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Eligibility for the Competition

For an individual to be qualified as a speller in this competition,

1. He/she must be a registered student of a secondary school in Kwara State.
2. Such secondary school must have enrolled for the competition by obtaining the form and depositing a sum of N2, 500 in Guaranty Trust Bank.
3. The speller must be in the senior class category of the secondary school i.e., from SS1 – SS2 .

 The school is expected to forward their best (chosen) candidates to represent them.

• The speller must not be more than 18 years old
• He/she must be available throughout the period of the competition, no substitution is allowed

Competition Rules

1. The pronouncer (hereafter referred to as the Spelling Marshal) pronounces the word as clearly as possible using the diacritical markings of the Webster’s Third International Dictionary. 2. The speller may ask the spelling marshal to say the word again, define it, and/or use it in a sentence. The spelling marshal may grant all such requests at his own discretion until the judges agree that the word has been made reasonably clear to the speller. 3. In case of homonyms e.g., share, sheer, the Spelling Marshal indicates the word to be spelled by defining the word. 4. In event of a word that has two spellings that is, British and American spellings such as: favour – British and favor – American, the British spelling will be the accepted one. The speller will get a last warning if he gives the correct spelling, but it’s the American version. 5. The Spelling Marshal may also offer word information – without the speller having requested it – if the spelling marshal senses that such information may be helpful. 6. After the Spelling Marshal pronounces the word, the speller faces the judges and pronounces the word before spelling it and after. The say – spell – say procedure is to ensure that the speller understands the correct pronunciation of the word and that the judges know when the spelling is complete and no more spelling will be added. 7. The speller while facing the judges makes an effort to utter each letter distinctly and with sufficient volume to be understood by the judges and everybody in the audience. 8. Having started to spell a word, at the senatorial level, a speller may stop and start over, retracing the spelling from the beginning (but must still be within his time). However, at higher levels i.e., state level and grand finale, during retracing, there can be NO change in the letters or their sequence from those first pronounced. If there is a change in the letters or their sequence in the spelling, the speller is eliminated. In other words, the speller cannot correct himself even during his turn. 9. Timing: the speller has 60 seconds from the time the Spelling Marshal stops talking to spell the word. If the speller does not begin spelling after 30 seconds, he/she is reminded by the strike of a bell by the timekeeper. The speller will then have 30 seconds from the moment the Time Keeper reminds him/her to begin spelling until he/she must finish spelling the word. The Spelling Marshall will disqualify a studentwho has not spelled the word by the end of 60 seconds. 10. When a word is mis- spelt, the Spelling Marshal indicates this to the contestant and he/she is immediately eliminated and stands aside (i.e., at the state level and grand finale, at the senatorial level, the speller is eliminated after missing 2 chances). Depending on time constraints, the Spelling Marshal may ask somebody from the audience to spell the word so as to ensure audience participation. The Spelling Marshal then calls the next word on the spelling list to the next contestant. 11. The last man standing wins the competition. More rules will be introduced at the grand finale. 12. The official dictionary of the competition is the Webster’s Third International Unabridged Dictionary. All claims and protests can only be made from this source and other sources are not allowed. 13. The Spelling Marshal and the Judges’ decision are final.

Format

The competition will be held at three (3) levels viz: Senatorial, State level and grand finale.

Only two contestants will be allowed from each secondary school.

Senatorial District Level (Stage 1)

Competitions begin at the senatorial districts level meaning 3 competitions will be held at the various districts viz: Kwara South, Kwara North and Kwara Central. There will be rounds of oral spelling and a speller is eliminated at each level. The last 10 (10) standing per Senatorial District will proceed to the next stage. Thus, thirty (30) students go to the state level.

State Level (Stage 2)

Winners from the senatorial districts compete at the state level. Here, 10 contestants will be selected to go for the grand finale. The last ten (10) standing go to the finals.

Grand Finale (Stage 3) Here rounds of spelling go on until the last boy/girl standing - who automatically becomes the winner. The first and second runners up are also selected and awards and prizes given. Consolation prizes will be given to all the remaining finalists.

Officials at the Competition

1. Spelling Marshal/moderator 2. Judges (at least 2) 3. Timekeeper 4. Independent observer 5. Spelling Monitors (2)

Role of the Spelling Marshall

I. Calls the words to be spelled II. Compiles the words to be spelled III. Indicates the time for the timekeeper to begin timing the contestant IV. Must be well versed in oral English V. Must be capable of proper pronunciation of words with correct diction VI. Must be entertaining and be able to carry the audience along VII. Should be capable of agree with the judges on controversial decisions VIII. Performs other functions as deemed necessary

Role of the Judges

I. Must be well versed in oral English II. Diligently monitor the contestants and audience for malpractice III. Can recall words and ask for other words to be spelt IV. May ask the contestant to spell again V. Have the ability to disqualify contestants VI. Plays the role of an arbiter between the Spelling Marshal and the Speller VII. Perform other functions as deemed necessary

Role of the Timekeeper

I. Must possess a stopwatch so as to ascertain the time correctly II. Must have an instrument to indicate the passage of time. A bell/gong is preferable III. Indicates by the strike of the bell if the contestant exceeds the given time giving a warning strike first at 30 seconds then a final strike at 60 seconds.

Role of the Spelling Monitors

I. They write down the words the contestants spell as they pronounce them II. They help to monitor the contestants and the audience III. Perform other functions as deemed necessary Role of the Independent Observers I. Must be a representative of the Ministry of Education and Women and Child Watch Initiatives II. Must be well versed with all the rules of the competition and be familiar with the proceedings III. Acts as a monitoring and evaluation officer during the course of the competition IV. Ensures that all competitions at the various venues are up to the recommended standard