THE WAIT for these moments always seem so long and then they're gone in a hurry.
The 2006 Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee came and went in two whirlwind days at the Jamaica Pegasus. On Tuesday, February 8, the spellers, their coaches and chaperones arrived at the hotel to settle in and, hopefully, get good scores on the written tests before the pulsating final the following day.
Wednesday morning, the TV cameras were hovering like hawks perched on tree limbs, watching the spellers' every twitch. The pressure might have deterred some of the spellers as they couldn't get the words right; words they'd looked at for months. But the final seven were ready for the afternoon session.
Some time around 4:00 p.m. only two remained. Rosanna got her word, 'solecism'. The place went quiet like before the match point in a tennis match. Letter by letter, she spoke to the microphone and to anybody still unsure of the outcome. "That's correct," the spellmistress says. Applause starts; here comes the cameras for the comments.
STUDENTS PRAISED
At the championship dinner, Chairman and Managing Director Oliver Clarke was full of praise for the students.
"You were an example for all us because you put your best effort into what you were doing," he said. The mood among the spellers was clearly lighter, the hard work and stress now completely gone. As often happens, they formed their own little groups having now become friends possibly for life.
The following day, the students visited Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, an ardent supporter of the Spelling Bee. This being the last time he would meet them as G-G, it must have been even more special for him.
"When you come, I always get a nostalgic urge to go and teach again," he joked. Then it was off to Jamaica House to see Minister of Information Burchell Whiteman. Plenty of questions for him too with Adrian Raymond of St. Thomas with the gem, "Will you miss the Prime Minister when he leaves?" On to Education Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson before down to North Street, where this whole thing started The Gleaner.
SWINGS AND SLIDES
Popeye's anyone? Hungry spellers packed into the Constant Spring Road outlet and ordered it to go; they didn't want to miss Serenity Park. The students were eager to meet the animals but they had the most fun on the good old swings and slides. Hard to imagine these were the same children who were tighter than guitar strings just a day before. Maybe there's too much stress in 'the bee' or maybe it's just that there are no cameras to bother them this time. Pantomime was the evening's entertainment culminating a full day of fun.
By the time you read this the spellers would have returned home; been back at school already for some. Their lives go back to normal after a few days in the national spotlight and for many of them, that's just how they like it.
But the days pass quickly and there will soon be a new set of students competing from all parishes in November, to get to the National Final.
