WASHINGTON — After two straight years of ties, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is adding more sting: The championship rounds will last longer, and the words will be harder.
The bee, now televised in prime time by ESPN, has exploded in popularity over the past two decades. And the spellers have gotten increasingly savvy. So instead of sticking to a list of 25 “championship words” selected weeks earlier, the final rounds could have as many as 75 words. And the organizers can choose harder words on the fly if the spellers don’t appear to be struggling.
Current and former spellers applauded the changes, saying the hardest words should be last. Sylvie Lamontagne, 13, of Lakewood, who was a finalist in 2015 and will be returning to this year’s finals in May after winning the Colorado contest sponsored by The Denver Post, said tougher words were used earlier in the finals.
“I don’t really know why,” she said. The Associated Press
