There Is A World Championship For Excel Spreadsheets

Levelling with you here, anytime I was at school/college/university/anytime in my adult life and I was asked to use Microsoft Excel, my palms would begin to sweat and my anxiety would go through the roof.

But apparently, there are some people out there in the world that jump with joy at the idea of opening up a spreadsheet – so much so that there’s even a World Championship for people who know their way around Excel.

Only recently did the Championships take part in Anaheim, California, and the competition was limited to participants from ages 12 to 22.

The top prize went to John Dumoulin, who is a 17-year-old from northern Virginia. He’s a high schooler, who works part time at a Chick-Fil-A and has never stepped foot inside an office.

Better yet, his prize consisted of $10,000 – all for flexing his incredible spreadsheet skills.

I mean, that’s a pretty impressive claim to put on your CV, and should he want to find his way out of Chick-Fil-A (or work up the ranks there) anytime soon he can tell any employer that he is THE World Champion of Excel spreadsheets. I know I’d hire him in a heartbeat just so I didn’t have to do them.

Speaking in an interview following his win, John revealed that he found it fascinating to discover just how seriously some of the contestants took their training, saying: “Some of the foreign countries, they’ve been training for hours and hours and hours on end.”

“When you first meet the international students, everyone’s friendly, but when they find out you’re competing against them in the same category, they get this fire in their eyes. They want to win.”

“Most of us in an office think that we know how to use Excel. These kids really know,” said Aaron Osmond, general manager of Certiport, the company that runs the competition.

Congrats, and if you know anyone in your life who is a whizkid in the spreadsheet department, let them know that their calling is HERE!

Featured Image Credit: MOS World Championship