Spelling Bee of Canada

Last updated
Spelling Bee of Canada
Spelling Bee of Canada logo.svg
Genre Spelling bee
FrequencyAnnual
Country Canada
Years active1987–present
Website https://www.spellingbeeofcanada.ca/

Spelling Bee of Canada is a charitable, educational spelling bee organization founded by Julie Spence in the Greater Toronto Area in 1987. [1] [2] As of 2022, over 70,000 children have participated in the competition. [3]

Contents

The SBOC holds an annual spelling competition for children 6–14 years of age. Participants are divided into three age categories: primary, 68; junior, 911; and intermediate, 1214. [3] [4] 15+ students will become mentors to participants in their region. [5]

Though SBOC operates primarily in Ontario, contestants from other provinces are allowed to register and have competed in the past. [2]

Julie Spence founded SBOC in order to engage parents and children. Spelling bees were popular in Jamaica where she grew up, and she recalls realizing during the competitions "how much [it] brought people together". She is happy with the growth of SBOC but disappointed by the extremely low number of black participants, and she has encountered many black parents who do not want their children to compete. Veronica Taylor, a Barbadian-born mental health counsellor and the president of SBOC's Hamilton chapter, is also concerned about the lack of black participation, saying that black parents are not encouraging their children but letting them decide if they want to compete. Laurel Broten, Ontario's Minister of Education, praised the SBOC for helping children in the primary, junior and intermediate age ranges improve their vocabulary and public speaking. "As Minister of Education, I understand the importance of the work you do to help youth across Ontario enrich their learning and build self-confidence," she said. [3]

Competitions

The 2014 SBOC finals took place on 11 May 2014 at the Eaton Chelsea in Toronto. The regional competition in April 2014 had 3,000 participants, 84 of whom went on to the finals. The championship title comes with over $10,000 in cash prizes. [2] This year's competition also marks the opening of three new regional chapters; the Aga Khan Education Board, Khalsa School of British Columbia, and the Toronto Community Housing chapter. [6]

Rogers TV Spelling Bee of Canada 28th Championship had its finals on Sunday May 3, 2015 at The Ismaili Centre - Social Hall, 49 Wynford Dr., Toronto. [7] 91 contestants competed in the finals. New additions to this year's regional competitions include; Toronto Bayview and Sheppard's YMCA, British Columbia's IWE Learning Centre and the Cultural Youth Initiative in Edmonton. [8]

Rogers TV Spelling Bee of Canada 29th Championship finals were held on Sunday May 15, 2016 at the Ismaili Centre again. [9] 93 participants from the 31 regional competitions competed in this year's finals. New additions to this year's regional competitions include a First Nation's chapter from Saskatchewan, and a new chapter from British Columbia – showing the increasing popularity in the spelling bee. [10]

For the first time, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, in 2020, the regional finals, as well as the National Championships, were held in virtual Zoom meetings, and the National Finals were on a livestream on November 29, 2020. This stream was livestreamed on CBC Sports, as well as a feature on CBC Gem, and is available on Spelling Bee of Canada's YouTube channel as of December 2020. This same procedure was taken for the 2021 Bee livestream.

Since 2020, the Chapter Spelling Bees have been transitioned to Regional/District Spelling Bees virtually. The first-place winner from the Regional Spelling Bee Competitions competes at the National Championships.

The 35th Annual Championships will be returning back in person for the first time since 2019 before the pandemic. The national spelling bee will be live-streamed on CBC Sports and hosted at the Beeton Hall at the Toronto Reference Library on Sunday, June 12, 2022.

List of Winners

YearCategory1st place2nd place3rd placeRef(s).
2004JuniorVarjitt JeevaKeerthana RavigulanSamuel Heersink
SeniorDhivian PremakumarJeffrey BaerKiruthiha Vimalakanthan
2005JuniorGazal GrewalCharlie GrayKatie Martin
SeniorJeffrey BaerKiruthiha VimalakanthanDavid Sheps
2006JuniorKatie MartinJill O'CravenKim Tran Nguyen
SeniorLeslie NewcombeAngus BenderavageSarah Bowers
2007PrimaryDavid ChanLaura Newcombe Veronica Penny [11] [ citation needed ]
JuniorKatie MartinZuhaer AnzumMaleika Jeewanjee
IntermediateUmayangga YogalingamDonald BowinsMerany Ganesan
2008JuniorLisa JefferiesLauren Parkunknown
IntermediateCaitlin McLarenAlexander NewcombeJessica Zung
2009PrimaryZakhar HusakZhongtian (Niuniu) WangNeharika Nair [12] [ citation needed ]
JuniorDaniela KistemakerJanahan SelvanayagamVeronica Penny
IntermediateJessica ZungAlexander NewcombeIbrahim Tahir [13] [ citation needed ]
2010PrimaryZachary Bettsunknownunknown
JuniorVeronica PennyAnna LawrenceLaura Newcombe [11]
IntermediateIbrahim TahirAlexander Newcombeunknown
2011PrimaryMaya Sen ChawlaPurva VyasDaniel Del Rosso
JuniorUmaiyahl Nageswaranunknownunknown
IntermediateVeronica PennyEmma McLarenLaura Newcombe [11]
2012Primaryunknownunknownunknown
JuniorVictor RongLinnea MorasOswin Chang
IntermediateDavid Chanunknownunknown
2013Primaryunknownunknownunknown
JuniorNivethaAlex ChanMaya Sen Chawla
Intermediate Veronica Penny Umaiyahl NageswaranKayley Ting
2014PrimaryEvangeline Bodhuriunknownunknown [2]
JuniorAkshay ThambipillaiHuzafa Hydeunknown
IntermediateUmaiyahl NageswaranJustin Borromeounknown
2015PrimaryPrabhgun SuriStevon AntonSueventha Ketharan
JuniorMehar Kaur SahotaAreez BhanjiYousra Lakhani
IntermediateGanathyshan ChelliahpillaiShulli JonesPrableen Kaur Sandhu
2016PrimaryAnushka YoganathanVictor SarcaKashyap Prasannaa
JuniorPrabhgun SuriMehar Kaur SahotaAreez Bhanji [14]
IntermediateDaniel SongMaya Sen ChawlaHuzafa Hyde
2017PrimaryKaryssa Barrios-GiantsesCaylee LeeMcKenna Fineblanket
JuniorRaymond HaSonia Rusin-FrankeEnya Hubers
IntermediateHuzafa HydeJake LancePraneet Sing Arora
2018PrimaryAbinaya RameshkumarBilal KamramAryan Arnold
JuniorAkshayan Victor-CamilusJulius Aarup KullaThilaxy Jeyabavan
IntermediatePraneet AroraRishi DamarlaAsmitha Rajah
2019PrimaryParnavdeep S. KundiRaya Mistry-LadMarco Joannou
JuniorAiden KwonErin ChatersMuskan Jiwa
IntermediateRishi DamarlaPraneet AroraAsmitha Rajah
2020PrimaryMark RaspopovAtharv AwasthiKeyan Fernando
JuniorMuskan JiwaAlice FehrOlive Reilly
IntermediateLeena JaleesKrishiv ShahSerene Dydyna
2021PrimarySarah FehrRiddhi JhaMiriam Lagrandeur [15]
JuniorMark RaspopovAyo AdenloluAlice Fehr
IntermediateAmshanaa RavirajKavya KariamalSofia Varma-Vitug
2022PrimaryAnhad SinghNatasha ThomasTanvi Kanekar [16]
JuniorKavya SenthilSophia MathewAustin He
IntermediateRyaan KhanRebha BadhanAli Usman
2023PrimaryAyaan AhmadAdvi RishiWilliam Gao
JuniorAlston LiEve SandomierskiTemisan Johnson
IntermediateParnavdeep Singh KundiOlive ReillyEthan Lin

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References

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  2. 1 2 3 4 Taylor Poelman (12 May 2014). "Spelling Bee of Canada champ shares secret to success, looks forward to future in competition". CTV News. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Spelling Bee of Canada marks its 25th anniversary". Share News. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  4. Michael Burton (6 April 2011). "Oakville Spelling Bee Is Back!". oakville.com. Archived from the original on 1 September 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  5. "About Us". Spelling Bee of Canada. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  6. "MEDIA RELEASE | 84 Spellers Prove They Don't Need Auto-Correct During 27th Annual Ontario Spelling Bee of Canada Championship". us7.campaign-archive1.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  7. "The Rogers TV Spelling Bee of Canada – Ontario Championships". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  8. "Spelling Bee of Canada Host Competitors from Alberta and British Columbia at Ontario Championship for the First Time". us7.campaign-archive1.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  9. "29th Annual Championship Finals". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  10. "Spelling Bee of Canada's Growing Popularity Shows Increased Interest in Childhood Literacy". us7.campaign-archive1.com. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  11. 1 2 3 Paris Penny; Veronica Penny. "Steeltown Kids Canspell and Scripps National Spelling Bee". Penny Pages. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  12. "City kid takes breath, then spells fish eggs". The Hamilton Spectator. 2009-05-25.
  13. "Now-Here-This.com". Hamilton Spelling Bee.
  14. "Spelling Bee of Canada". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  15. "2021 Championship Winners". Spelling Bee of Canada. Retrieved 2023-05-19.
  16. "2022 Championship Winners". Spelling Bee of Canada. Retrieved 2023-05-19.