Spelling Bee begins with test of vocabulary

OXON HILL, Md. – Jae Canetti said he screamed “No!” when he learned the National Spelling Bee would be introducing a vocabulary test. He started changing the way he prepared, studying definitions of words on the bus ride to school each day.

At least the extra work appeared to have paid off. When the 11-year-old from Fairfax, Va., took the test Tuesday morning, he felt he did just fine.

“I knew a lot of the words,” Jae said. “It definitely was not, like, painstaking.”

The 86th edition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee took on new meaning – or rather, lots of meanings – with organizers having decreed that the precocious youngsters need to prove they know more than just how to spell. The 281 competitors took a 45-minute computer test that probed their knowledge of both spelling and vocabulary, with the results to be combined with today’s onstage round to determine who advances to the semifinals Thursday.

For the most part, the spellers had the same reaction to the vocabulary test: good idea, but they wished they had known about it sooner.

Organizers announced the addition of vocabulary seven weeks ago, saying it reinforces the bee’s mission to encourage students to broaden their knowledge of the English language. They waited until all of the qualifying bees had been completed so that the spellers would be on equal footing in their preparation.

There will be another vocabulary test for those who make it to the semifinals, but Thursday night’s finals will look the same as always – with spellers taking turns tackling incredibly difficult words under the bright lights of prime-time television until only a champion remains. The winner takes home more than $30,000 in cash and prizes.