WASHINGTON, May 23 — This year’s US Spelling Bee has upped the stakes by changing the rules in order to make the competition even harder after two years of ties in the final.
The spelling competition for children aged 6-14 has grown in popularity over the years, and is now broadcast in prime time on ESPN. However, it seems that participants these days are getting too bright for the old rules. In both 2014 and 2015, the finalists kept spelling correctly, with the host eventually running out of words altogether, and having to declare co-champions.
Prior to this year, organisers would draw up a list of 25 particularly difficult wordss for when the competition got down to its last two or three participants. Now, the competition’s sponsor Scripp has announced that championship rounds will last longer, and the words will be harder.
Organisers are no longer restricted to the 25 pre-selected words: they may choose anything from Webster’s Third New International Dictionary. And, if spellers appear not to be struggling, judges can intensify the difficulty of the words accordingly.
The offstage second written spelling and vocabulary test has also been eliminated from the competition, a popular decision among participants and viewers who complained that spellers risk being eliminated without getting a single word wrong onstage.
This year’s Bee also comes with larger cash prizes: US$40,000 (RM 163,110) (up from US$30,000) for first place, US$30,000 for second place and US$20,000 for third place.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee 2016 takes place from May 24-26, with onstage rounds on May 25 and 26. — AFP-Relaxnews
