Coronavirus Update: Scripps National Spelling Bee Canceled; Palo Alto Middle School Student Title Hopes On Hold
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- Vayun Krishana's dream of returning to the 2020 Scripps National Spelling Bee came to an end Tuesday when organizers called off the event because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Organizers had been hoping to be able to hold the annual event later in the fall, but decided to completely cancel the event for 2020 with a targeted return in 2021. It will be the first time since 1945 that the competition will not be held.
"Our thoughts immediately go out to our spellers and their families," said Bee executive director Paige Kimble in a release. "The students have dedicated time and effort to their passion for learning...Never the less, our first priority has to be the health and well being of our spellers and their families and the hundreds of staff and spectators that come together for Bee Week."
But the organizers are not extending the eligibility of contestants who will surpass the age requirements before the 2021 competition. Students who advance beyond the 8th grade are not eligible to take part.
"Our hearts go out to the spellers who won't get a final shot at winning because of the pandemic and the difficult decisions it is prompting us to make," Kimble said. "They are now a part of a widely expanding group of children and adults who are missing out on opportunities due to the coronavirus."
Fortunately, for Krishana, he is a 7th grader at Challenger School's Middlefield campus in Palo Alto. He out-spelled 47 students from 10 Bay Area counties with the correct spelling of the word "Hepplewhite," to win the competition's 2020 regional competition in March.
Last year, he also won the regional title and traveled east for finish 26th in the nationals. He correctly spelled fossiliferous, frivolity, teledu, pyrheliometer, drilvis during the final rounds before being knocked out by ixodid, which he misspelled ixodyd.
The Scripps Bee began in 1925 and this year's would have been the 93rd. It was not held from 1943-45 because of World War II.
Before the virus, Scripps' biggest concern for this year's competition was finding new ways to challenge the best young spellers in the English language.
Last year's Bee ended in an unprecedented eight-way tie after organizers ran out of words difficult enough to trip up the winners. Top spellers in recent years have used personal coaches and word databases that take into account Scripps' history and tendencies, removing much of the guesswork from the competition.
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
