By Lovern Hayes,
Staff Writer
A FUSILLADE is probably the only term that could be used to describe The Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee competition in St. Catherine yesterday as all the big guns came out to announce their superiority over the other competitors.
The Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee Parish Finals for St. Catherine began with 57 spellers -- 28 boys and 29 girls -- but that number was swiftly cut to 47 in 30 minutes.
Confident, careful spellers reigned, as others were cut down in their haste to spell the required words. After two hours of intense spelling, there were only 16 spellers left, seven boys and nine girls. The spellmaster was heading for the "Final Words" list but the spellers were showing no signs of letting up.
Half-an-hour later, there were only nine spellers, four boys and five girls, and they were well into the "Final Words". The top five, two boys and three girls, proved to be a tough bunch as they quickly moved into the list of "Unseen Words".
Coach, the Revd. Glen Archer, obviously has the secret recipe for success, as he had three spellers in the top five, and in the end they claimed the top three positions. Naggo Head Primary's Teneisha Headley, though small in stature, proved to be a strong challenger for the Parish Champion title, and in the end it took a big word -- "SCINTILLATE" -- to stump her. Headley placed fifth, with Terrol Graham, of Ascot Primary, another very confident speller, claiming fourth, having been bowled over by "ACUMEN".
The top three spellers rallied for an exceedingly long time with no one showing signs of fatigue, and the fact that they were all trained by the same tutor, the Revd. Mr. Archer, was obviously a contributing factor.
Janelle Robinson and Andrew Burton, both of Hydel Prep, placed second and third respectively. Burton was unable to render "BENZENE" and Robinson faltered on "DECONGESTANT".
Trudy McLeary of Portmore Missionary was adjudged Parish Champion having spelt "DECONGESTANT", correctly, and she sealed the issue with "DEFAME".
The Gleaner's head office, 7 North Street, Kingston, is the venue of this morning's competition as the St. Andrew parish spelldown gets under way.
