What is the Scripps National Spelling Bee?
The Scripps Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational promotion, administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company and 243 sponsors in the United States, Europe, Guam, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, The Bahamas, and American Samoa. Their headquarters office in Cincinnati, Ohio coordinates the national finals, enrolls sponsors, and produces word lists and study materials. This will be the 79th Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The Louisville Courier-Journal started the event with nine contestants in 1925. In 1941 Scripps assumed sponsorship of the program. There was no Scripps National Spelling Bee during the World War II years of 1943, 1944, and 1945. Co-champions were declared in 1950, 1957, and 1962. Of the 80 champions, 42 are girls and 38 are boys.
