National Vocabulary Championship kicks off

One of the truly great national television events is coming back.  The National Vocabulary Championship is back for a second year. The National Qualifying Exam will be held in November.

Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and Cablevision’s Power to Learn each host NVC citywide championships in their respective markets of this year’s eight-city tour that includes Sacramento, Nashville, St. Louis, Detroit, Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Other cable operators across the country support the NVC by running “Win With Words” TM public service announcements. These co-branded cross-channel promotional spots feature well- known television personalities Whoopi Goldberg, Pat Sajak, Vanna White, Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst, Chuck Woolery and others who lent their support to the educational initiative.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals has placed this program on the NASSP National Advisory List of Contests and Activities for 2007-2008, indicating that the NVC meets its standards of quality for student contests. USA TODAY is the official media sponsor, supporting the NVC with print and online advertising, local region marketing efforts and in-depth outreach to educators and schools partners of USA TODAY Education. American Heritage® Dictionary serves as the official dictionary of the NVC. Other sponsors include Sony® VAIO®, Mead, Chipotle, JetBlue, Dictionary.com, Youth Service America and Public Library Association, a division of the American Library Association.

“GSN creates great games, and The Princeton Review teaches critical things well; this partnership brings excitement into the study of vocabulary,” said John Katzman, founder and Chairman of The Princeton Review. “We hope to inspire students and help them grow a love for language.”

The NVC is open to eligible U.S. students who are in grades 9 through 12 and between the ages of 13 and 19. Students can enter the NVC in one of two ways: by taking the online National Qualifying Exam at WinWithWords.com anytime throughout the month of November; or if they attend a school that has registered to participate in the NVC in one of eight cities nationwide, they can take an In-School Qualifying Exam for a chance to compete in a live Citywide Championship. A total of 50 finalists – 42 top scorers from the National Qualifying Competition and eight Citywide Champions – will receive a trip to Los Angeles in Spring 2008 to compete for the title of National Vocabulary Champion. The ultimate National Vocabulary Champion will be awarded $40,000 deposited to a ‘529’ higher education savings plan.

I don’t know if you are familiar with the former season (check our archives), but it is a fantastic and important program.  As a writer I really enjoy any event that furthers vocabulary, which is the most important of human skills.  Be sure to check it out, spread the word, and support it as much as you can.