Kootenai County Adult Spelling Bee registration due Thursday

This Thursday is the last day to register teams for the 2017 Kootenai County Adult Spelling Bee and to reserve tickets to the bee luncheon.

The event, sponsored each year by the Coeur d’Alene branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW), will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 25, at North Idaho College. Teams of two or three people may register for $100, which includes lunch for each contestant. First- and second-place teams will receive prizes, and everyone that competes will receive a memento of the day.

The luncheon is open to the public. Advance tickets are $25 and will be held at the registration desk to be paid at the door. The luncheon will include meatless and gluten-free selections in addition to the regular main course. There is also free gallery seating (no food).

AAUW sponsors the bee each year to raise money for scholarships for local students at North Idaho College and the University of Idaho Coeur d’Alene center. The Coeur d’Alene AAUW branch’s relationship with NIC dates back to 1951, when the first scholarship was awarded.

Contestants must be at least 18 years of age. Anyone can put together a team.

The spelling bee coincides with the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, but there is no connection between the two. The adult bee’s rules are considerably more relaxed: after the word is announced and defined, the team has 30 seconds to ponder its answer, which is then written on an overhead projector for all to see.

Teams from Unitech and North Idaho Eye Institute tied for first place last year. North Idaho Eye Institute also won in 2014.

Bee there! In order to meet the deadline for registering a team or to reserve a lunch ticket, please call (208) 818-4331 by noon this Wednesday. More information about the bee is available at AAUW’s website: http://coeurdalene-id.aauw.net/spelling-bee.