2026 Trivia - Spelling Guide, Rules & Dates

Community Tournament Rules
1. Each participating community will host a local spelling and trivia competition within their community. The highest-scoring team will advance to the regional competition. Teams are made up of 1–3 players, with one optional alternate.

2. A minimum of two judges will be required for each local trivia/spelling contest.

3. The local trivia/spelling contest will consist of 15 rounds.

4. Each team will write down their answer to each question and assign a point value (1-15). Each point value can only be used once.

5. The teams will be allowed two minutes to write out the answer, assign a point value. During the two minutes, teams may ask the judges to repeat the question.

6. After two minutes, the team must slide the answer sheet to the front of the table and put down their pencils/pens.

7. A judge will come around and collect the answer sheets and read the answers aloud.

8. If the team answers correctly, they earn the allotted points. If the team does not answer correctly, they will not earn the points.

9. Repeat this process for 15 rounds. The team with the most points at the end of 15 rounds is the winning team. No team is eliminated until the 15 rounds are concluded.

10. If at the end of 15 rounds there is a tie for first, the match will become a single-elimination tournament. The teams that answer correctly in each round will move on to the next round. The teams that do not answer correctly will not move on to the next round. The last team remaining is the winning team. You must complete each round before a team is eliminated.

11. Judges will randomly select questions from the study list provided by AALC.

12. The winning team will advance to regionals.

13. If the winning team does not wish to advance, the second place team will advance to regionals.

14. Notify AALC of winning team name (and names of players) advancing to regionals by March 6.

15. The advancing team will receive a new set of study questions for regionals by March 10.

Regional Competition Overview

1. Regional trivia/spelling contests will be held April 7, 8, & 9, 2026. See locations listed above.

2. The regional competition will follow the same format as the local competition.

3. Questions for the regional competition will be comprised of regional questions and can include a few never-seen questions thrown in.

4. Answers must be exactly as written in study guide for the spelling of the spelling words and for listing proper names and titles.

5. The top team from each of the (3) regions plus 1 wild card team from each region will advance to the state finals in Springfield, IL on May 6, 2026.

6. If a regional winner is unwilling to make the trip to Springfield, they must notify AALC on the day of the regional competition so the slot will roll down to the next team in line.

 

State Competition Overview

1. The top team from each region, plus 1 wild card from each region will compete in the final competition on May 6, 2026. The same format will apply for the state competition as local and regional competitions. Questions for state competition will be comprised of local and regional questions with a few never-seen questions thrown in. 

2. There will NOT be a new study guide sent out for the state competition.  Teams must use their local and regional study guide to prepare for the state competition.

Additional Trivia/Spelling Contest Rules

1. The study lists for all contests will be provided by AALC. The local and regional trivia/spelling contest will be emailed to the staff member that is provided on the registration form. Only the local trivia/spelling questions can be used during the local contests.

·         Regional trivia/spelling questions will be taken from both local and regional lists. AALC reserves the right to use never seen questions.

·         The state contest will use questions from the local and regional lists. AALC reserves the right to use never seen questions.

2. At no time during the contests will participants be permitted to use smart phones or any other aids or devices that may assist the team in correctly answering. If an audience member gives audible help, the teams will be given a new question to answer.

3. If a team does not drop their pen/pencils at the two minute time, the team must forfeit that question.