By Lovern Hayes, Gleaner Writer
THE BATTLE of the sexes continued yesterday as The Gleaner Children's Own Spelling Bee Competition moved into St. Mary and St. Ann.
In the end there was a female champion from St. Mary and male champion from St. Ann.
The St. Mary leg of the competition was a whirlwind affair. Although there were 36 spellers 17 boys and 19 girls the competition was over in only 90 minutes.
When the spellmaster moved into the list of 'Intermediate Words', 11-year-old Antoir Sadaar of St. Cyrians Prep. stumbled on 'AGGRIEVE' and had to settle for fourth place. Within minutes, Javed Jaghai, 11 and representing Port Maria Primary, incorrectly spelt 'BATTALION' and had to content himself with the Boys' Champion title and third place.
Retreat Primary's 11-year-old speller, Venice Coombs, was overcome by 'BESIEGE', thereby clearing the way for 13-year-old Kayon Reid of Marymount High to claim the Parish Champion title. Reid spelt 'BESIEGE' correctly and then sealed the issue by also spelling 'BROCADE'.
The situation was a lot different in St. Ann. There were 42 spellers vying for the opportunity to represent their parish, and the whole atmosphere was tense. The spellers exuded grit and determination. Special mention must be made of the 'little men', both seven years old, who competed admirably and placed in the top 15.
Stann-Omar Jones of Discovery Bay Prep. who placed 15th and Ken O'Connor of Bensonton All Age, who placed 13th, were careful and obviously intelligent spellers. They were neither thwarted by the size of their competitors nor the size of the words they were required to spell and their confidence belied their age. In the end, however, they had to bow out to their competition.
The other spellers, however, were also quite good and the spellmaster had to go well into the 'Intermediate Words' before the Parish Champion could be crowned. The boys in this parish walked away with four of the top five positions.
Eleven-year-old Fitzroy Sherwood of St. John's Prep. was the first to exit the top five after incorrectly spelling 'COLLUSION'. Mishko Powell, Bamboo Primary's 10-year-old representative, went soon after when he was unable to render 'COUSIN'.
The second last to fall was the lone female in the group, 10-year-old Mierieke Blackwood of Inverness Primary leaving Paul McFarlane and Adrian Kelly to battle for the title.
Ten-year-old McFarlane of Charlton Primary was bowled over by 'FILIGREE' and had to settle for second place and the parish crown went to nine-year-old Adrian Kelly of Ocho Rios Primary who accurately spelt 'FILIGREE' and went on to win with 'FORESEE'.
The Town Hall in Falmouth and Mt. Alvernia High School in Montego Bay are the venues for competition today as The Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee continues at 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. respectively.
