spellathon

English

Etymology

From spell +‎ -athon.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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Noun

spellathon (plural spellathons)

1. (chiefly Australia, New Zealand) A spelling bee held to raise money for charity.
   • 1972, The Educational Magazine, volume 29, page 20:

     A feasibility study has revealed that $8,500 would be needed to bring the camp site up to standard. A mammoth spellathon or a walkathon have been suggested.

   • 1978, Lawrence W. Prakken, The Education Digest, volume 44, page 37:

     Old standbys like walkathons, spellathons, and candy and light bulb sales are common.

   • 1998, Indian Council for Cultural Relations, The United States and India, 1776-1996: The Bridge Over the River Time, page 284,

     The annual Spellathon organised by the Scripps-Howard group of publications is the nation′s premier spelling contest and about 8 million students across the nation participated.

   • 2007, Australian House of Representatives, Parliamentary debates (Hansard): House of Representatives, Volume 289, page 18,

     Most of us who are parents know that it takes a lot of pie and lamington drives, spellathons and school fetes to generate the money needed to complete many worthwhile school projects.

   • 2008, Sherryl Clark, Tracey Binns Is Trouble, University of Queensland Press, page 89:

     ‘My words were hard too.’ Katrina sighed. ‘It′s not like the spellathon. They don′t tell anyone if they′re right or wrong.’