spellathon

plural spellathons

1. AustraliaNew ZealandA spelling bee held to raise money for charity.

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

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

   4 more examples

   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.

   1972, The Educational Magazine, volume 29, page 20

   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.

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

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