Hundred spellers take stage at the fourth quarter final
View(s):An uncanny silence fills the studio as the next batch of hundred competitors take their place to battle it out for the next twenty seats at
the semi finals. The competition last weekend drew attention to the fourth competition in a series of five competitions that identified the 20 who will go through to form the Top 100 spellers.
The competition this time around involves the contestants picking two numbers from a random number generator and the corresponding word given to them in the first round, leaving them more anxious than ever.
Spelling orally is a tricky skill, which requires contestants to remain calm, control their nerves simultaneously concentrating on breaking the word down and planning it out in their mind before divulging the letters. Spellers are advised to pay attention to the ‘P’ & ‘B’, ‘T’ & ‘D’ and ‘S’ & ‘F’ sounds which sometimes sound similar and are requested to get the maximum help from the judges when it comes to breaking the word down, making it slightly easier for them to spell it out.
The initial round found 12 contestants sail through to the semi finals, one being Vasika Udurawane of S.Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia, 3rd runner-up at the Spellmaster finals 2011, who got through effortlessly, saying he “was used to the lights now”. Another contestant was E.M.L.M.K.Ekanayake of Maliyadeva Balika Vidyalaya Kurunegala who has taken part in the competition for the past three years, said she got through by “sheer luck” and knew that if she put in extra effort it wouldn’t have been so tough.
The twenty-five participants who spelled one word right had to compete for the 8 remaining seats to the semi finals. Subsequent to the 2nd round of spellings, seven contestants qualified, which meant the balance 18 spellers had to battle for 1 spot to complete the 20. G.K.C Samarakoon of Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo 05, F.R.Rushdi of St.Lawrence’s Convent Colombo 6 and A.N.Samarathunge of Convent of Our Lady of Victories Moratuwa were the only contestants who spelled the words given to them correct.
A.N.Samarathunge was fortunate as the rules of the competition worked in favour of her; she received the word “Fiendishly” and began spelling it correctly, but hesitated and changed the sequence of letters. Consequently, the officials had to request her to spell the word in the order she first began to spell it, as the rules of the competition state that when spelling a word competitors are not allowed to alter the letters or sequence of letters from those first uttered.
The three competitors misspelled the words that were given to them in the next round. G.K.C Samarakoon who was tensed and thought she wouldn’t get through spelled her word “Uxoricide” accurately; F.R.Rushdi received the word “Aberrant” and got it wrong as she added an ‘h’ to it; finally, A.N.Samarathunge spelled “Speciesism” as “Specieusism”. This meant G.K.C Samarakoon automatically qualified securing herself a spot at the top 100.
This Sunday at 6 pm, watch the last quarter final and find out who the final twenty are to qualify to the semi finals of 100.
| The following are the names and respective schools of the twenty contestants who qualified Ruchini Tharindra Jayathilaka, Girls’ High School |
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