Windsor teenager takes national spelling bee title

Rishi Damarla is walking into the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. in two and half weeks as Canada's top speller of his age.

The 13 year-old Académie Ste-Cécile student won the Spelling Bee of Canada in Toronto last Sunday.

"Last year I placed second, so it was amazing," said Damarla.

The winning word was 'psychophysiology.'

Windsor teen takes national spelling bee

6 years ago

Duration 1:10

Rishi Damarla is walking into the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. as Canada's top speller in his age category.

"It was easier than other words I faced, so it was nice to have that word," said Damarla.

Before claiming the national title, the teenager conquered words including chaparral, inselberg, oleaginous, and quidnunc during the competition.

Rao Damarla was in the audience when his son spelled his final word.

"It's very very stressful," said Rao. "When the turn comes to your child, you feel anxious."

Damarla said he can spell the majority of the 490,000 words listed in the Oxford English Dictionary, a skill he started mastering when he was 8.

"I realized I could memorize words and language patterns and pick up new languages really quickly," he said. "Sometimes I just look in the dictionary for fun, other times I go by roots, like Latin and Greek."

Canada's national spelling bee lacks recognition, Damarla said. 

"When people think of spelling bees, they usually think of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. because it's on ESPN," said Damarla.

He wants that changed — and wants kids his age to aspire to become Canadian champions.

"Not many people really know about the Canadian national spelling bee so maybe I'd like to bring awareness and light towards that spelling bee," said Damarla.

Canada has had a national spelling bee for 32 years.