S-T-R-E-S-S: National Spelling Bee takes step to ease pressure

[May 28, 2019]    By Lacey Johnson

OXON HILL, Md. (Reuters) - A line of youngsters fidgets on stage, waiting for a turn to spell a multisyllabic tongue-twister of a word and hoping to advance to the final round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. One by one, they step forward. The stress is palpable.

Adding to the pressure, finalists in the last two annual bees faced an extra layer of behind-the-scenes angst: a written test designed to break a potential deadlock in the main event.

This year, bee organizers decided to scrap the tie-breaker test, an act of mercy to contestants that also raises the possibility of an even draw in the competition.

"We realize and recognize the toll it takes on the spellers," Valerie Miller, a spokeswoman for Scripps, said in explaining the decision to drop the written test.

Some 564 youngsters, age 7 to 15, will compete in the national bee at an auditorium in Maryland near Washington. It opens on Tuesday and concludes on Thursday with an ESPN telecast.

After memorizing tens of thousands of flash cards, the hopefuls survived a winnowing process that began with 11 million students vying in preliminary tournaments around the world.

They are jockeying for a $50,000 top prize, the richest jackpot in the history of the bee, which began in 1925.

The national bee has ended in ties six times, including in 2014, 2015, and 2016, which prompted organizers to initiate the test in 2017. It consisted of 12 spelling words and 12 multiple-choice vocabulary questions. In the event of tie after 25 rounds, the speller with the highest tie-breaker score would win.

"Throwing another test at them was not a good solution," Miller said. "They have been spelling all day in the finals, then during the break, we test them for the tie-breaker. They need to rest, get something to eat, clear the mind."

Results of the 2017 and 2018 tie-breaker tests were never actually used because a single winner triumphed in both years.

This year's spelling aces come from all 50 U.S. states, U.S. territories and six other countries including the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea, Miller said.

The event takes place at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Under 2019 tournament rules, co-champs would split a total of the $50,000 first-place prize plus the $25,000 second-place prize. Tri-champs would split a total of $75,000 plus the $15,000 third-place prize, Miller said.

(Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)

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