(CNN) P-A-N-D-E-M-I-C. Can you spell pandemic? Because that's the reason why the Scripps National Spelling Bee was canceled this year.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee announced Tuesday that its beloved finals event, which was planned for May 24, has been canceled "due to the ongoing concerns about the spread of the novel coronavirus ."

The only other time the event was canceled was from 1943 to 1945 because of World War II.

The competition, which is only open to students in elementary and middle school, will return on June 1, 2021. However, the eighth graders who qualified this year for their last try at the national title won't be able to participate next year, spelling bee officials said.

"Our first priority has to be the health and well-being of our spellers and their families and the hundreds of staff and spectators that come together for Bee Week," Paige Kimble, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, said in a statement.

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