National Spelling Bee canceled for first time since 1945

There will be no fidgeting at the National Spelling Bee microphone, no banter with pronouncer Jacques Bailly, no pointed questions about definitions or languages of origin, no dreaded bell that signals a misspelled word.

This year's Scripps National Spelling Bee was canceled Tuesday, the latest beloved public event to be scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The bee will return next year, Scripps said, but that's little comfort to the eighth-graders who are missing out on their last shot at the national stage. Scripps will not change eligibility requirements for the next bee, which is scheduled for June 1-3, 2021. The bee, which began in 1925 and was last canceled from 1943-45 because of World War II, has always been restricted to elementary and middle-schoolers.

“My heart goes out to every one of those kids affected. As a former speller, all I can say is I can only imagine, and my heart breaks for them,” said Paige Kimble, the bee's longtime executive director and the 1981 champion. “Our eighth-grade spellers are much like the class of 2020 high school seniors, in the ranks of many enduring heartbreak as a result of these pandemic circumstances.”

One of those eighth-graders is 13-year-old Hepzibah Sujoe of Fort Worth, Texas, who made the prime-time finals last year and whose brother, Ansun Sujoe, was a 2014 co-champion.

“I really wanted to enjoy Bee Week this year — my last chance at it. My journey started in first grade whenever I went to watch my brother compete,” Hepzibah told The Associated Press. “I really wanted to win because I saw that I did have the potential to win and I really pushed for it this year. Now that I can't do that, that's probably the toughest thing.”

Scripps had announced last month that the bee would not be held as scheduled the week of May 24 at its longtime...