The trophy the eight (!) champion spellers lifted at the end of the Scripps National Spelling Bee looks a little different than in the past.
Instead of a traditional trophy, the new version -- christened the Scripps Cup -- is unique to the Bee.
The old one was "just a trophy from a trophy shop. Anyone could order that trophy," said Corrie Loeffler, the Bee's editorial director.
She said Scripps had long wanted its own, branded trophy, specific to the Bee. The Scripps Cup, designed by the Rookwood pottery company, fulfills that mission.
"It recognizes what all these kids do," she said.
The Scripps Cup features an open book, bees, the honeycomb shape and gladiolus, the first winning word of the national Bee. Each winning speller will get their own engraved version of the trophy, and one with all winners will live year-round at the Scripps headquarters. The walnut base represents the company's Walnut Street address in Cincinnati, where Scripps is based.
"It was a no-brainer to go to them," Loeffler said.
Loeffler said the Bee talked for years about making the change. The result, she said, is a branded trophy that is recognizable as belonging to the winner of the National Spelling Bee.