The one word that stumped all 8 spelling bee champsĪnother area of growing disparity among participants is access to spelling bee coaching. What if, in every year going forward, early rounds of the competition could include remote participation for those unable (for financial or other reasons) to participate in person? What if, in future competitions, they provided those remote participants with the technological capabilities to be an equal part of the contest? In acknowledging that not all children who wish to participate in the Bee possess equal internet access, the Bee could open up a new series of possibilities. Michael Durnil, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, he termed this measure an “equal access onramp.” To create a uniform broadcast, they shipped each of the 209 participants (a smaller number than in years past, because of the pandemic) technology hardware and monitored the stability of each internet connection.Ĭertainly, this measure was taken to ensure a smooth television broadcast, but it can also be seen as an acknowledgment of the unevenness of this playing field. For example, conducting the first three rounds of the competition remotely meant that Scripps had to look beyond the onsite contest into spellers’ homes. Rather than revert to old models of competition, organizers can instead look to other ways the pandemic has forced innovations that could, if adapted, transform the Bee to be more inclusive and accessible. How is the wealth gap being affected by the pandemic? With more spellers paying to attend than being sponsored, the contest was already skewing heavily toward families able to pay their own way. Socioeconomic concerns have come to the fore in recent years of this contest, regarding who is able to afford the contest and the preparation to get themselves there. To benefit more of America’s children, the National Spelling Bee should focus on greater access and inclusion for socioeconomically disadvantaged and racially minoritized kids. More broadly, the prospective participants in the Bee now confront a world remade by massive social changes wrought by the pandemic, not least the socioeconomic and racial inequalities it has exacerbated, which surely will widen already evident economic and social gaps in this contest. Early rounds were conducted remotely, and the number of contestants is greatly reduced. For the 11 finalists, however, much has changed. “Trust me.”ĬNN’s Christina Maxouris contributed to this report.This year’s finals may seem like a return to normal, albeit with the additional excitement of first lady Dr. “I’ll find something else to do,” she said. She said she has a variety of interests and was on the lookout for some new challenges to tackle. Zaila has gained a following of more than 14,000 people on Instagram by sharing her journey toward the national spelling bee as well as videos of her playing basketball, impressing her followers with her hoop skills. She said may also pursue a career in neuroscience or gene editing. Zaila said she hopes to one day play basketball at Harvard before a career at NASA or as a coach in the NBA. In addition to her spelling bee crown, Zaila was the Guinness World Records title holder for most bounce juggles in one minute. Thursday night’s win is just one on a long list of achievements for the champion. The event was canceled last year due to the pandemic – for the first time since World War II. National Spelling Bee canceled for the first time since WWIIįirst lady Jill Biden was on hand to cheer on the competitors at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. And 11 contestants entered Thursday night’s final. The National Spelling Bee competition began with 209 spellers, ranging in age from 9 to 15, from five countries: the US, the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana and Japan. The only Black winner before her was Jody-Anne Maxwell, representing Jamaica in 1998. “It would have been really bad if I had gotten knocked out then, because I would have been kicking myself, because I knew everything about the word except exactly how to spell it,” she said. To get there, the teen had to navigate her way through words like querimonious, solidungulate, and Nepeta, which she said was the hardest word she had to spell in the competition. What a more equal Spelling Bee could do for all kids Zaila Avant-garde, 14, from New Orleans, Louisiana, wins the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee Finals at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, U.S.
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