Scripps Spelling Bee Fans Rip ‘Unnecessary’ New Rule That ‘Diminishes’ Show and Caused Tearful Losses Before Finals

Fans of the SCRIPPS National Spelling Bee are outraged by a grueling new twist on the beloved competition — now it demands more than just spelling.

The eight finalists compete for the 2024 championship on Thursday, May 30 at 8 pm ET on the ION Network.

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The 96th annual Scripps Spelling Bee is in full swing, with eight brilliant young minds fighting for the crown tonight.

The finals will be held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

The finalists are YY Liang, 12, of New York, Aditi Muthukumar, 13, of Colorado, Shrey Parikh, 12, of California, Ananya Rao Prassanna, 13, of North Carolina, Rishabh Saha, 14, of California, Kirsten Tiffany Santos , 13, of Texas, Bruhat Soma, 12, of Florida and Faizan Zaki, 12, of Texas.

The winner will take home more than $50,000 in cash, an official trophy, a Merriam-Webster reference library, and other intriguing prizes.

‘VOCABULARY BEE?’

However, fans took to social media during Tuesday’s quarter-finals and Wednesday’s semi-finals, surprised by a new addition.

Introduced in 2021, Spelling Bee now includes a vocabulary round.

Spellers are forced to correctly define a word from three multiple choices listed as A, B, C, rather than spelling it.

If they know the meaning correctly, they move on, but if not, they are eliminated on the spot, as if they had spelled a word incorrectly.

The change caused many of the strongest spellers to lose due to their knowledge of definitions rather than spelling.

“Not a vocabulary bee,” said one fan on X, formerly Twitter.

“Last night, many pored over – in very quick and moving succession – the meaning of common words like tandem, repertoire, clumsy, fit… and so on,” wrote another.

“Again, not all of them are everyday words, but I knew all the meanings and I’m sure they could have written those words.”

A third scoffed: “I would also add additional elements to develop the contestants’ other talents, both artistic and physical, such as singing their spelling, quoting in iambic pentameter, and fighting.”

Another fan posted: “The ability to spell extraordinarily difficult and complex words is a competition-worthy skill, but knowing the meaning of many words is another kettle of poison.

“I’m not convinced the two should go together in the same competition.”

An additional fan lamented: “Glad I watched the semi-finals last night because some absolute stars didn’t make it through.”

And another complained: “What happened to the Scripps Spelling Bee? They weren’t spelling words – they were defining them.”

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‘CRAPSHOOT’

The vocabulary portion, interspersed with the classic spelling rounds, also caused frustration among parents and coaches when introduced.

In 2022, one player lost because he didn’t know that “ragu” was a stew, while another’s attempt to become the first Bahamian champion ended when he was asked to define “rumbustical”.

“With the meaning of the word, it’s a game of dice,” said the player’s father.

“You and I know what ‘Stockholm syndrome’ means, but an 11 or 12 year old?”

Vocabulary has been part of the bee for a long time, but only in written tests.

The bee’s new executive director, who took over in 2021, added it to the live rounds when a pre-test became impractical during the pandemic-altered competition.

“This is Scripps’ way of ensuring that the competition does not focus on memorizing words as code,” the PE said. “Placing a segment of vocabulary almost forces intimacy with the language because you need to know what these words mean.”

However, SHOVEL previously noted that the change turned the Spelling Bee “into the SAT”

“I thought it was tragic,” said one coach the first year the change was enacted and many of the strongest spellers lost — but not in spelling.

‘THE SADEST DAY IN SPELLING’

Tonight’s finale will see its winner crowned after two installments of brutal rounds recorded in one day.

The event started with 248 competitors, and the quarter-finals and semi-finals saw 140 exiled to reach the top eight in what US News called the “saddest day in spelling”.

The thrilling quarterfinals and semifinals for this year’s spellers – all ages 15 and under, from all 50 states – were nothing short of dramatic.

All but eight players were eliminated in quick succession, leading to tears, hugs and shock.

Dev Shah, the 2023 winner, returned after becoming the queen bee by spelling “psamophile.”

Dev had his hopes of a repeat victory dashed this year by a letter, prompting gasps and tears from the crowd.

“I’m in shock and desperate,” she said.

“We all thought she was going to win,” added Charlotte Walsh, last year’s runner-up.

Meanwhile, the finals will have a vocabulary test in the second round, but spelling will determine the winner.

There will be a one-person, one-word final round, and if there is a tie, a spell will occur, where the speller will have 90 seconds to spell as many words as they can from a predetermined list.

The 2022 winner, Harini Logan, took the crown this way, spelling 22 words in a minute and a half.

The finalists will compete at 8pm ET on ION, which can be watched for free on cable TV and is also available on most satellite and streaming platforms.

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