Dallas Sports Commission Hosts 63rd Annual Dallas Regional Spelling Bee

DALLAS, TEXAS — The Dallas Sports Commission will host the 63rd Annual Dallas Regional Spelling Bee on Friday, March 19th.

In order to protect the health of participants and their families during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dallas Sports Commission is hosting the Spelling Bee virtually this year. The Bee will use a remote Online Testing Platform (OTP) developed by Scripps, which provides regional spelling bees across the nation with the flexibility to administer a virtual option at any level of competition. The top two spellers will advance to the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition this June.

To qualify for the spelling bee, the contestants must be in the eighth grade or lower and have won their individual school bee and local county bee. The test requires contestants to type words and answer vocabulary questions via the OTP. Unlike years past, there will be no oral speaking element.

Twenty-six contestants from 16 counties will compete in the Dallas Regional Level OTP competition. These contestants represent the best of approximately 70,000 students from over 600 schools who competed in school bees throughout North and East Texas.

The top two spellers of the Dallas Regional Level Spelling Bee will advance to an online preliminary stage of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which will be followed by a virtual quarterfinal and semifinal in the weeks leading up to an in-person final on July 8. Finalists from across the country (10-to-12) will travel to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida for the final event, which will be broadcast live on ESPN2. Should a Dallas regional winner advance to the in-person Scripps finals, they will receive an all-expense paid trip to Florida with flights courtesy of Southwest Airlines.

“This has undoubtedly been a challenging year for everyone, but I am so proud of the perseverance of our students representing the Dallas region in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, said Monica Paul, Dallas Sports Commission Executive Director. “We commend our spellers for remaining focused while participating in a unique spelling bee competition. We wish them all the best of luck.”