Spelling Bees in Melbourne: Spellmasters vs. Wyndham Library Spelling Bee

Since 2011, we have been avid supporters of Spellmasters, the spelling competition open to all students under Year 9 in Melbourne.

This year was our first time being part of the Wyndham Library Spelling Bee (WLSB).

Just for fun (and because I'm a mismatcher), I thought I'd put the two events side by side for comparison.

• Spellmasters is open to all schools in Melbourne. WLSB is local to Wyndham, including but not limited to Truganina, Tarneit, Hoppers Crossing, Werribee, Little River, Wyndham Vale, Williams Landing. Full list here.
• Spellmasters has two categories: Junior Division for Year 5 and under. Senior Divsion for Year 9 and under. WLSB has two categories: Year 3/4 and Year 5/6.
• Anyone from any school in Melbourne can sign up to take part in Spellmasters. WLSB participants are those who have won the spelling bee held by their own school and in that sense are the best spellers from their respective schools.
• Spellmasters rounds are held on designated Sundays every month from February to October (except May), with the finals taking place in November. WLSB is held once a year in August.
• IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE: Participants in Spellmasters may arrive 15 minutes before their allotted time to complete registration. So if your child is in the Junior Division which is from 1.45 pm to 2.45 pm, he can arrive at 1.30. WLSB participants are required to arrive at 5.15 pm, 1 hr 15 minutes before the start of the Year 3/4 round (6.30 pm), or 2.5 hours before the start of the Year 5/6 round (7.45 pm). If taking part in WLSB, be prepared for a long night and (for your child) a long wait. If possible, give your child a heavier afternoon tea and maybe something to read to sustain him through the waiting. The WLSB staff were very hospitable. They fed the kids (pizza, fruit and water) and spent time engaging and building rapport with them. From experience, the longer the wait, the more nervous and edgy a child may get. Of course, this depends also on the personality of the child. Perhaps WLSB can consider shortening the wait time for participants next year.
• There is plenty of information online about Spellmasters, with a very informative and helpful website that includes word lists and spelling tips to help with practice. WLSB does not have a website. Google "Wyndham Library Spelling Bee" or variants thereof, and you will find just a handful of links, most of which are to old school newsletters mentioning the event in passing. There is not a lot of publicity around WLSB, and it is up to the individual school to proactively support and prepare its representatives.
• The rules of Spellmasters are clearly stated on the website. The Announcer will also spend a fair amount of time at each round explaining the rules so that participants and their parents are in no doubt as to how they work. The first round is always a Practice Round, which is a great way to ease participants (especially first-timers) into the way the actual competition works. At WLSB, the rules are also explained by the MC on the night, but there is no Practice Round.
• Spellmasters is just that little bit stricter. Once you start spelling a word, you are committed and can't ask to re-spell it. If you get it wrong on your first try, you are eliminated. At WLSB, we noticed that participants were allowed to re-spell a word when they were halfway through and realized they had made a mistake or weren't sure about the spelling and wanted to have another go.
• The Spellmasters judge says "Correct" and uses a bell for correctly spelled words, and a buzzer if the word is spelled incorrectly. At WLSB, the judges refer to a list of words and orally say "Correct" or "Incorrect".
• At Spellmasters, the Announcer and judge refer to a list of pre-selected words and they go down the list as the competition progresses. At WLSB, the MC has an assistant who retrieves random slips of paper from a barrel, like in a lucky draw. This could result in a word given in Round 5 being as simple as a Round 1 word.
• IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE: At Spellmasters, the Announcer gives the word and uses it in a sentence. The participant is allowed to ask for the definition of the word and its origin and for the word to be repeated. At WLSB, the MC gives the word but does not use it in a sentence. This means that if there are two words that sound the same or very similar (e.g. steak and stake, profit and prophet), the onus is on the participant to ask for the word to be used in a sentence. Otherwise she might risk misspelling and elimination.
• At Spellmasters, the winner of the round receives $50 cash or book voucher and a dictionary or similar. Second and third prize winners also receive a dictionary or similar. The winner's school also receives a trophy. The top three winners of each round automatically earn a place in the finals in November. At WLSB, the winners receive a trophy each for themselves and their school.

If you live in Melbourne and your child enjoys spelling, why not check out Spellmasters or your local Council for spelling bee opportunities. They are a great way to hone your child's presentation skills, ability to perform under pressure (which I think is just as important as the ability to spell well) and of course, confidence.

I wonder if there are spelling bees for adult word lovers too...