AARP Announces 2009 National Spelling Bee

For Spellers Age 50+ CHEYENNE, WY AARP has announced a national call for entries for its 14th annual AARP National Spelling Bee. The spelling bee is open to anyone age 50+ with the exception of previous winners. Contestants will test their spelling skills against some of the best spellers in the country as they compete for more than $1,000 in gifts and prizes. The national event will be held June 20, 2009 in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Online registration is open at www.aarp.org/spellingbee through June 14th. Whether you enjoy reading the dictionary to keep your mind sharp or you just want to meet other like-minded adults, the AARP National Spelling Bee always proves to be exciting and highly competitive, said AARPs National Spelling Bee word wizard Brian Greene. Many of our spellers prepare year-round for this competition and were thrilled to be able to continue to provide this forum for adults to challenge themselves. The AARP National Spelling Bee consists of two rounds of competition, beginning with a 100-word written competition in the morning, narrowing the field to the top 15 spellers who go on to compete in the oral spelling rounds. Spellers are allowed to miss three words in the oral rounds before being knocked out of the competition. Some spellers have told us that they enter the bee because they had performed well in a spelling bee when they were younger, and they want to test themselves again, Greene said. What they realize is that a lifetime of learning and reading has made them a much better and more confident speller. The 2009 AARP National Spelling Bee will be held Saturday, June 20th at Little America Hotel and Resort in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Registration is $25 per speller which includes lunch, and the hotel offers discounted rates to spellers and their guests who reserve a room by calling 1-800-445-6945. A special trolley tour of historic Cheyenne for spellers and their guests will run from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday, June 19th and costs $10 per ticket. The Laramie County Library, winner of the prestigious national Best Library of the Year award for 2008, will host a reception for spellers and their guests complete with an all-ages, just-for-fun spelling bee from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, June 19th. AARPs 2009 National Spelling Bee is sponsored by Merriam-Webster Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, Taco Johns International, the Cheyenne Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, Wyoming Network, Inc. and the Laramie County Library System. Sample word lists, complete rules and additional information can be found at www.aarp.org/spellingbee or by calling the AARP office in Wyoming at 1-866-663-3290. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the worlds largest-circulation magazine with over 34.5 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARPs 40 million members and Americans 50+; AARP Segunda Juventud, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors.