Michael Lee, Gleaner Writer

Kirkley James of Rusea's High School is all smiles. - Photos by Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

THE COMPETITION, which had a lukewarm start, saw an exciting end as champion boy, Kirkley James of Rusea's High, and champion girl, Tifanny Zheng of Hardin's Hall Preparatory, illustrated what a final spelldown was all about during The Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee Hanover parish finals on Friday at Lucea United Church Hall.

The final spelldown, which lasted about 20 minutes, ended with a well-deserved victory for James, who successfully spelt A-Q-U-E-D-U-C-T after Zheng's failure to correctly spell A-C-Q-U-I-T-T-A-L.

An elated James told The Gleaner he was nervous at the beginning of the competition.

"I was very nervous when I just came, but after I spelt the second word, I was not all that nervous anymore," said the two-time parish champion.

Indicating that this competition was not his most difficult he, however, added that he had to put in a lot of work to defend his title and said this was only possible thanks to his coach and mother, who played a vital part in his win.

"In the evenings, when I finish my schoolwork, I would just go to her (his coach) house and she helped me with my spelling; my mother is also a big coach for me, so I would like to say thanks to her," said James.

Merton Grey, James' coach, said it was a pleasure working with him and described him as a dedicated person.

"Because he (James) is dedicated to what he is doing, and he wants to be a champion, you have to ensure that you keep pace with him because, if he gets any time and you are available, you have to ensure that you have time to take him up with the spelling."

A spelling coach for more than 10 years, Grey said this was her first time coaching James and added that he worked very hard and deserved his victory.

Quick information

Winning word:

A-Q-U-E-D-U-C-T

Champion boy/overall champion: Kirkley James, Rusea's High School

Champion girl: Tifanny Zheng (second), Hardin's Preparatory School

Other top-five spellers: Tenescia Watson (third), Shacklene Vanhorne (fourth) and Adjay Clarke (fifth)

Number of spellers: 31

Number of schools: 18