compound. Judges may not disqualify a speller for noting or failing to note them. What counts is the correct letters in the correct order.
What happens if every speller in a round misspells?
Under the Scripps 2027 Suggested Rules, if no one who started the round spells correctly, everyone stays in the competition and a new round begins. Spellers eliminated in the same round are tied for the same place.
Can a parent appeal a spelling bee decision?
Under the 2027 Suggested Rules, a parent, guardian, teacher or principal can file a written appeal on a few specific grounds, such as the speller giving the correct letters in the correct order but still being eliminated. It must reach the designated official before the speller would have received their next word. Once five or fewer spellers remain, an oral appeal is made instead. Your local bee may use different rules.
Can I ask the pronouncer to say the word more slowly?
Not under the 2027 Suggested Rules. The pronouncer doesn't take requests for slower pronunciation, root word questions or alternate definitions. You can ask for the word again, a definition, a sentence, the part of speech, the language of origin and alternate pronunciations.
Sources
- 2027 Suggested Rules for Spelling Bees, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Accessed October 20, 2026.
- Contest Rules of the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Accessed October 20, 2026.
- Rules for spelling bees, Scripps National Spelling Bee. Accessed October 20, 2026.
- About Sleep, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed October 20, 2026.
- Skipping Breakfast and Academic Grades, Persistent Feelings of Sadness or Hopelessness, and School Connectedness Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MMWR Supplements (Sliwa et al., 2024). Accessed October 20, 2026.
- How to help children and teens manage their stress, American Psychological Association. Accessed October 20, 2026.
- A better state-of-mind: deep breathing reduces state anxiety and enhances test performance through regulating test cognitions in children, Cognition and Emotion (Khng, 2017). Accessed October 20, 2026.