The University of Alabama at Birmingham will host the 2020 Alabama State Spelling Bee on March 21 at 12:00 p.m.

The competition will be between about 55 students in grades 4-8 from every corner of the Yellowhammer State.

The students competing are the cream of the crop in Alabama; over 780 schools in the state held spelling bees in the last year.

The winner will represent Alabama at the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. in May.

UAB’s new University Hall located with the College of Arts and Sciences will host the event.

If an Alabama student goes on to win the national competition, they will be rewarded with $50,000 and trips to New York and Los Angeles for appearances on television.

Last year, Alabama student Erin Howard was one of eight c0-winners of the national competition.

Howard was the first winner from Alabama since Julie Junkin in 1972.

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: henry@new-yhn.local or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.