He's read every word since 2003 until this year. Meet the voice of the Scripps Spelling Bee.

Ryan W. Miller | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Here's how the National Spelling Bee's official pronouncer says 'gif' Jacques Bailly doesn't say either of the common pronunciations.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Since he took over as Scripps National Spelling Bee's official pronouncer in 2003, Jacques Bailly has never taken a break from reading out spellers' words during the competition — until this year.

With his calming voice, the Classics professor from University of Vermont — who goes by Dr. Bailly around here — is a staple of the National Bee. He greets every student with their word, provides definitions, word origins and alternate pronunciations and is a familiar face amid the bright lights of being on stage.

But in 2018, the Scripps Bee fielded its largest pool of competitors ever — 515 spellers, thanks to a new invitational program that allows for spellers who didn’t win a regional bee to qualify under certain circumstances.

That means almost double the number of spellers Bailly read words to and an extra day of competition to be at the forefront of the competition.

"I would probably run myself into the ground doing this because I just love doing it," Bailly said. "I don't really want to take a break, but I recognize that with three days, I've got to do some pacing."

He planned to take two breaks during the third round Wednesday, which featured 452 spellers who remained in the competition after Tuesday’s rounds. Finalists will compete in prime time on ESPN Thursday night.

"Imagine three days, you're up there in the spotlight and you're supposed to be as perfect as you can be. It's a fair bit of energy," he said. "I just wanted to make sure we give the spellers what they deserve."

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Brian Sietsema, also a Scripps pronouncer, took Bailly’s place during brief breaks in Wednesday’s preliminary rounds, but Bailly remained in the room where spellers competed: “I wanted to watch,” he said with a laugh.

“Jacques makes it look easy. It’s not easy at all. It’s like balancing on top of a chair on top of a surfboard going across the Pacific Ocean,” Sietsema said. “You’ve got to have laser-like attention on the speller in front of you.”

But for Bailly, pronouncing the words goes beyond just the competition. He records word pronunciations that students use to practice ahead of the Bee so that they know they voice they’ll hear when they compete.

“On their computers at home, they’ve heard my voice during the year. I think a lot of them feel like my voice is in their living room and their family room and at the breakfast table,” he said. “They really see me as somebody they kind of know.”

More: How these spellers made it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee — again

And he knows what it's like being on the other side of the Bee's pronouncer. He won the National Bee in 1980. So when students do get up on stage, face a panel of judges and see Bailly, many feel comfortable and often great him with a “Hello, Dr. Bailly” or a quick quip — “Can you spell my word,” “Nice tie, Dr. Bailly” or “What’s up, doc?”

He said to balance both having fun with students’ greetings and providing them with the information they need to succeed, he tries to show that he has their best interest at heart.

“When they say they're nervous, I think the best way to deal with that is to get on with it. That’s kind of what they want to do, to get down to business, give them something to do up there.”

“I have the best fan club in the world,” he said.

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