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PEOPLE & ARTS Wednesday 11 december 2019
National Spelling Bee will have fewer wild cards next year

By BEN NUCKOLS Associated Press ahead of
Associated Press the announcement that
The Scripps National Spell- older kids ought to be the
ing Bee will have fewer par- focus of the wild-card pro-
ticipants next year. Wheth- gram because they are
er it will have fewer cham- running out of chances to
pions remains to be seen. make the bee.
Six months after the bee She said Scripps will take
ended in an unprecedent- into account applicants’
ed eight-way tie because performances in past bees
organizers ran out of words and the difficulty of their re-
that were difficult enough gions.
to trip up the best spellers, Scripps also announced a
Scripps on Tuesday an- financial aid package for
nounced the first in a series spellers who apply through
of reforms to the competi- the wild-card program,
tion. While bee organizers known as “RSVBee.” The
aren’t saying how they’ll bee will cover the entry
come up with a more chal- fees and expenses of up to
lenging word list, the bee 18 wild-card spellers who
is reducing the number of qualify for free or reduced-
wild-card entrants, which price school lunches, a
ought to streamline an In this Thursday, May 31, 2018, file photo, Karthik Nemmani, from McKinney, Texas, smiles as he common measure of pov-
event that was becoming wins the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Oxon Hill, Md. erty.
unwieldy. Associated Press “We have always been
The bee will have roughly sensitive to the financial
140 wild-card entrants, cards, and current and for- and none survived to join spellers. need aspect of RSVBee,”
down from nearly 300 this mer spellers said they were the 50 spellers who made “The change gives the stu- Kimble said. “We look for-
year. That means the com- concerned the program the finals. The preliminary dents in sixth grade and ward to helping spellers
petition would top out at had strayed from its intend- rounds featured wild-card below who don’t win their and their families who are
about 400 spellers. This ed purpose and was letting spellers who were clearly district bees more chances in need make it to the na-
year, there were 562 kids in in nearly anyone able to overwhelmed by such to hone their skills for next tional stage.”
the bee, which is open to pay the $1,500 entry fee, words as “tendon,” ‘’ves- year,” said the eighth- The wild-card program be-
students through the eighth plus travel, lodging and ex- tibule,” ‘’allocation” and grader, who is hoping to re- gan with the 2018 bee in a
grade. penses. “gyro.” turn for her fourth bee. bid to give opportunities to
And unlike in previous Spellers who qualify via the Fourteen-year-old Simone “I think that making the kids who live in highly com-
years, wild cards will be traditional route, by win- Kaplan of Davie, Florida, bee smaller is also going to petitive regions or in areas
available only to seventh- ning a regional bee, have who just missed being part make it more competitive, without sponsored bees,
and eighth-graders. their trip to nationals paid of the octet of champions so yes, I think it is a good and it paid off immediately
There were dozens of first- for by sponsors. in this year’s bee, said she thing.” when Karthik Nemmani, a
timers and younger spell- There were 17 wild cards noticed the struggles of Paige Kimble, the bee’s ex- wild card from the Dallas
ers among this year’s wild age 9 or younger this year, some younger wild-card ecutive director, told The area, won the bee. q

Marie Fredriksson of Swedish pop duo Roxette dies at 61

Associated Press firm said. able to speak for a con-
STOCKHOLM (AP) — Ma- On his Facebook profile, siderable period of time
rie Fredriksson, the female Gessle wrote: “You were after her treatment. Over
half of the Swedish pop an outstanding musician, the years she was able to
duo Roxette, has died at a master of the voice, an make a gradual return to
age 61, her management amazing performer.” the world stage
agency said Tuesday. “I’m proud, honored and Fredriksson was born in
Fredriksson formed Rox- happy to have been able southern Sweden on May
ette with Per Gessle in to share so much of your 30, 1958, and had her ar-
1986. The two released time, talent, warmth, gen- tistic breakthrough in 1984
their first album the same erosity and your sense of in Sweden. Two years later,
year and went on to humour,” he wrote in Eng- she formed the duo Rox-
achieve international suc- lish, adding “Things will ette with Gessle, and in
cess in the late 1980s and never be the same.” 1989, the pair had their in-
1990s with hits including Fredriksson was diagnosed ternational breakthrough
“The Look” and “It Must with a brain tumor in 2002. with “The Look.” In this file photo dated July 18, 2015, Marie Fredriksson, singer
Have Been Love.” She underwentaggressive They achieved interna- of the pop duo Roxette.
The Dimberg Jernberg treatment that took its toll tional success with their Associated Press
agency said Fredriksson but ultimately was suc- albums “Look Sharp!” in
died Monday “of the con- cessful, her management 1988 and “Joyride” in 1991, known band since ABBA her brain tumor operation
sequences of a long ill- agency said. and had six top two hits on in the 1970s and 1980s, to receive the honor with
ness.” However, she was left the Billboard Hot 100. The and in 2003, Sweden’s Gessle.
It “is with great sorrow that blind in one eye, with lim- pair sold 80 million records Carl Gustaf XVI awarded Fredriksson is survived by
we must inform you that ited hearing and mobility, worldwide and embarked the duo a royal award. her husband, Mikael Boly-
one of greatest and most- and was unable to read on world tours. Fredriksson made her first os, and their two children,
loved artists is gone,” the or write. She was also un- They were Sweden’s best- public appearance after Josefin and Oscar.q