"I just sounded like I vomited," said Rohan Raja, speller 462, upon pronouncing his word, "Gaeltacht." It's the Gaelic-speaking or Irish-speaking districts.
The Texas seventh grader got it right.
There are several Dallas-area spellers, and Rohan said it helps kill the time to have them on stage with him. And he likes the spelling experience.
"If you do well, it makes you feel important," he said. "It's pretty nice."
Rohan tied for 10th place last year.
The spelling is intense. You know because of the question Rishik Gandhasri, speller 5, asked:
"Just out of curiosity, would you happen to know what time it is?
"It's 11:18," Dr. Bailly said. Yeah. Late.