The Scripps National Spelling Bee and its presenting sponsor Kindle want students to connect their love of technology and reading through the second annual Spellebrity Video Contest.
The contest invites student teams to write, produce and record videos that showcase how to kindle the love of reading and winners will earn a trip to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in the Washington DC area in May 2017.
Both The E.W. Scripps Company and Kindle are working to elevate the belief that reading, spelling and vocabulary are critically important to a child’s lifelong achievement. With the Spellebrity Video Contest, students use their imagination to combine spelling and reading into a fun and inspiring message.
This year, organizers opened the contest window earlier to give student teams more time to plan and execute their video concepts.
“We were impressed and thrilled by the volume and quality of the videos we received in the very first year of our Spellebrity Video Contest,” said Paige Kimble, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “Now with a longer window of time to promote the contest, we look forward to seeing many more entries for 2017. This contest gives every student a different and worthwhile chance to earn their way to the unforgettable experience of Bee Week.”
Requirements for the 2017 Spellebrity Video Contest include:
- Eligibility: Students who have not passed beyond eighth grade and who are legal residents of the United States and its territories
- Team: One to four members on a team
- Team member requirements: Write script, record and edit the video
- Video length: No longer than five minutes
- Video theme: Spell out how to kindle the love of reading and feature three words that would be useful to know for a spelling bee. The video narrative should inspire viewers to read more in their daily lives.
- Adult involvement: Students must have the support of a parent or teacher who will be responsible for submitting the video and uploading a completed parental consent form (for each participating student) on spellebrity.com.
- Deadline to submit: Jan. 31, 2017
- Videos should be free of any copyrighted material, text, images and music
- See Official Rules and Terms of Participation
Following the Jan. 31 deadline, a judging panel will review all of the submissions and select 10 Semifinalist videos. The Semifinalist videos will be posted to spellebrity.com, where the public will vote for the best videos. The five videos that receive the most votes will advance to the National Finals, where participants in the Scripps National Spelling Bee will vote for the best video. The Champion video will be announced during the remarks before the primetime Finals on June 1, 2017.
Prizes:
- Each member of the Semifinalist teams (10) will receive a Kindle Paperwhite.
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Each member of the Finalist teams (5) will receive an expenses-paid trip to the 2017 Scripps National Spelling Bee:
- Economy airfare or train fare for each team member and a parent/guardian
- One standard hotel room at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center
- $400 gift card for travel and meal expenses
- Complimentary tickets for each team member and parent/guardian for the Memorial Day Barbecue, a Bee-organized tour of Washington, D.C., and the Awards Banquet
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Each member of the Champion team (1) will receive:
- $1,000 cash award
- Trophy
Key dates:
Oct. 17, 2016 – Jan. 31, 2017 – Submit videos to spellebrity.com
Feb. 1-28, 2017 – Judging panel selects 10 Semifinalist videos
March 1-24, 2017 – Public votes on spellingbee.com for favorite Semifinalist video
March 31, 2017 – Announcement of five Finalist videos at spellingbee.com
May 30-June 1, 2017 – Finalist videos presented and voted on during Bee Week
June 1, 2017 – Champion video announced before primetime Finals
