That's because the word he had to spell was ''bigot''.
''We'll have a good laugh about that at home. What a word to be remembered for,'' he said at the competition's conclusion.
The 14-year-old John McGlashan College pupil has become well known in Otago for his spelling ability after winning the competition last year and coming third in the national final.
He was one of 11 year 9 and 10 pupils from across the southern region who took part in the competition at Logan Park High School's auditorium yesterday.
In the end, it came down to a gruelling spell-off between him and South Otago High School pupil Alice Murray (15).
The duel lasted for several rounds, but Alice's bid for first prize came to an end when she incorrectly spelt ''paradigm''.
Despite her initial disappointment, she was excited to learn she had qualified along with Alex to compete in the New Zealand Spelling Bee final in Wellington on October 17.
Both were excited about going to the capital to compete against some of the country's top spellers, and will have their heads buried in dictionaries over the next two months in preparation.
Five regional competitions were held around New Zealand, with the country's top 200 spellers battling it out for one of up to 18 places in the 2015 Spelling Bee final.
The winning speller will take home $5000 and the coveted title of National Spelling Bee Champion.
