Register by Monday for May 28 spelling bee

| May 17, 2015 9:00 PM

Time is running short for the excellent spellers of Kootenai County to prove that spelling is a competitive sport.

Monday is the deadline to register teams for the 2015 Kootenai County Adult Spelling Bee. The annual event will be held Thursday, May 28, at North Idaho College. The luncheon starts at 11:30 a.m. and lasts for just under two hours.

American Association of University Women sponsors the event each year to raise funds for local college scholarships.

Teams of two or three people may register for $100, which includes lunch and an event T-shirt for each contestant. More information is available at http://coeurdalene-id.aauw.net/spelling-bee/, or by calling (208) 818-4331.

This grown-up version of the old-fashioned spelling bee lets teams confer on the correct spelling and even write it on a white board before spelling the word for the audience. They can ask for the definition or to have the word used in a sentence, and they have 30 seconds to come up with an answer. The words are generally eighth-grade level - the hard ones.

The public is invited to participate. Prizes will be awarded to the top two teams.

see SPELLING, A3

SPELLING

Lunch is $25 and the event T-shirt is $10. Tickets must be ordered in advance. RSVP by Monday to the telephone number above. Guests may pay for their tickets at the bee. Additionally, gallery seating is available at no charge, but outside food may not be brought into the venue. An RSVP isn't necessary for gallery seats.

Last year's bee - won by North Idaho Eye Institute physician Alison Granier and her mother - netted AAUW about $2,900. Two $1,000 scholarships were funded at North Idaho College and one $1,000 scholarship was given at the University of Idaho Coeur d'Alene Center.