Top spellers compete in home-based bee
Like dozens of other veteran spellers in their final year of eligibility, Anson Cook, 13, had big plans for this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee, which was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The eighth-grader from Potomac, Maryland, was a two-time participant in the bee, and last year he finished in a tie for 41st. His objective was to make it into the top 12 or so who participate in the prime-time, ESPN-televised finals.
“My goal for 2020 was to make it to the finals of Scripps. After the cancellation I was like, ‘What do I do now?’ And now I’ve achieved that goal,” Anson said.
He reached his goal by becoming one of the 16 finalists in the SpellPundit National Online Spelling Bee, a new event created by two teenage ex-spellers to fill the void left by the cancellation and give eighth-graders a last chance to compete. The National Spelling Bee has always been limited to kids in middle and elementary school, and Scripps has said it will not extend eligibility to let ninth-graders compete next year.
The SpellPundit bee, with spellers competing from their homes over Zoom, was to conclude Thursday night, the same time the Scripps winner would have been decided. The champion receives $2,500, a pittance compared with the National Spelling Bee’s first prize of $50,000.
Most of the spellers who would have been favorites at the national bee quickly signed up, including the top three still-eligible finishers from last year. The bee pronouncers and judges are all recent ex-spellers, including Naysa Modi, the 2018 Scripps runnerup, and Sohum Sukhantankar, one of last year’s eight champions.
Spellers are instructed to be alone in a room with only a laptop or desktop computer, and to keep their hands in view of the camera while spelling. That requirement led to some odd body language, with many spellers adopting a pose of surrender with hands up and palms forward.
Anson said spellers are accustomed to being ill at ease. “It is uncomfortable,” he said, “but I don’t think it’s any more uncomfortable than standing on a stage in National Harbor with hundreds of people in the audience.”