Schools and sponsors have dropped out of the bee pipeline, regions have been consolidated and the bee has fewer than half the spellers it had three years ago.
“Many of our sponsors who are still with us, even, have expressed the concerns and the challenges brought forth by the pandemic,” said J. Michael Durnil, the bee's executive director. “Some of our sponsors realigned what their missions were and maybe the bee didn't fit. Maybe they lost person power and had to rethink their core business and the bee was not part of it. There's been a great reset in a lot of areas.
Pro sports franchises have filled the sponsor void. The NFL's Carolina Panthers host a massive regional bee that sends four spellers from North Carolina and two from South Carolina. The Tennessee Titans do the same for most of their state. And Scripps ran five of its own regional bees for kids who lived in places with no sponsor.
But in 2019, more than half of the 562 spellers in the bee were wild cards, many of them younger kids who weren't competitive at the national level. Scripps had planned to scale back the program in 2020. Then the bee's longtime executive director departed and her replacement, Durnil, scrapped the wild cards altogether.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Wayne County teen to take stage at Scripps National Spelling BeeFive talented young Northeast Ohioans are headed to Washington, D.C. this week to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. One is getting a second shot to showcase his skills at the national contest.
Read more »
Saipan Seventh-Grader To Travel Longest Distance To Scripps National Spelling BeeWow! Be sure to watch the Spelling Bee finals, hosted by LaVar Burton, on Thursday, June 2nd on Ion and Bounce networks.
Read more »
Consumers are shifting their spending from goods to servicesWhile Americans rode out the pandemic by buying televisions and furniture, businesses that relied on face-to-face commerce suffered. Now, consumers are returning to their pre-pandemic habits.
Read more »
Memorial Day Ceremony at DFW National Cemetery Marks First Since PandemicFor the first time since 2019, a crowd gathered at Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery for a service to honor the fallen.
Read more »
Colorado’s backlog of COVID-delayed jury trials is shrinking, but lingersThe pandemic-induced delays created a massive backlog of cases awaiting jury trials in 2021, and while court operations have since largely returned to normal, a historically-high backlog remains an…
Read more »
Gas prices hit all-time high in Los Angeles County amidst busiest travel weekend since 2019As millions of travelers set out over the extended weekend, returning to pre-pandemic levels, gas prices reached an all-time high in Los Angeles County.
Read more »