By . Associated Press . and Daily Mail Reporter . This year's super-smart Spelling Bee contestants have told how the event - which kicked off today - enables them to bond with other like-minded children. 'Other . people will think we're nerdy and weird,' 14-year-old Kate Miller from . Abilene, Texas, told the Associated Press. She is at the nationals in Washington, D.C., for . the third time and has a tight circle of friends from previous years. She continued: 'The smart kids, when we go home, we don't always have a place where we're with our own kind and so this is a place where we can really connect and stay in touch, and rejoice through happy times and help each other in the hard times.' Social butterfly: Twelve-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, says it's 'really fun' meeting people at the Spelling Bee and making new friends . Just like universities have social clubs, the Spelling Bee has its own collection of groups suited to different personalities. For instance, Kate is a member of The . Order of the Squushy Carrots. That's where she met her good friend, . 12-year-old Katharine Wang who lives in Morristown, New Jersey. The . Order came into being several years ago - it even has its own logo and theme song - . and has become one of the more popular social media groups that helps . spellers stay in touch during the 51 weeks of the year when they aren't . at the Bee. 'It's just really fun meeting all the people who are there and just having fun with your friends' Another . group is the Ghetto-pens - whose name is 'something only spelling geeks . would get,' according to member Jae Canetti of Reston, Virginia. It's actually a play on 'guetapens' (pronounced GEHT'-uh-pahns), the winning word from the 2012 Bee. There are only about seven in the group, and they keep in touch about school, friends, family. Jae, 12, who is also making his third Bee appearance, revealed that the main topic that spellers try to avoid when they're just . casually talking to each other is spelling. Join the brainiac club! Jae Canetti, aged 12, who is also making his third Bee appearance, revealed that the main topic that spellers try to avoid when they're just casually talking to each other is spelling . 'Just like professional athletes - they . don't wear their team jersey around,' he said. In . the spirit of inclusiveness, the groups include spellers who are . serious contenders along with those who would be happy to make it out of . the preliminaries. Twelve-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, tied for fifth . last year and is vying to become the second half of the first sibling . tandem of champions. (Her sister Kavya won in 2009.) Vanya, a spelling . social butterfly, is both a Ghetto-pen and a Squushy Carrot. 'I mean, we're in the Spelling Bee. We ARE nerdy and weird' 'It's just really fun meeting all the people who are there,' Vanya said, 'and just having fun with your friends.' Kate and Katharine wondered aloud what the public would think of the Squushy Carrots or Google Group - another circle they belong too. 'Other people will think we're nerdy and weird,' Kate said. While Katharine replied laughing: 'I mean, we're in the Spelling Bee. We ARE nerdy and weird.' The Bee began Tuesday morning with a computerized spelling and . vocabulary test, with onstage rounds starting Wednesday on the way to . Thursday's prime-time finals. They are among 281 competitors ages eight to 15 vying this week for the title of top speller in the English language.
The three-day Spelling Bee contest kicked off today in Washington, D.C.
Just like universities have social clubs, the event has its own collection of groups suited to different personalities including The Order of the Squushy Carrots and the Ghetto-pens .
By . Associated Press . and Daily Mail Reporter . This year's super-smart Spelling Bee contestants have told how the event - which kicked off today - enables them to bond with other like-minded children. 'Other . people will think we're nerdy and weird,' 14-year-old Kate Miller from . Abilene, Texas, told the Associated Press. She is at the nationals in Washington, D.C., for . the third time and has a tight circle of friends from previous years. She continued: 'The smart kids, when we go home, we don't always have a place where we're with our own kind and so this is a place where we can really connect and stay in touch, and rejoice through happy times and help each other in the hard times.' Social butterfly: Twelve-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, says it's 'really fun' meeting people at the Spelling Bee and making new friends . Just like universities have social clubs, the Spelling Bee has its own collection of groups suited to different personalities. For instance, Kate is a member of The . Order of the Squushy Carrots. That's where she met her good friend, . 12-year-old Katharine Wang who lives in Morristown, New Jersey. The . Order came into being several years ago - it even has its own logo and theme song - . and has become one of the more popular social media groups that helps . spellers stay in touch during the 51 weeks of the year when they aren't . at the Bee. 'It's just really fun meeting all the people who are there and just having fun with your friends' Another . group is the Ghetto-pens - whose name is 'something only spelling geeks . would get,' according to member Jae Canetti of Reston, Virginia. It's actually a play on 'guetapens' (pronounced GEHT'-uh-pahns), the winning word from the 2012 Bee. There are only about seven in the group, and they keep in touch about school, friends, family. Jae, 12, who is also making his third Bee appearance, revealed that the main topic that spellers try to avoid when they're just . casually talking to each other is spelling. Join the brainiac club! Jae Canetti, aged 12, who is also making his third Bee appearance, revealed that the main topic that spellers try to avoid when they're just casually talking to each other is spelling . 'Just like professional athletes - they . don't wear their team jersey around,' he said. In . the spirit of inclusiveness, the groups include spellers who are . serious contenders along with those who would be happy to make it out of . the preliminaries. Twelve-year-old Vanya Shivashankar of Olathe, Kansas, tied for fifth . last year and is vying to become the second half of the first sibling . tandem of champions. (Her sister Kavya won in 2009.) Vanya, a spelling . social butterfly, is both a Ghetto-pen and a Squushy Carrot. 'I mean, we're in the Spelling Bee. We ARE nerdy and weird' 'It's just really fun meeting all the people who are there,' Vanya said, 'and just having fun with your friends.' Kate and Katharine wondered aloud what the public would think of the Squushy Carrots or Google Group - another circle they belong too. 'Other people will think we're nerdy and weird,' Kate said. While Katharine replied laughing: 'I mean, we're in the Spelling Bee. We ARE nerdy and weird.' The Bee began Tuesday morning with a computerized spelling and . vocabulary test, with onstage rounds starting Wednesday on the way to . Thursday's prime-time finals. They are among 281 competitors ages eight to 15 vying this week for the title of top speller in the English language.
have told how the event - which kicked off today at the nationals in Washington, D.C., for . the like universities have social clubs, the Spelling Bee has its own collection of groups suited to member of The . Order of the Squushy Carrots.