The Johnson County Spelling Bee has been canceled, and will not be rescheduled.
The decades-old spelling bee, which hosts dozens of students representing elementary and intermediate schools, public and private, across the county will not take place for the first time in at least 20 years, chairperson Cindy King said.
King made the decision after Gov. Eric Holcomb decided to close schools until May 1. Schools have since been told to close their doors and teach students virtually for the rest of the school year.
School closures and event cancellations are a response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has infected 332 Johnson County residents and killed 20 as of Monday, according to the Indiana State Department of Health.
The spelling bee was set to take place next week at Needham Elementary School. The winner would have been crowned the county spelling bee champion, but would not have advanced to any state or national competitions, King said.
Although a few schools were able to hold their school spelling bees to determine who would go on to the county competition, such as Union Elementary School, which held a virtual spelling bee in March, most did not. Needham Elementary School, for example, would have had 21 students competing to win the school crown, too many for a virtual contest, King said.
Given the fact that school buildings are closed to students through the end of the school year, holding the county spelling bee was virtually impossible, and to reschedule for the fall would mean current fifth graders would be in sixth grade, violating contest policies which requires all spellers to be in third through fifth grade, she said.
“It’s unfortunate, but like a lot of other things, it’s going to be something that doesn’t happen this year,” King said.
About 20 contestants—one from each school—would have competed to be named 2020 Johnson County Spelling Bee Champion had the contest gone on as planned, she said.
“I feel bad for the kids who have been practicing for that competition,” King said. “Like the NCAA, we don’t know who that winner would have been.”
