Recently arrived teenager wins Scrabble world title for Australia
Dineth Fernando has only been in Australia for seven months and has already brought home a world youth title for his country.
In a recent achievement for Australia, a young teenager from Melbourne has clinched the World Scrabble Youth Championship title in Kenya. Dineth Fernando, who only recently arrived in Australia from Sri Lanka less than a year ago, emerged victorious at the event held in Nairobi, beating out 140 competitors from around the globe.
The 14-year-old, who is still learning English as his second language, attributes his success to a rigorous daily practice of 200 words from the game's official dictionary. Having been introduced to Scrabble at the age of eight through school, Dineth has since competed in national championships in 2022 and 2024, and won the Australian Youth Scrabble Championship in July this year.
The teenager's father, a former medical doctor in Sri Lanka, moved the family to Australia in February this year due to his medical studies and work. Despite the long flight and potential risks related to geopolitical tensions, Dineth's father is immensely proud of his son's accomplishment. The father also acknowledges the benefits of Scrabble in fostering academics and sportsmanship, noting that countries like Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Thailand encourage the game in schools.
However, Australia currently lacks widespread implementation of Scrabble in schools, with only one school in the country incorporating it into its curriculum. Tony Hunt, President of the Youth Australia Scrabble Players Association, hopes to see Scrabble recognized as a sport that promotes literacy and numeracy, potentially integrating it into gifted and talented programs in schools.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
