Rules for Lahore and Islamabad Regional Championships:

1.       The DAWN IN EDUCATION SPELLING BEE will be an oral competition and will be conducted in rounds.
 

2.       Participants will NOT be allowed to write the word on a piece of paper.
 

3.       Participants will be asked 4 words in Buzz Words Round and 3 words in Triple Sting Round.
 

4.       5 points would be awarded for each correct response. Also note that if a team spells all the three words in the Triple Sting correctly they would be awarded 5 bonus points.

5.       After the pronouncer gives the team/speller a word the total time given to each team/speller will be 40 seconds. From this time the team/speller will have only 20 seconds to ask questions about the word and 20 seconds to spell the word.
 

6.       On completion of the first 20 seconds mark the judge will call "20 seconds a buzzer will sound and on the completion of the remaining 20 seconds again a buzzer will sound indicating that the time has finished.
 

7.       Schools should train the team to ask the pronouncer for the meaning of the word asked, as words with similar pronunciation but different meanings (Homophones) will be asked. E.g. Bare, Bear

NOTE: The team may ask the pronouncer to repeat the word, define it, use it in a sentence, provide the part of speech, and consult his/her team members. The pronouncer shall grant all such requests in the first 20 seconds only.

 

8.       The speller must spell the word only after consulting the team members. The team members will NOT be allowed to prompt or stop the speller once he/she begins spelling the word.
 

9.       All three members will be allowed to ask the pronouncer to repeat the word, define it, use it in a sentence and provide the part of speech. However, only the Speller will spell the word.

 

10.   Having started to spell a word, a speller may stop and start after taking the permission of the pronouncer to start over. However the speller must keep in mind the given time (will be the original time and not the restart time) within which the team has to give the correct spelling.
 

11.   In a situation when the speller has not completely spelt the word and wants to retrace the spelling, he/she shall be allowed to do so if time remains. The speller will be awarded points if he/she starts spelling the word within the given time but crosses the 40 second mark. However, the speller must keep in mind that after the 40 second mark has been crossed he/she will not be allowed to retrace the word.

Note: In retracing, the speller will be allowed to change the sequence of the letters. However the speller will not be allowed to retrace if the word asked has been completely spelt and pronounced once.

12.   During the first two rounds even if a team misspells a word it will not be eliminated.
 

13.   In the instance that the Speller has completely spelt a word he/she will not be allowed to retrace it.
 

14.   In a situation when there is a tie between teams competing in a pool, a new round will be conducted. This is an optional round called To Bee or Not To Bee and will be conducted only if such a situation arises. The To Bee or Not To Bee round will be a knock out session in which super bonus words (no character limit of words) will be asked.
 

15.   The team with the highest score per pool will reach the Win the Bee Round to be held after the pool rounds are over. In this round the teams will break up and participants will compete on an individual basis. The spellers will be asked super bonus words (no character limit of words). This round will continue till one participant emerges as the winner.
 

16.   The Win the Bee Round will take place after the pool rounds. ONLY the participants of the top scoring team of each pool will compete in this round. 3 participants will be selected from each age group who will then participate in the National Championship.
However, only one participant per age group will emerge as the winner of the DAWN in Education Spelling Bee Regional Championship Jan/Feb 2009

17.   The Win the Bee Round will be a knock out session whereby each participant will be given a word to spell. If a particular participant is unable to spell the word given to him/her he/she will be eliminated. The pronouncer will give the correct spelling of this word and ask the next participant a new word.
 

18.   When the number of participants is reduced to two, the elimination procedure changes. At that point, when one participants misspells a word, the other participant shall be given a new word. If the second participant spells his/her next word correctly, he/she will be declared the champion. If both participants misspell their words, both shall continue in the competition, and the one who first misspelled the word shall be given a new word to spell. Both participants will be given an equal number of words before either one of them is declared a champion.

19. The elimination will take place incase (1) a participant is unable to spell the word (2) a participant misspells a word and or (3) a participant starts to spell the word after the 40 second mark.

Rules for District Rounds (Karachi only) & Karachi Regional Championship:

1.       The DAWN IN EDUCATION SPELLING BEE will be an oral competition and will be conducted in rounds.
 

2.       Participants will NOT be allowed to write the word on a piece of paper.
 

3.       Schools should train the team to ask the pronouncer for the meaning of the word asked, as words with similar pronunciation but different meanings (Homophones) will be asked. E.g. Bare, Bear

NOTE: The team may ask the pronouncer to repeat the word, define it, use it in a sentence, provide the part of speech, and consult his/her team members. The pronouncer shall grant all such requests in the first 20 seconds only.
 

4.       The speller must spell the word only after consulting the team members. The team members will NOT be allowed to prompt or stop the speller once he/she begins spelling the word.
 

5.       All three members will be allowed to ask the pronouncer to repeat the word, define it, use it in a sentence and provide the part of speech. However, only the Speller will spell the word.
 

6.       During the first two rounds even if a team misspells a word it will not be eliminated. If the spellings are incorrect the pronouncer will give the correct spelling and no one will receive points for that word.
 

7.       After the pronouncer gives the team/speller a word the total time given to each team/speller will be 40 seconds. From this time the team/speller will have only 20 seconds to ask questions about the word and 20 seconds to spell the word.
 

8.       On completion of the first 20 seconds mark, the judge will call "20 seconds" On completion of the first 20 seconds mark a buzzer will sound and on the completion of the remaining 20 seconds again a buzzer will sound indicating that the time has finished.

9.       Having started to spell a word, a speller may stop and start after taking the permission of the pronouncer to start over. However the speller must keep in mind the given time (will be the original time and not the restart time) within which the team has to give the correct spelling.

10.   In a situation when the speller has not completely spelt the word and wants to retrace the spelling, he/she shall be allowed to do so if time remains. The speller will be awarded points if he/she starts spelling the word within the given time but crosses the 40 second mark. However, the speller must keep in mind that after the 40 second mark has been crossed he/she will not be allowed to retrace the word.

 

Note: In retracing, the speller will be allowed to change the sequence of the letters. However the speller will not be allowed to retrace if the word asked has been completely spelt and pronounced once. 

11.   A new word will be asked of a team if there is an objection to its pronounciation.
 

12.   In a situation when there is a tie between teams competing in a session, a new round will be conducted. This is an optional round called To Bee or Not To Bee and will be conducted only if such a situation arises. The To Bee or Not To Bee round will be a knock out session in which super bonus words (no character limit of words) will be asked.
 

13.   Two teams with the highest score per session per age group will reach the Karachi Regional Championship.
 

14.   The Win the Bee Round will take place only at the Regional Championship. ONLY the participants of the top scoring team of the Regional Championship will compete in this round. 3 participants will be selected from each age group who will then participate in the National Championship.
However, only one participant per age group will emerge as the winner of the DAWN in Education Spelling Bee Regional Championship Jan/Feb 2009

15.   The Win the Bee Round will be a knock out session whereby each participant will be given a word to spell. If a particular participant is unable to spell the word given to him/her, he/she will be eliminated. The pronouncer will give the correct spelling of this word and ask the next participant a new word.
 

16.   When the number of participants is reduced to two, the elimination procedure changes. At that point, when one participants misspells a word, the other participant shall be given a new word. If the second participant spells his/her next word correctly, he/she will be declared the champion. If both participants misspell their words, both shall continue in the competition, and the one who first misspelled the word shall be given a new word to spell. Both participants will be given an equal number of words before either one of them is declared a champion.
 

17.   The elimination will take place in case (1) a participant is unable to spell the word (2) a participant misspells a word and or (3) a participant starts to spell the word after the 40 second mark.