Thirty top spellers hope to be called a champion at the end of this morning’s annual Douglas County Spelling Bee.

The event will begin at 10 a.m. today at Southwest Junior High School, according to bee coordinator Deborah Summers Norwood, a fourth-grade teacher at Schwegler School.

The event features students under age 16 who won spelling bees held by their public, private or home school, Norwood said.

“We have six students who are returning this year,” Norwood said.

The county winner will go on to the All-Kansas Spelling Bee this spring in Topeka.