COMPETITION RULES

All participants, their parents, teachers, and school administrators must carefully read these Competition Rules to understand the judging criteria for the 2025-2026 PSB.

It is important to remember that participants are marked for both correct procedure and correct spelling. If a team or individual has not followed the correct procedure, they will get zero, even if the spelling is correct. The detailed procedural, scoring and general rules are as follows:

  1. Procedural Rules:
    1. The speller will have a total of 40 seconds to give the spelling of the word. During the first 20 seconds:
      • The speller can consult the team members.
      • The speller or her/his team mate can ask the pronouncer to repeat the word, or the meaning of the word.
    2. A signal will be given at the end of 20 seconds. After that signal, the speller will have 20 seconds remaining to spell the word, during which:
      • No discussion is allowed between team members.
      • Team members cannot ask any questions or request the pronouncer to repeat the word.
      • The speller’s team mate cannot correct or stop or prompt the speller while she/he is spelling the word.
      • The speller’s team mate cannot mouth or repeat the spelling along with the speller.
    3. The end of 40 seconds will be marked by another signal.
    4. When answering, the speller must follow the Say-SPELL-Say formula, by first saying the word, spelling it, and then saying the word again.
    5. The speller should spell the word slowly and audibly, so that the pronouncer can hear each letter clearly.
    6. The speller may not sound out the syllables in a word. For example, while spelling SIGNIFICANT, the speller must spell it without pause as S-I-G-N-I-F-I-C-A-N-T and not spell it as S-I-G-N-I-signi F-I-fi C-A-N-T-cant, or they will be marked for incorrect procedure and get zero.
    7. The speller must not introduce any filler sounds or pause fillers such as um, uh, ah etc., while spelling a word, or they will be marked for incorrect procedure and get zero.
    8. Word change requests will not be granted.
    9. No team member is allowed to write or type words, unless asked to do so by the PSB officials.
    10. Once the speller has spelt the whole word, whether correctly or incorrectly, she/he will not be allowed to correct herself/himself. For example: If the speller is asked the spelling of APPLE, and she/he incorrectly spells it as A-P-L-E, the word cannot be corrected because the whole word has been spelled. However, if the speller has only spelled up to A-P-L, and not said the last letter, she/he will be allowed to correct the spelling, but the ‘Say-SPELL-Say’ formula must be followed again.
    11. If the speller has started spelling the word before the 40 second signal is given, she/he will be allowed to complete the spelling of the word, but will not be allowed to correct the spelling.
    12. If a team or individual loses their allotted time of 40 seconds on account of any outside disruptions, they will be either given extra time to spell it, or given a new word and allotted another 40 seconds to spell it. The decision to grant the extra time or a new word will be made at the discretion of the pronouncer.
    13. Where possible, an audio recording will be made of all PSB competitions. These audio recordings will be erased 24 hours after the competition.
    14. After the speller has spelled the word, the pronouncer will announce whether the spelling is correct or incorrect. To ensure accuracy, the pronouncer’s mark sheet will be tallied with the verifier’s mark sheet before the results are tabulated, and any conflicts or discrepancies resolved by referring to the session’s audio recording.
    15. Both British and American spellings are allowed in the Pakistan Spelling Bee English language competition.
      16. Examples of Incorrect Procedure
      Speller continuing discussion with her/his team mate after the first 20 seconds have passed
      Team-mate correcting, stopping, signalling or prompting the speller while she/he is spelling the word
      Team-mate mouthing or repeating the spelling along with the speller
      Speller hurriedly or excitedly repeating letters while spelling a word
      Speller not following the Say-SPELL-Say formula when spelling a word
      Speller not following the Say-SPELL-Say formula when correcting herself/himself
      Speller sounding syllables in a word
      Speller using filler sounds or pause fillers such as um, uh, ah etc, while spelling a word

  2. Scoring Rules
    1. If both spelling and procedure are correct, the student will get 2 (two) marks.
    2. If the spelling is correct but the procedure is incorrect, the student will get 0 (zero).
    3. If the spelling is incorrect but the procedure is correct, the student will get -1 (minus one).
    4. If both spelling and procedure are incorrect, the student will get -1 (minus one).
    5. If a speller is unable to spell a word or refuses to do so, the speller will get -1 (minus one).
      6. Outcome Score
      Correct spelling + Correct procedure 2
      Correct spelling + Incorrect procedure 0
      Incorrect spelling + Correct procedure -1
      Incorrect spelling + Incorrect procedure -1
      No answer -1

  3. General Rules And Regulations
    1. Schools are responsible for the accuracy of the student data. They can edit the spellings and D.O.B. of students and team member names until 30 days before the event. After that time, the data can no longer be edited, and a fee of PKR 500 per correction will be charged for any student data change requests.
    2. School teams are not allowed to change their competition region in which they have been registered 30 days prior to their competition date. A penalty of PKR 1,000 per team will be charged for any region change requests.
    3. Individual participants cannot change their competition region.
    4. Participants must show their name tags for entry into the competition venue, and must wear them at all times on the day of the competition. Any tampering with the name tags will result in the participant’s disqualification.
    5. Participants are not allowed to bring any printed material or electronic devices into the competition area.
    6. Two weeks before the Pakistan Spelling Bee championship, participants will receive their reporting time, schedule, and directions for their competition venue by email or through their PSB dashboard. All participants are required to make their own arrangements to arrive at the designated regional center on the appointed date and time
    7. An individual or team that fails to show up for a PSB regional championship at their reporting time will not be accommodated in a different region, and will lose their registration fee. In order to participate, the individual or school team will have to pay the registration fee again.
    8. School teams will not be allowed to participate in the PSB unless accompanied by the school supervisor, who must bring her/his original CNIC and Pakistan Spelling Bee issued Name Tag for identification.
    9. Only one school supervisor is allowed for up to eight school teams. A school supervisor may be added for every additional set of up to eight teams.
    10. A school supervisor must remain present at the competition venue with her/his student(s) until their safe departure after the competition.
    11. School supervisors are allowed to accompany their teams into the competition rooms, but must check in all communication devices, including audio/video recorders, and cameras with the room in charge. Breach of this rule may result in their team’s disqualification.
    12. For School Teams: Parents are not allowed in the competition venue. They can view the final rounds of the PSB Regional Championships and PSB National Championship on PSB social media where it is broadcast live, depending on the availability of a stable internet connection at the competition venue.
    13. For Individual Participants: Only one parent or legal guardian accompanying individual participants will be allowed in the competition venue, but cannot join the participant in the competition rooms for Rounds 1 and 2 of the Regional and National Championships. Breach of this rule may result in the participant’s disqualification and removal of the participant and parent/guardian from the competition venue.
    14. Any improper or inappropriate behavior or any attempt to disrupt the competition by a student, her/his parent or guardian, school representative, school official(s), or team supporter(s) will result in the team’s immediate disqualification from the PSB. Pakistan Spelling Bee will blacklist any school whose teams and officials do not follow these guidelines.
    15. Only the registered team members will be allowed to participate in the competition. A team will remain eligible even if one member represents it.
    16. A member of a school team (whose team participated and won any of the top three positions in the regional championship), but who could not participate in the regional championship for any reason, will not be allowed to join her/his team mate in the PSB National Championship. However, if the student appears in another regional championship (if registration is available in a region) in the individual category, and wins one of the top three positions, the student could join her/his team mate in the PSB National Championship or continue in the individual category.
    17. Members of a school team that has participated in the PSB Regional Championship cannot participate as independent candidates in the PSB National Championship, unless their team-mate drops out for any reason.
    18. A team may choose a designated speller for each round, but it cannot change its designated speller in the middle of a round.
    19. If a team is represented by a single student, she/he will become the designated speller by default.
    20. Teams can either wear their official school uniform or official Pakistan Spelling Bee T-shirts/tops and black trousers while participating in the Pakistan Spelling Bee Regional and National Championships. However, both members of a team should be similarly dressed; either in the school uniform or Pakistan Spelling Bee T-shirts/tops and trousers.
    21. Individual Participants must only wear official Pakistan Spelling Bee T-shirts/tops and black trousers.
    22. If a school has submitted the school registration fee but not registered its team(s) by the time team registration is closed for the respective regional center, it will not be allowed to participate in the PSB, and its school registration fee will not be refunded.
    23. Additional security protocols and campus rules for the PSB regional centers may apply.

  4. APPEAL AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION
    1. PSB officials will do their best to address all appeals and resolve all complaints when an individual participant or team has been put at a disadvantage by error or misunderstanding.
    2. Decisions of PSB officials are final and binding on the participating schools, their teams, and individual participants and their parents and legal guardians.

      3. For School Teams
    3. Appeals may be filed by the School Supervisor within 15 minutes of the end of a round. The 2025-2026 PSB Appeal Form is available in the competition hall.
    4. Individuals, parents or team members are not allowed to make any appeals directly or indirectly to the Pakistan Spelling Bee officials.

      5. For Individual Participants
    5. Appeals may be filed by the parent or legal guardian accompanying the student within 15 minutes of the end of a round. The 2025-2026 PSB Appeal Form is available in the competition hall.

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