H-I-G-H-W-A-Y R-O-B-B-E-R-Y O-N R-O-U-T-E 3-0-9: We've discussed problems in spelling bee judging before, but what happened last week in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton (PA) regional may take the cake.
Here's what happened: seven spellers left for the semifinals, competing in alphabetical order. All seven get their next word wrong -- so, okay, maybe none of them are a serious threat for Nationals. Still, judges summon back the last two from the round and only the last two, deciding, "You're the final two," and have them square off for the championship, completely screwing over the other five spellers who also should have been summoned back for a second chance. This is so obvious that I can't believe the parents and coaches in attendance allowed it to happen.
Making matters worse, some d-o-u-c-h-e-b-a-g columnist in Easton who apparently served as a judge has to be a dick about it.
edited to add: Bad Dad is right -- it's time to send emails to jowens@express-times.com and demand that all seven semifinalists be brought back. Look: we don't ask you to send money to political candidates on this blog, and we're not big on petition drives or anything like that. But there's a Spelling Bee Injustice going on, and maybe we can do something about it.
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