Actually, when i was 8 I was invited to be a speller in the national spelling bee, ( I placed second in the nurenberg spelling bee
which qualified me) but i couldn't go because my family was stationed in Germany.
and plane tickets were hard to get back in those days, being that we lived overseas and all.
But to answer your question, I think i could've won back in the day. but the words seemed to be easier back in those days.
I forgot to post my score 9/10