Can you Spell Vocabulary?

The Scripps National Spelling Bee has just gotten a bit harder, the spellers now need to know the meaning of the words they are spelling. This is a new wrinkle in bee starting this year. The spellers have to take a vocabulary test before they spell now. Before the preliminary round of spelling the 281 contestants took a multiple choice vocabulary test on computers. Most of the spellers liked the idea but wish they had known about it a little earlier.Organizers of the the contest announced the vocabulary component 7 weeks ago say that they have added vocabulary to reinforce the bee's mission to broaden students knowledge of the English language.
This new segment has made the scoring a little more complicated. Spellers now must spell and define 24 words and 12 of those are counted. There are also extra vocabulary words that count as extra points. The contestants still have the nerve wracking round of spelling where they are eliminated one by one until the winner is declared.
Organizers say there may be some tinkering with the new rules in upcoming bees but they feel that the vocabulary component is here for good.