CIMA Spellmaster – Top 18 comes down to sixteen
View(s):With two contestants bowing out of the competition the previous week, contestants were probably a mixture of emotions, on one hand nervous as they didn’t know what the outcome would be this time around and on the other some might have thought they had a fighting chance to secure the title this year with the champion school over the past two years eliminated from the competition.Quoting Arkam Zarook of Highlands College Hatton who said that the contestants go through so many emotions, specially nervousness, but the one which stands out is that feeling that they get when they are the next to step up at the podium is indescribable.
Eighteen competitors on stage, six from the Central Province, ten from the Western Province and battling it out to win the title for their Province was one each from the North Western and Sabaragammuwa Provinces.
The contestants had already selected their numbers in which order they would come up throughout the competition till the Top 4 was reached. The format of the competition remained the same, they would be allowed to choose 2 words, one from a selection of 5 categories, namely, Science, Culture, Nature, Business and General, and the other consisted of letters of the alphabet except of course the letters, ‘W’, ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ as they had a limited number of words. Each letter had a choice of 5 words, and contestants could choose a letter from which a word was given.
Subsequent to the 1st round, eleven contestants had got both words right securing their spots to the next competition; the 3 soft spoken Visakhians, who have not failed at spelling a word given to them thus far, Rochana and Ruchini from Girls’ High School Kandy, Lihan of S.Thomas’ Preparatory School Kollupitiya, Arkam and Lidushan from Highland’s College Hatton, Fathima Nazlun of Zahira College Matale, Lithmal from Ananda College Colombo 10 and Fahma from Muslim Central College Kalutara. Six contestants spelled one word right and had to go through another round of words from which only 5 could move into the next round.
Fazly Mahmood was the only contestant who misspelled both words in the first round, automatically disqualifying him. On leaving he said he’s happy he came from 500 competitors to the Top 20 which he didn’t expect and wished the competitors all the best.
Off the six contestants, Chanuka and Ramith of S.Thomas’ Preparatory School Kollupitiya, Fathima Sazna of St. Andrew’s Balika Maha Vidyalaya Nawalapitiya, Areeba Haroon of St. Agnes’ Balika Maha Vidyalaya Balangoda and Wishmitha Peiris of S. Thomas’ College Mount Lavinia got the words given to them correct. In a state of nervousness and pressure, Hajara of St.Lawrence’s Convent Colombo 6 misspelled her word “Existentialism” and was the 4th contestant exiting the competition. She said she knew the word but got confused and if she had got the pronouncer to break the word into syllables she might have gotten it right.
As Wishmitha said, the competition this time around is tough and everybody’s got a chance at winning the title, catch Spellmaster this Sunday at 6 pm on Sirasa TV to find out who will remain in the competition.
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