"No need to touch the mic. It'll take care of itself," Dr. Bailly told Srinidhi Rao, speller 206, when she grabbed it before spelling "tattersall." It's a fabric woven or printed in a pattern of colored lines forming squares of solid background.
The Illinois third grader got it right.
The microphone this year raises and lowers depending on the spellers' height. (It's pretty awesome.)
"Totally magic," Dr. Bailly said earlier this morning. "I know the secret guy in the back who does it all."