Spelling Bee

• Category 1: Grades 3 and 4
• Category 2: Grades 5 and 6
• Category 3: Grades 7 and 8

Conducted individually through the official online examination platform. Both preliminary rounds follow the same format but use different questions, and contestants who do not qualify or cannot take part in the first round may compete in the second.

Results. The first round's results are published on September 21, 2026, the second round's on September 28, 2026.

Format. 50 questions in 75 minutes. Easy — 15 multiple-choice questions at 1 point. Medium — 20 fill-in-the-blank and missing-letter questions at 2 points; these may ask for one missing letter, several missing letters, missing beginning, middle or ending letters, a definition with an incomplete word, or a sentence context with an incomplete word. Difficult — 15 multiple-response questions at 3 points, which may have more than one correct answer. Total 100 points, with no negative marking.

Recognition. Every participant receives an official electronic certificate according to their result: Gold 90-100%, Silver 75-89%, Bronze 50-74%, Honorable Mention 40-49%. Contestants scoring above 40 points advance to the Global Final.

Held on site over two competition days.

Day 1 — Theoretical Examination. 100 questions in 120 minutes for 100 points, one point each, with no negative marking. Correct Spelling 10, Identify the Misspelled Word 10, Fill in the Missing Letter 10, Silent-Letter Recognition 10, Vocabulary and Context Spelling 10, Listening 20, Definition and Incomplete Word 20, Several Missing Letters 10. The whole paper is taken on a tablet, and the Listening section is done with headphones, typing each word as it is heard.

Day 2 — Live Spelling Bee. An individual oral elimination competition: contestants spell one word at a time at the microphone until an Oral Bee Winner is determined in each category. All words come from the Official Brainiacs Spelling Bee Word Bank for the contestant's category, which is given to qualified contestants as official study material before the final; the words themselves and their order are not disclosed in advance.

Before spelling, a contestant may ask for the pronunciation, the definition, the part of speech, an example sentence, the language of origin, and a repetition of the word. A contestant who misspells a word is eliminated; if every remaining contestant misspells the same word, nobody is eliminated and a new round begins with a different word.

Opening Round, 40 points, takes the field from 100% to 51% and eliminates roughly half. Quarterfinals, 60 points, from 50% to 26%. Semifinals, 80 points, from 25% to 11%. Finals, 90 points, the top 10%. The Winner scores 100. A contestant is awarded only the score for the highest round successfully reached.

The final result is the sum of both days, out of 200 points, and it decides the ranking and medals within each category: Gold for the top 10%, Silver for the next 20%, Bronze for the next 30% and an Honorable Mention for the following 15%.

Mobile phones, smartwatches, electronic devices, dictionaries, notes or written materials, signals from spectators and any other outside assistance are strictly prohibited. The competition is supervised by the International Organizing Committee, a Chief Judge, judges, a pronouncer, a timekeeper and a scorekeeper.