Spelling Bee of Canada

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Spelling Bee of Canada
GenreSpelling bee
FrequencyAnnual
CountryCanada
Years active1987–present
Websitehttps://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]

The SBOC holds an annual spelling competition for children 6–14 years of age. Participants are divided into three age categories: primary, 6–8; junior, 9–11; and intermediate, 12–14.[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

Year Category 1st place 2nd place 3rd place Ref(s).
2004 Junior Varjitt Jeeva Keerthana Ravigulan Samuel Heersink
Senior Dhivian Premakumar Jeffrey Baer Kiruthiha Vimalakanthan
2005 Junior Gazal Grewal Charlie Gray Katie Martin
Senior Jeffrey Baer Kiruthiha Vimalakanthan David Sheps
2006 Junior Katie Martin Jill O'Craven Kim Tran Nguyen
Senior Leslie Newcombe Angus Benderavage Sarah Bowers
2007 Primary David Chan Laura Newcombe Veronica Penny [11][citation needed]
Junior Katie Martin Zuhaer Anzum Maleika Jeewanjee
Intermediate Umayangga Yogalingam Donald Bowins Merany Ganesan
2008 Junior Lisa Jefferies Lauren Park unknown
Intermediate Caitlin McLaren Alexander Newcombe Jessica Zung
2009 Primary Zakhar Husak Zhongtian (Niuniu) Wang Neharika Nair [12][citation needed]
Junior Daniela Kistemaker Janahan Selvanayagam Veronica Penny
Intermediate Jessica Zung Alexander Newcombe Ibrahim Tahir [13][citation needed]
2010 Primary Zachary Betts unknown unknown
Junior Veronica Penny Anna Lawrence Laura Newcombe [11]
Intermediate Ibrahim Tahir Alexander Newcombe unknown
2011 Primary Maya Sen Chawla Purva Vyas Daniel Del Rosso
Junior Umaiyahl Nageswaran unknown unknown
Intermediate Veronica Penny Emma McLaren Laura Newcombe [11]
2012 Primary unknown unknown unknown
Junior Victor Rong Linnea Moras Oswin Chang
Intermediate David Chan unknown unknown
2013 Primary unknown unknown unknown
Junior Nivetha Alex Chan Maya Sen Chawla
Intermediate Veronica Penny Umaiyahl Nageswaran Kayley Ting
2014 Primary Evangeline Bodhuri unknown unknown [2]
Junior Akshay Thambipillai Huzafa Hyde unknown
Intermediate Umaiyahl Nageswaran Justin Borromeo unknown
2015 Primary Prabhgun Suri Stevon Anton Sueventha Ketharan
Junior Mehar Kaur Sahota Areez Bhanji Yousra Lakhani
Intermediate Ganathyshan Chelliahpillai Shulli Jones Prableen Kaur Sandhu
2016 Primary Anushka Yoganathan Victor Sarca Kashyap Prasannaa
Junior Prabhgun Suri Mehar Kaur Sahota Areez Bhanji [14]
Intermediate Daniel Song Maya Sen Chawla Huzafa Hyde
2017 Primary Karyssa Barrios-Giantses Caylee Lee McKenna Fineblanket
Junior Raymond Ha Sonia Rusin-Franke Enya Hubers
Intermediate Huzafa Hyde Jake Lance Praneet Sing Arora
2018 Primary Abinaya Rameshkumar Bilal Kamram Aryan Arnold
Junior Akshayan Victor-Camilus Julius Aarup Kulla Thilaxy Jeyabavan
Intermediate Praneet Arora Rishi Damarla Asmitha Rajah
2019 Primary Parnavdeep S. Kundi Raya Mistry-Lad Marco Joannou
Junior Aiden Kwon Erin Chaters Muskan Jiwa
Intermediate Rishi Damarla Praneet Arora Asmitha Rajah
2020 Primary Mark Raspopov Atharv Awasthi Keyan Fernando
Junior Muskan Jiwa Alice Fehr Olive Reilly
Intermediate Leena Jalees Krishiv Shah Serene Dydyna
2021 Primary Sarah Fehr Riddhi Jha Miriam Lagrandeur [15]
Junior Mark Raspopov Ayo Adenlolu Alice Fehr
Intermediate Amshanaa Raviraj Kavya Kariamal Sofia Varma-Vitug
2022 Primary Anhad Singh Natasha Thomas Tanvi Kanekar [16]
Junior Kavya Senthil Sophia Mathew Austin He
Intermediate Ryaan Khan Rebha Badhan Ali Usman
2023 Primary Ayaan Ahmad Advi Rishi William Gao
Junior Alston Li Eve Sandomierski Temisan Johnson
Intermediate Parnavdeep Singh Kundi Olive Reilly Ethan Lin

References

  1. ^ Jessica Wynne Lockhart (9 May 2012). "Spelling Bee of Canada finals at Delta Chelsea Hotel". The Grid TO. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b c 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.