Hard work takes you a long way and 14-year-old Dineth Fernando has already found that 200 words a day can take you very far. The Melbourne teenager has only been in Australia for seven months but has already been to Nairobi and back with one of the biggest prizes in youth Scrabble: the World Youth Scrabble Championship, ABC Information and Services reports. Fernando, who arrived in Australia with his family from Sri Lanka in February, beat a field of about 140 competitors from around the world to win the title early last week. For a teen still finding his footing in a new country, the victory is more than a trophy. It’s the result of years of commitment to a game that has given him friendships, taught him English, and provided a sense of belonging.
A word a day… or 200 words a day
According to the news report, Fernando learnt to play Scrabble at school when he was eight. His passion for the game grew quickly and he competed in the Sri Lankan national championships in 2022 and 2024. He continued to train when he moved to Melbourne and made it a habit to build vocabulary. He studied the game’s official dictionary, learning some 200 words a day, in preparation for the world championship. His efforts paid off in July when he won the Australian Youth Scrabble Championship. That victory gave him the confidence to compete against the world’s best young players in Nairobi. Even more impressive about Fernando’s accomplishment is that English is his second language. Scrabble has been useful outside competition as he begins life in Australia, providing him with a way to meet people and make friends.
Sri Lankan tradition
Coach Rashid Sudin, who has worked with the player for years, has also played an influential role in his development as a competitive player.
Fernando’s love of Scrabble started in a country with a strong presence of the game in schools. In Sri Lanka, as in India, Pakistan, Malaysia and Thailand, Scrabble has a competitive school culture. School clubs and inter-school competitions provide young players the opportunity to hone their skills from an early age. It is reported that the environment was the foundation for Fernando’s international success. Coach Rashid Sudin, who has worked with the player for years, has also played an influential role in his development as a competitive player.
A family leap of faith
Fernando’s father, Prasanna Fernando, is a medical doctor who worked in Sri Lanka. His studies and work took the family to Australia this year. It was not an easy decision to get to Nairobi for the championship. The flight took some 25 hours and international tensions over the US-Iran conflict added another layer of uncertainty to the journey. Ultimately, father and son decided to take the plunge. It paid off in spectacular style with Fernando coming back to Australia a world champion.
Australia still has room to grow
Fernando’s success has also exposed a gap in Australia’s competitive Scrabble scene. Scrabble is played in some Australian communities, but is much less prominent in schools than in countries such as Sri Lanka. Only one Australian school, Cabramatta Public School in Sydney’s southwest, currently teaches Scrabble as part of its curriculum, said Youth Australia Scrabble Players Association president Tony Hunt. The game is also available as an extension activity in some of Victoria’s gifted and talented programs. Hunt believes Scrabble should play a bigger role in Australian schools, arguing it combines the attributes of a sport with essential literacy and numeracy skills.
A champion with higher aspirations
His journey is a testament to the ability of a familiar board game to connect languages, countries and cultures.
Fernando has reached the top of youth Scrabble, but his ambitions extend beyond the board. The teen is interested in math and science and hopes to become a doctor someday. But for now he can revel in the remarkable fact that less than a year ago he arrived in Australia and is already a world champion. His journey is a testament to the ability of a familiar board game to connect languages, countries and cultures — and to the impact a teen with focus, discipline and a killer vocabulary can make on the world stage.Images Courtesy: istock ABC News