Adult Spelling Bee

The Kiwanis “No Sweat” Adult Spelling Bee is a fun-filled, competitive night, where misspelled words benefit the children of Haywood County. It is being held on Friday, March 15, 2024, at 7 pm at the First United Methodist Church in Waynesville, NC. It is a major fundraiser for the Kiwanis Club of Waynesville, whose mission is to help the children and adolescents of Haywood County through projects, grants, and scholarships. Haywood County students and schools, Waynesville’s Recreation Park playground, and Canton’s soon-to-be All-Abilities playground have all benefited from our efforts.

Please help us continue our hard work by participating in and donating to the “No Sweat” Bee!

How the Bee works:

Three-person teams work simultaneously to correctly spell words as each is announced to the teams – the word is pronounced twice, defined, and used in a sentence. A team’s final answer is submitted to a spellchecker for correctness. If the spelling is correct, the team waits for the next word to be announced. If the word is incorrectly spelled, they may opt to leave the competition OR they may “buy back” the word to keep spelling. This is why we say that “Misspelled words benefit the children of Haywood County!”

There are three rounds of competition, with each round increasing in difficulty. There are 12 words in rounds one and two, and teams have 60 seconds to submit a spelling to the spellchecker. There are 15 words in round 3, and teams have 90 seconds to submit their final answer. To stay in the competition after misspelling a word, teams must pay $5 per word in the first round, $10 per word in the second, and $20 per word in the third round. Should a tiebreaker round be needed to determine the championship team, buy back money cannot be used for misspelled words.

Please note that while the Bee begins at 7 pm, we would like teams to check-in beginning at 6:15. A light dinner will be available for team members.

How to sign up:

Businesses donate $100 to sponsor a team plus $50 in buy back money for the team ($150 total contribution). They may identify team members or ask Kiwanis to assemble a team for them. Of course, businesses and teams are encouraged to contribute more than $50 in buy back money if possible. To enroll as a sponsor, download the Sponsorship and Registration Form or contact Patrick Ryan at [email protected] or 901-351-2777, and a Kiwanis member will reach out to you.

Click here for a printable copy of the Sponsorship and Registration Form.

Interested in being a Gold or Silver Community Partner? Contact Eva Hansen at [email protected] or 910-494-4435.

Individuals can sign up, or form teams, and ask to be assigned to a business sponsor. If they opt to be their own team sponsor, they can sign up for $100 plus additional buy back money. We encourage all teams to solicit contributions from family and friends who support the needs of children and teens in Haywood County. It’s nice to have someone rooting for you! To sign up as an individual or team, download the Sponsorship and Registration Form or contact Patrick Ryan at [email protected] or 901-351-2777, and a Kiwanis member will reach out to you.