COVID-19 Crisis: National Spelling Bee cancelled for first time since World War-II

The Spelling Bee, which has been dominated by Indian-American winners for quite a few years now, was cancelled for the first time since World War 2 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The competition, which is only open to students in elementary and middle school, will return on June 1, 2021.

However, the eighth graders who qualified this year for their last try at the national title won't be able to participate next year, spelling bee officials said in a statement on



Tuesday.

"Our hearts go out to the spellers who won't get their final shot at winning because of the pandemic and the difficult decisions it is prompting us to make. They are now part of a widely expanding group of children and adults who are missing out on opportunities due to the coronavirus," said Paige Kimble, executive director of the Bee.

Organisers of the Scripps National Spelling Bee cancelled the event citing "no clear path to safely set a new date in 2020".