Scripps Bee could not fit all the talen, hence a spelling bee for South Asians

THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED ON THE INDIAN EXPRESS (US and Canada Circulation) - 20 June 2008


Kids of South-Asian origin in the US seems to have more reasons to celebrate this summer, thanks to the launch of the South Asian Spelling Bee Contest, a spin-off from the popular Scripp’s National Spelling Bee contest. The press conference, held at Earth, NYC in Manhattan last week was attended by the owner and CEO of Touchstone Media Mr Rahul Walia, the Executive Vice President of Sony Entertainment Television Asia, Mr. Rajan Singh and top officials from the three main sponsors of the contest – State Farm, Western Union and MakeMyTrip.com.

The exceptional performances by South Asian children (read Indians) since 1985 with regularity has undoubtedly inspired Touchdown Media Inc. to come up with this communalized version of the game. “Our show has been inspired from the National Spelling Bee Contest but it’s not identical to that. We have changed a few rules here and there and our company reserves the right to change rules in future as and when required,” says Mr Rahul Walia.

But the decision to restrict the competition to only South Asian community might just siphon off a huge chunk of talent from the other Asian countries. As a result, the over- enthusiastic participants of Indian origin (esp. after Sameer Mishra’s recent success at the National competition) might dominate the contest.


Children of South Asian descent up to 14 years of age are invited to participate in the competition. The event will be conducted, starting June 28, across the United States at eight locations – New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles and the Washington D.C. metro area. On the designated day for the chosen center, each speller will be given a written test of 25 words, which they have to spell correctly to advance to the afternoon oral round. Only 30 spellers will be allowed to proceed to the oral round. If more than 30 students get a perfect score then the number would be brought down through a series of tiebreaker rounds. Makemytrip.com, one of the three official sponsors, would reward scholarships to the top three participants. The scholarship amounts would be $500, $300 and $200 for the three winners from each region.

Only two out of the top three, would make it to the final round to be held in New Jersey on August 16. There would be a total of 16 participants (two from each region) for the final event, which would be free and open to the public. For the Finals, the second sponsor Western Union has inducted a monetary reward of $5000 to the champion.

Sony Entertainment Television Asia has the broadcast rights for the program and they will telecast it worldwide except in India and Pakistan on their channel. “In our continuing effort to provide cutting edge and topical programming to the South Asian Diaspora across globe, Sony TV Asia is proud to broadcast this contest that highlights the educational finesse of the future generation in the US”’ said Rajan Singh at the conference. He added that they are yet to decide on the time and number of episodes they are going to air eventually.

Now all said and done, what are you waiting for kiddos…get your mom or dad to register you online today at ww.southasiaspellingbee.com and indulge in a fun activity where you earn and learn at the same time floating in a bubble bath of instant fame and popularity. All you need is to prove your competency with consistency. So, happy spelling folks!