Top Spellers Face Off At Canwest Canspell National Bee

    
    Winners of regional spelling bees will meet at National finals in Ottawa

                NATIONAL BEE WEBCAST LIVE ON www.canspell.com
                       SUNDAY, MARCH 28 - 10:00 AM ET

                                   - PLUS -

           NATIONAL BEE SPECIAL AIRS ON GLOBAL TELEVISION AND NTV
           SATURDAY, APRIL 3 - 8:00 PM (local time; check listings)
    
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<p><span class="xn-location">WINNIPEG</span>, <span class="xn-chron">March 22</span> /CNW/ - After winning hometown glory, 21 young spelling champs are determined to take home the national title and the coveted Canwest Canspell Cup. The 21 Finalists for the sixth annual Canwest Canspell National Spelling Bee Canadian championship are gearing up for an exciting battle of word power in <span class="xn-location">Ottawa</span>.</p>
<p>On <span class="xn-chron">March 13</span>, the last finalist earned her place on the national stage by winning the regional spelling bee in Kamloops. In total, 21 regional finals were held from coast-to-coast to arrive at the final group which will meet in <span class="xn-location">Ottawa</span> March 24-29.</p>
<p>The 2010 competitions started at the school level at the beginning of the year as some 250,000 students across the country registered to take part in their school spelling bees; of that number, approximately 1100 spellers advanced to the 21 regional competitions. Now it's down to the country's 21 best spellers.</p>
<p>The national competition takes place on <span class="xn-chron">Sunday, March 28</span> beginning at <span class="xn-chron">10:00 am ET</span> and will be webcast live on <a href="http://www.canspell.com">www.canspell.com</a>. Once again, colour commentary and expert analysis will be provided by Entertainment Tonight Canada's <span class="xn-person">Rick Campanelli</span> and two-time Canwest Cup Champion and 2006 Scripps runner-up Finola Hackett. A 2-hour special, featuring the highlights of the event will air on Global Television and NTV in Newfoundland and Labrador on <span class="xn-chron">Saturday, April 3rd</span>, at <span class="xn-chron">8:00 PM</span> local time (please check listings).</p>
<p>The entire Canwest Canspell Spelling Bee program was made possible this year through the generous support of <span class="xn-location">Canada</span> Post as the presenting partner. Canspell would like to congratulate <span class="xn-location">Canada</span> Post for its dedication to promoting literacy and academic excellence through this program and the others in which it has taken a leadership position.</p>
<p>"Our involvement with Canspell reinforces <span class="xn-location">Canada</span> Post's continued commitment to supporting literacy and a lifetime of learning," says Anthony Wilson-Smith, Vice-President of Communications at <span class="xn-location">Canada</span> Post. "We are pleased to partner with Canwest again this year on a program that engages and applauds bright, young scholars from across the country."</p>
<p>The winner of the Canwest Canspell National Spelling Bee will receive the Canspell Cup, a <span class="xn-money">$15,000</span> education award, courtesy of Egg Farmers of <span class="xn-location">Canada</span> and the honour of representing <span class="xn-location">Canada</span> at the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in early June.</p>
<p>Canwest would also like to acknowledge the significant contribution of Air <span class="xn-location">Canada</span> as the exclusive Canwest Canspell airline partner. Spellers and their chaperones will travel to <span class="xn-location">Ottawa</span> from all corners of this vast country courtesy of Air <span class="xn-location">Canada</span>.</p>
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<p>Global Television is a Canwest Broadcasting network.</p>
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<p>About Canwest Originals:</p>
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<p>Canwest is the proud home of the most diverse slate of Canadian Original programs across the Dramatic, Lifestyle and Entertainment genres. As a steadfast supporter of the Canadian production community, Canwest is dedicated to bringing the best of the country to audiences nationwide - including shows such as; Copper, Family Restaurant, Homes Inspection, Ice Pilots: NWT, 16:9, Re-Vamped and the nation's number one entertainment newsmagazine Entertainment Tonight <span class="xn-location">Canada</span>.</p>
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<p>About Canwest Broadcasting</p>
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<p>Canwest Broadcasting operates Global Television and eighteen of the country's most popular specialty channels, including HGTV, Mystery TV, National Geographic Channel, Showcase, History Television, Food Network and TVtropolis. Canwest Broadcasting is a division of Canwest Media Inc.</p>
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    2010 Canwest Canspell National Finalists

    Laura Weir, Grade 7, age 13          Anthony Tassone, Grade 4, age 9
    WINNER                               WINNER
    Victoria Times-Colonist              Thunder Bay Chronicle Journal

    Scott Xiao, Grade 7, age 11          Laura Newcombe, Grade 7, age 11
    WINNER                               WINNER
    Vancouver Sun                        National Post

    Cynthia Dykhuisen, Grade 7, age 12   Robert Lahoud, Grade 8, age 13
    WINNER                               WINNER
    Prince George Citizen                Windsor Star

    Jasmine Skinner, Grade 8, age 14     Anna Lawrence, Grade 6, age 11
    WINNER                               WINNER
    Kamloops Daily News                  Ottawa Citizen

    Will Friesen, Grade 7, age 12        Christopher Scarvelis, Grade 8,
    WINNER                               age 13
    Okanagan Valley Newspaper Group      WINNER
                                         Montreal Gazette
    Jared Barron, Grade 8, age 13
    WINNER                               Margaret Foley, Grade 8, age 13
    Edmonton Journal                     WINNER
                                         Saint John Telegraph Journal
    Preetha Gopalakrishnan, Grade 7,
    age 12                               Hannah Cameron, Grade 7, age 12
    WINNER                               WINNER
    Calgary Herald                       Halifax Chronicle Herald

    Adrienne Gomes, Grade 8, age 13      Claudine Broussard, Grade 8, age 14
    WINNER                               WINNER
    Lethbridge Herald                    Cape Breton Post

    Vincent McRorie, Grade 7, age 12     Matthew MacDonald, Grade 6, age 12
    WINNER                               WINNER
    Saskatoon StarPhoenix                Charlottetown Guardian

    McKenzie Warriner, Grade 8, age 13   Anna Henley, Grade 8, age 13
    WINNER                               WINNER
    Regina Leader-Post                   St. John's Telegram

    Josh Mathews, Grade 5, age 10
    WINNER
    Winnipeg Free Press


    Canwest Canspell Fast Facts

    -   Canwest Canspell is a grassroots literacy initiative launched in 2005
        by the Canadian operations of Canwest Global Communications Corp. and
        currently administered through Canwest Publishing Inc.

    -   Canwest Canspell is designed to engage middle school students
        (Grades 4-8) by celebrating excellence in academic achievement and
        encouraging positive study habits.

    -   Canwest Canspell is part of a larger Canwest initiative designed to
        encourage and celebrate all literacy and numeracy skills. Canspell is
        targeted at spelling and language development.

    -   Canwest believes that encouraging these skills through healthy
        competition teaches students appropriate skills and study habits, and
        in addition, celebrates academics alongside athletics in the school
        setting.

    -   In the 2010 Bee Season, Canwest Canspell engaged some 1700 schools
        from St. John's to Victoria. Approximately 250,000 students
        registered at the entry level to compete in school, regional, and
        national competitions.

    -   Twenty-one newspapers host regional spelling bee events under the
        Canwest Canspell brand. Eleven of those newspapers are external to
        the Canwest-owned newspapers.

    -   Twenty-one (21) young spellers from across Canada compete for the
        Canadian title at the Canwest Canspell National Final in Ottawa from
        March 24-29.

    -   The winner of the Canwest Canspell National Final also competes
        internationally at the Scripps Bee in Washington, D.C. in June.

    -   All ten Canadian provinces are represented in the Canwest Canspell
        national event.

    -   Aboriginal schools, both inside and outside urban centres, have
        increased participation considerably since the Canspell program began
        in 2005.

    -   Canwest is joined by presenting and lead partner Canada Post.

    -   Air Canada is the official travel partner of Canspell and has been a
        sponsor of the program since its inception in 2005.

    -   Egg Farmers of Canada provides funding for the Canspell Education
        Awards. The top speller in each of 21 regional spelling bees receives
        a $5000 Canspell Education Award. A $15,000 Canspell Education Award
        is provided to the winner of the Canwest Canspell National Final in
        Ottawa.
    

For further information: For media inquiries, please contact: Judie Dahl, [phone], [email protected]; Jacqueline Kendall, Publicist, Canwest Broadcasting, [phone], [email protected]