“minor league” bees, many catering to offspring of highly educated, first-generation Indian immigrants — a group that has come to dominate the competition.In 2019, a confluence of factors — among them, a wild-card program that allowed multiple spellers from competitive regions to reach nationals — produced an unusually deep field of spellers.
Scripps had to use the toughest words on its list just to cull to a dozen finalists. The bee ended in an eight-way tie, and there was no shortage of critics.Scripps, however, didn’t fundamentally change the way the word panel operates.
It brought in younger panelists more attuned to the ways contemporary spellers study and prepare. And it made format changes designed to identify a sole champion.
The wild-card program was scrapped, and Scripps added onstage vocabulary questions and a lightning-round tiebreaker.The panel also began pulling words avoided in the past.
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