Competitors in the Scripps National Spelling Bee often struggle to contain their emotions as they react to obscure, complicated or tricked-up words that they may have never heard before.

Not knowing a word doesn't always mean a speller will get it wrong - the savviest competitors can piece together a word by relying on their knowledge of roots and language patterns.

Paul Hamrick, 14, from Monterey, California, spells his word correctly during the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee in National Harbor, Maryland, US