For the first time since World War II, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is canceled, officials announced Tuesday.
A Renton eighth-grader who spent years preparing for her last show to win big is now hoping spelling bee officials move the event online.
"I don't know how to describe it, I guess I'm disappointed,” said Maywood Middle School student Nidhi Achanta, a spelling bee finalist.
Achanta spent hours after school studying for a moment that isn't going to happen.
"It makes me think that everything that I did wasn't worth it,” said Achanta.
She joins the hundreds of kids who will no longer qualify for next year's competition.
The spelling bee is only open to elementary and middle school students. Eighth graders who qualified this year will have to miss out.
”I feel like if I got the opportunity it would have been amazing, but my heart really goes out to the eighth graders who were able to get into the bee this year, but it was their first year, so they didn't get the opportunity,” said Achanta.
There are at least two petitions online created by kids looking to encourage spelling bee officials to change their minds.
Some eighth-graders are hoping spelling bee officials would extend the eligibility requirements to allow eighth-graders who qualified this year, to participate in next year's competition.
According to the spelling bee's website, that is not possible
"We have determined that it will not be possible to extend eligibility to ninth graders. This means that the group of eighth-graders who qualified for, or were attempting to qualify for, the 2020 national finals will not be eligible in 2021. It is unfortunate that the current eighth-graders will not have a chance to compete and experience Bee Week in their last year of eligibility. The pandemic and the risks to participants’ health and safety has prompted us to make this difficult decision."
Achanta would like to see the even moved online, allowing eighth-graders to participate in an invitational spelling bee.
According to the spelling bee's website, the chances of a virtual event are slim.
A statement posted on its website said in part, "We explored several options but determined there was not a clear path for a virtual event. The national finals is much more than a competition. Bee Week is an unforgettable experience in which spellers and their families forge new friendships that can last a lifetime. They share meaningful in-person interactions not only during the competition, but also through fun activities. Trying to replace that experience with a stay-at-home version would pale in comparison.