Saturday, 2 June 2007 06:07 pm
Bee-lated update
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deckardcanineMy sister invited me to a Spelling Bee party on Thursday, when the 'rents were out and two of her friends could come. I had beaten my school's bee in sixth grade and my sister went to the Nationals in her sixth grade 11 years ago, but this was the first bee party I'd attended. Pretty fun, partly because I got to hold the dictionary and ask the other partiers spelling words of my choice during the ads. (They all missed "legerdemain," heh heh.)
Many changes have been made since 1996, and I think they're all with the TV audience in mind. Most must be a pain to the contestants:
1. A written test prior to the televised oral competition weeds out many.
2. After two minutes, a warning bell sounds. If they do not ask immediately for extended time drawn from a bank that starts at one minute, they will have 30 seconds left. My sister testifies that this is harsh. It certainly would have affected some previous winners.
3. Contestants no longer have to repeat the word after spelling. (I'd mistaken this for an error in Akeelah and the Bee.) This actually might be a good thing all around.
4. Frequent ad breaks by the final rounds. What do they do during that time, pass out more water bottles?
5. Dismissed contestants no longer get sent to the comfort room. They sit on the other side of the stage with their families. Because of the scarcity of chairs, many sit on a parent's lap. My sister found the right word while it was coming to my mind: "DEGRADING." Look, I often find fourth- to eighth-graders cute too, but they do not want to be regarded as little kids.
6. Some dismissed contestants were interviewed. I admire the boy who kept his words positive, but he seemed to be fighting tears and the interviewer seemed determined to make him lose the fight. My sister put it better than I deigned: "F*** you, ABC."
ABC also presented bios of some still-going contestants. Those were often interesting, if a bit indulgent. It got us to favor the math and music genius who eventually won.
Might I add that the champion, to the hysterics of the audience, said he's not that fond of spelling, as it consists of little more than memorization. This from someone who evidently never had to guess! At the interviewer's urging, he admitted that he likes it "maybe a little better" now.
If I were in the competition, I'd hate him for that. Instead, I give him my heartiest congrats and hope that his scholarship helps him go on to contribute masterfully to his clearly more worthwhile other fields.
Many changes have been made since 1996, and I think they're all with the TV audience in mind. Most must be a pain to the contestants:
1. A written test prior to the televised oral competition weeds out many.
2. After two minutes, a warning bell sounds. If they do not ask immediately for extended time drawn from a bank that starts at one minute, they will have 30 seconds left. My sister testifies that this is harsh. It certainly would have affected some previous winners.
3. Contestants no longer have to repeat the word after spelling. (I'd mistaken this for an error in Akeelah and the Bee.) This actually might be a good thing all around.
4. Frequent ad breaks by the final rounds. What do they do during that time, pass out more water bottles?
5. Dismissed contestants no longer get sent to the comfort room. They sit on the other side of the stage with their families. Because of the scarcity of chairs, many sit on a parent's lap. My sister found the right word while it was coming to my mind: "DEGRADING." Look, I often find fourth- to eighth-graders cute too, but they do not want to be regarded as little kids.
6. Some dismissed contestants were interviewed. I admire the boy who kept his words positive, but he seemed to be fighting tears and the interviewer seemed determined to make him lose the fight. My sister put it better than I deigned: "F*** you, ABC."
ABC also presented bios of some still-going contestants. Those were often interesting, if a bit indulgent. It got us to favor the math and music genius who eventually won.
Might I add that the champion, to the hysterics of the audience, said he's not that fond of spelling, as it consists of little more than memorization. This from someone who evidently never had to guess! At the interviewer's urging, he admitted that he likes it "maybe a little better" now.
If I were in the competition, I'd hate him for that. Instead, I give him my heartiest congrats and hope that his scholarship helps him go on to contribute masterfully to his clearly more worthwhile other fields.
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Congrats!
Re: Congrats!