Scripps National Spelling Bee (1 Viewer)

[BobbyLayne]

Anyone else watching the Preliminaries on ESPN? Of course, when not glued to UEFA Euro 2020.

Virtual this year. Because really, who hasn’t had enough Zoom meetings the last 14 months?

Pro Tip for prop bet: always bet on the Indian American kid.

In this round they do a spelling, multiple choice definition, then a second word. I guess I’ve only watched finals in the past, I don’t remember the middle part.

Anyone you know or any locals competing? Anybody ever compete, or have a kid who did?

Finals are next month.

Beginning June 12, spellers will compete virtually in the first three rounds of competition: the Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and Semifinals.

The top 10-12 spellers will join us for the in-person Finals on July 8 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort.

 

ETA: neat board

 

[El Floppo]

Didnt your kid do spelling bees, gb?

 

[Nathan R. Jessep]

I made it to regionals in high school, but got beat out by... an Indian kid.   I don't remember my word that I got eliminated on, but I do know I only missed ONE damn letter.   It was my turn, Habib!!!! 

 

[BobbyLayne]

Didnt your kid do spelling bees, gb?

ses·qui·pe·da·li·an

/ˌseskwəpəˈdālyən/

adjective

FORMAL

(of a word) polysyllabic; long.

"sesquipedalian surnames"

characterized by long words; long-winded.

"the sesquipedalian prose of scientific journals"

 

[El Floppo]

ses·qui·pe·da·li·an

/ˌseskwəpəˈdālyən/

adjective

FORMAL

(of a word) polysyllabic; long.

"sesquipedalian surnames"

characterized by long words; long-winded.

"the sesquipedalian prose of scientific journals"

So you're saying she knows words...like all the best word

 

[BobbyLayne]

So you're saying she knows words...like all the best word

When you become a quinquagenarian you’ll appreciate pulchritudinous words.

 

[ShamrockPride]

Has any report ever come out that's kept up with the winners over the years? Do these kids mostly go on to Ivy League schools, or do they go on to live ordinary lives?

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Has any report ever come out that's kept up with the winners over the years? Do these kids mostly go on to Ivy League schools, or do they go on to live ordinary lives?

run 7-11 empires 

ETA - Correction:  run a large convenience store empire leveraging "old, closed" 7-11 real estate - loosely run by extended family members who are allowed to set their own menus.

 

[BobbyLayne]

I can’t believe I cannot figure this out but having some frustration trying to watch this years Spelling Bee. Has anyone been able to find this year’s competition?

It’s supposed to broadcast on something called ion Plus tv. There’s no ion / ion plus / ion tv app at the App Store. I did find (on the App Store from my tv) the European ion app. If you ever need to watch a program from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia or Serbia, I got the hookup.

Anyway I’m having trouble figuring out where to find it.

On the ion PLUS landing page it’s right at the top. Cool. Where to watch redirects me to the Scripps Spelling Bee website. says it’s on ION Plus and Bounce XL.

As instructed, punched in my zip code - says it’s on Sling. Great! I have Sling.

Sling does not have ion (or Bounce.)



The SSB YouTube channel has the Preliminaries and the Quarterfinals. We watched the latter last night but the Semifinals were not streamed. No indication the Finals will be either.

Elsewhere on the ionplustv.com I found a page which says “Watch now on Samsung TV Plus (channel 1062) and VIZIO WatchFree+ (channel 219).”

Huh?

We missed the Semifinals last night. The Finals are tonight. Hoping someone could offer a suggestion. Surely I’m missing something obvious. 

 

[El Floppo]

I can’t believe I cannot figure this out but having some frustration trying to watch this years Spelling Bee. Has anyone been able to find this year’s competition?

It’s supposed to broadcast on something called ion Plus tv. There’s no ion / ion plus / ion tv app at the App Store. I did find (on the App Store from my tv) the European ion app. If you ever need to watch a program from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia or Serbia, I got the hookup.

Anyway I’m having trouble figuring out where to find it.

On the ion PLUS landing page it’s right at the top. Cool. Where to watch redirects me to the Scripps Spelling Bee website. says it’s on ION Plus and Bounce XL.

As instructed, punched in my zip code - says it’s on Sling. Great! I have Sling.

Sling does not have ion (or Bounce.)



The SSB YouTube channel has the Preliminaries and the Quarterfinals. We watched the latter last night but the Semifinals were not streamed. No indication the Finals will be either.

Elsewhere on the ionplustv.com I found a page which says “Watch now on Samsung TV Plus (channel 1062) and VIZIO WatchFree+ (channel 219).”

Huh?

We missed the Semifinals last night. The Finals are tonight. Hoping someone could offer a suggestion. Surely I’m missing something obvious. 

bummed ESPN didn't maintain coverage- one of my favorite ESPN broadcasts, TBH

 

[The General]

How do they know the word is spelled incorrectly without the red dotted line underneath it?

 

[BobbyLayne]

bummed ESPN didn't maintain coverage- one of my favorite ESPN broadcasts, TBH

Cancelled in 2020, virtual last year. 

This year fewer than half the spellers it had three years ago thanks to regional consolidation and a reduction in sponsorships. In 2019, 535 spellers competed. This year, there will be 234 spellers – a slight rebound from last year’s pool of 209.

Traditionally, regional bees have been sponsored by local newspapers and community organizations, but the demise of print publications has left large swathes of the US without regional competitions. 

I lovee the drama and the pressure. The kids are amazing!

 

[Gally]

Cancelled in 2020, virtual last year. 

This year fewer than half the spellers it had three years ago thanks to regional consolidation and a reduction in sponsorships. In 2019, 535 spellers competed. This year, there will be 234 spellers – a slight rebound from last year’s pool of 209.

Traditionally, regional bees have been sponsored by local newspapers and community organizations, but the demise of print publications has left large swathes of the US without regional competitions. 

I lovee the drama and the pressure. The kids are amazing!

It's probably all Jason Bateman's fault.

 

[belljr]

I'll tell you what. They went hardcore in the prelims with the vocab portions

 

[El Floppo]

because nosy google putting it's nose in to my news feed...

June 2, 2022, 1:55 PM EDT / Source: Associated Press

By The Associated Press

OXON HILL, Md. — A speller has been reinstated into the Scripps National Spelling Bee field after successfully appealing that he was denied relevant root information about a word.

Surya Kapu, 13, of South Jordan, Utah, misspelled “leucovorin” — a medicine used to counteract the side effects of a cancer drug — during Wednesday night’s last semifinal round, appearing to end his run in the bee just short of the finals.

Surya’s family appealed, arguing that Scripps omitted details when he asked a question about the word’s roots. Spellers are permitted to ask questions about roots, and judges answer in the affirmative if a speller can identify a relevant root and its meaning.

Scripps said in a statement its judges met for roughly two hours before deciding late Wednesday night to reinstate Surya.

“The judges’ decision to reinstate is backed by a belief in the bee’s mission to inspire the exploration of words and celebrate academic achievement,” the statement said. “Upon further review, it was determined that there was more directly relevant information available in the dictionary to one of the speller’s questions. Based on this, Surya will be provided a chance to participate in Round 7 with a new word.”

What that means in practice: Surya will get his new word at the beginning of Thursday night’s finals. If he spells that word correctly, he will join the 12 finalists who have already advanced to compete for more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.

Surya has an accomplished spelling resume and is a pupil of Cole Shafer-Ray, the 2015 runner-up who coached last year’s champion, Zaila Avant-garde.

Reinstatements are rare but not unprecedented. The last happened in 2018 when a competitor spelled a word’s homonym correctly without having been given the definition or told that a homonym existed

 

[El Floppo]

I can’t believe I cannot figure this out but having some frustration trying to watch this years Spelling Bee. Has anyone been able to find this year’s competition?

It’s supposed to broadcast on something called ion Plus tv. There’s no ion / ion plus / ion tv app at the App Store. I did find (on the App Store from my tv) the European ion app. If you ever need to watch a program from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia or Serbia, I got the hookup.

Anyway I’m having trouble figuring out where to find it.

On the ion PLUS landing page it’s right at the top. Cool. Where to watch redirects me to the Scripps Spelling Bee website. says it’s on ION Plus and Bounce XL.

As instructed, punched in my zip code - says it’s on Sling. Great! I have Sling.

Sling does not have ion (or Bounce.)



The SSB YouTube channel has the Preliminaries and the Quarterfinals. We watched the latter last night but the Semifinals were not streamed. No indication the Finals will be either.

Elsewhere on the ionplustv.com I found a page which says “Watch now on Samsung TV Plus (channel 1062) and VIZIO WatchFree+ (channel 219).”

Huh?

We missed the Semifinals last night. The Finals are tonight. Hoping someone could offer a suggestion. Surely I’m missing something obvious. 

Channel 31 on spectrum....if you have cable.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Channel 31 on spectrum....if you have cable.

thanks for the text!

found it on Bounce on terrestrial tv - had no idea it was there, we use Sling or one of the other streaming services

pumped to watch this!

 

[Don Quixote]

Is the “word meaning” round new? Knocked out a bunch.

 

[Don Quixote]

Commercials are pretty ridiculous this year. They have been doing one word, then going to a commercial break. My post was 12 minutes ago, and they’ve done two words since.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Is the “word meaning” round new? Knocked out a bunch.

IDK if they did it in 2019 & prior

was part of past years contest 

 

[BobbyLayne]

New rules

The 2021 National Spelling Bee was the first edition to introduce the spell-off round, in which all the contestants, in numerical order, spell the list of championship words in 90 seconds. They can still ask for definition, language of origin, part of speech, alternate pronunciations, and the use in a sentence, but that will be part of the 90-second period. The contestant who spells the most words correctly in the spell-off round will be declared champion. However, in the actual final, the round was not used, as the Bee did not run overlong.
 

Now this part is new

 

[BobbyLayne]

Is the “word meaning” round new? Knocked out a bunch.

IDK if they did it in 2019 & prior

was part of past years contest 

from Wiki:

Beginning in 2013, the test now includes vocabulary questions, such as being asked to choose the correct definition for a word. While met with criticism by past contestants for deviating from the concept of a spelling bee, organizers indicated that the change was made to help avert perceptions that the competition was based solely on memorization skills (as had been showcased by television broadcasts), and to help further the Bee's goal of expanding the vocabulary and language skills of children.

 

[BobbyLayne]

Spell Off Results

Harini 21 words in 90 seconds 

Vikram 15 words