With the benefit of having spell check these days, many of us take for granted the skill of spelling. For those super spellers out there, the Scripps National Spelling Bee is the super bowl of spelling.

This is 11-year-old Davip Bippes is from Anutt, Missouri in Dent County. This is his first time to compete in the National Spelling Bee.

Long words, short words, and odd words, the grab bag of possible words in the spelling bee is something David is trying to put a dent in when his mom quizzes him daily.

"At least one hour a day, but since it's getting close to nationals I'm actually starting to study on average four hours a day," David said.

David's mom has experience quizzing for the bee after helping David's sister who went to the national bee twice in recent years.

"A mistake, I write down on a piece of paper and quiz them on that again on the word at least three to four times until they have it right, then we go on," Maria Bippes said.

To say David and his family have a passion for spelling is an understatement. He and his sister even have favorite words.

"Fauteuil. F-a-u-t-e-u-i-l. It's French. It means upholstered armchair," David said.

"Maxixe. M-a-x-i-x-e. It's Brazilian. It's a dance," Caitlin, David’s sister, said.

They say these words are hard to spell because they're not phonetic. They aren't spelled like they sound.

Super spelling isn't David's only talent. He's competed in the Math Olympics, geography bee, and won prizes for his woodworking in 4-H club.

David leaves Sunday for the bee in Washington D.C. He'll be there for a week, and get to go on educational tours around the city. The actual spelling bee is next Thursday and Friday.

The championship finals for this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee is on KSPR from 7 to 9 p.m. next Friday, May 30.

The earlier rounds are on ESPN and ESPN360.com.