Sip & Spell: A Spelling Bee for Adults

Free tickets to this event at the Majestic Theatre are encouraged! Tickets will become available Monday, November 24th at 12pm at this link: cbcpl.net/sipspell

Contestants, reserve your tickets now and then register to spell at 6 p.m. on the day of event.

The Corvallis-Benton County Public Library will be pulling all of the big words out of the dictionary for Sip & Spell: A Spelling Bee for Adults (18 years and older). Come and show off your intellectual prowess or cheer on all of the brave contestants while enjoying a tasty beverage. A prize will be awarded to the 1st place winner. This event is co-sponsored by the Majestic Theatre and Corvallis-Benton County Public Library.

Contestants in the Bee may register on the day of the event at the Majestic Theatre between 6:00-6:45 p.m. Registration to be a contestant is limited to the first 60 registrants. Contestants must be 18 years or older.

Sip & Spell is a free event (free to watch and free to be a contestant). All ages are welcome in the audience.

The official rules for Sip & Spell are listed below or may be found here.

Note: There will be no late seating for this event. Please be seated by 7pm or your seat may be released to another spectator.

Sip & Spell 2026 Official Rules

Contestants must be 18 years or older.

Contestant order is in the order of registration. Sign-up begins when the doors open before the start of the contest and will end 15 minutes before the contest begins. Registration is limited to the first 60 registrants.

The words for spelling are pulled from dictionary.com whose main source is the Random House Unabridged Dictionary. This website serves as the final authority for the spelling of words. If more than one spelling is listed for a word, any of these spellings will be accepted as correct if the word either matches the pronunciation and definition provided by the Pronouncer, or if it is clearly identified as being a standard variant of the word that the contestant has been asked to spell. Spellings from other locations having archaic, obsolete, or regional labels (such as North, Midland, Irish) that are different from those at the main entry will not be accepted as correct.

When the word is a homonym or homophone, only the correct spelling for the word used in the sentence read by the Pronouncer will be accepted.

No electronic devices may be used on the stage unless you have selected and are using a 20 Seconds with Your Phone Cheat.

Contest will be single-error elimination. To try to avoid elimination, contestants may use Cheats. See more information about Cheats on page 2.

The Pronouncer will say the word, use it in a sentence, and then pronounce it once more. Contestants may ask for the word’s definition and language of origin. The contestant may ask for only one additional pronunciation of the word.

The contestant is encouraged to pronounce the word before spelling it and after spelling it. The contestant may not attempt to write the word down on paper.

Contestants may have 30 seconds to spell the word, but time limits are subject to change.

Having started to spell a word, the contestant may stop and start over, retracing the spelling from the beginning; however, the letters and/or sequence may not be changed in the respelling. If they are, the spelling will be judged as incorrect.

If the contestant believes the judges made an erroneous decision, an oral appeal must be made before the next round begins. The judges’ decision is final on all questions. 

The contest will be conducted in rounds. Each contestant remaining in the Spelling Bee at the start of a round will spell one word in the round. If none of the contestants correctly spells a word in that round, all will remain in the competition and continue spelling in their original order. All contestants eliminated in the same round will be tied for the same place.

CHEATS: 

Cheats may be selected before the event during the registration period. Contestants may only choose two of three types of cheats that will be made available during registration.

The contestant will be given a card at registration for each cheat selected. These cards may only be used once and must be turned in on stage once used.

Cheats may not be used in the final rounds. Final rounds are declared at the judges’ discretion.

The following cheats will be made available to choose from during the registration period. Only 2 out of the 3 listed below may be selected:

• Ask a Friend. Contestant may ask someone in the audience to spell the word. The friend may not use any reference materials, including phone, books, or computer.

• 20 Seconds with Your Phone. Contestant will be given 20 seconds to use their phone to look up anything that will help them spell the word.

• Next Word, Please. Once a word is given to a contestant, and before starting to spell, contestant may ask for the “next word”.

END-OF-THE-BEE PROCEDURE:

If all contestants in a round misspell, all remain in the competition and a new round begins. When only one contestant spells correctly, a new one-word round begins. If the contestant correctly spells the word, the speller is declared the champion. If the contestant misspells the word in the one-word round, a new round begins with all contestants who spelled correctly and incorrectly from the previous round; contestants will continue spelling in their original order.

Exception to End-of-the-Bee Procedure: If unable to eliminate to only one contestant in a timely manner (as determined by Bee organizers), the start of the “Championship Rounds” will be declared and all spellers remaining will be part of these rounds. In the Championship Rounds, contestants will take turns spelling a predetermined number of words. Contestants will continue spelling until eliminated or there are no more words left, whichever comes first. Contestants not eliminated after all words have been used will be declared the winners of the contest.

MORE ABOUT SIP & SPELL

A prize will be awarded to the first place winner.

By participating and/or attending, contestants grant organizers permission to use each contestant’s voice, likeness and/or image in conjunction with

this event and future events on television, radio, the internet, and/or in print.