[Vinnie]

The rules used to be .. You can repeat the letters that you have already spelled but can't correct the letters.

There is a commercial on TV that as a girl spelling Aardvark.

She spells "A-R", a little creature standing on the microphone tells her to think of the first word in the dictionary. She corrects herself with "A-A- R.....".

The MC congratulates her on being correct.

Got me thinking..
Are the rules still the same or have they dumbed down spelling bees also?

[politicket]

Are the rules still the same or have they dumbed down spelling bees also?

The rules are still the same. You cannot correct any spelling already given.

The other thing that kids need to watch out for are 'near' homonyms. The prounouncer is not required to notify the child of this case, only if it is an actual homonym.

[Rte66]

I wondered about that stupid A-A-r dvark commercial, too. I was making a *nasty buzzer* sound every time.

[metmom]

Something like that actually happened in a Regional Bee we participated in and the girl was let back in and went on to Washington. It made us sick. It was so unfair to the kid who should have gone, whoever that was who should have won.

[latina4dubya]

She spells "A-R", a little creature standing on the microphone tells her to think of the first word in the dictionary. She corrects herself with "A-A- R.....".

i HATE that commercial for that very reason... i thought that they should have made the girl think about the spelling to herself--say it in her head--and not out loud until the little bee reminds her, and she spells it correctly...