The Scripps National Spelling Bee won't be so quick to force spellers into a lightning-round tiebreaker to decide a champion this year, a shift that follows criticism of the abrupt ending to last year's competition.
Scripps has eliminated its requirement that the tiebreaker known as a “spell-off” be used when the bee finals are nearing the end of their two-hour broadcast window and a champion has not been decided. Instead, judges will have more discretion to let the bee play out, even if it runs into overtime.
