"Inside the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee: Students from Minnesota, Utah, and Triangle Area Compete for Championship"
Originally Published 2 years ago — by NPR
The Scripps National Spelling Bee's word selection panel, consisting of 21 panelists, spends a year assembling a word list that will challenge but not embarrass the 230 middle- and elementary-school-aged competitors and preferably produce a champion within the two-hour broadcast window for Thursday night's finals. The panelists' work has changed over the decades, and they now use Merriam-Webster's Unabridged dictionary to pick words. The panel also began pulling words avoided in the past, and as long as a word isn't archaic or obsolete, it's fair game. The panel's chief goal is to make the competition as fair as possible.