Bhagya Jayasooriya, sisters, Charya & Bhagya Samarakoon and the man amongst the ladies Ramith Fonseka have qualified to the Grand Finals of the all island schools spelling competition, beating almost 8000 contestants to reach this prestigious spot in the finale. Getting here wasn’t an easy task, having to battle mind boggling words in the categories [...]
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Bhagya Jayasooriya, sisters, Charya & Bhagya Samarakoon and the man amongst the ladies Ramith Fonseka have qualified to the Grand Finals of the all island schools spelling competition, beating almost 8000 contestants to reach this prestigious spot in the finale. Getting here wasn’t an easy task, having to battle mind boggling words in the categories and origin of the word rounds, not forgetting maintaining their composure during the rapid fire round. Ramith, providing the programme with much entertainment with his quirky comments and gestures is known to be a practical joker with a knack for getting into trouble, and is very popular amongst his friends, especially when it comes to relationship advice! In his leisure time he constructs vehicles with Lego, although almost 16 he doesn’t consider it “kiddish”. At the moment building a 3 speed gear box “which nobody usually does”, he’s created a truck and excavators too. The truck took 9 hours to build; which he hasn’t finished building it yet. According to his older brother, Ramith was “utterly relaxed” when it came to preparing for the competition, playing video games and would go only once the mother called. Ramith said he never expected to get into the top 4 and its nothing like he’s ever experienced before. Mr.Casie Chetty, Headmaster of S.Thomas’ Preparatory School said “I’m exceedingly proud of my student Ramith Fonseka who has made it to the finals, and I feel that his coming into the finals has done our school proud.” Speaking on the competition he said “it is immensely useful because it is concentrated in the English language and regaining fluency and a knowledge of English and being able to spell correctly is vital in today’s world where knowledge of a language and knowledge thoroughly is very important.” A budding singer, Bhagya Jayasooriya of Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo 5, proceeds with much caution when spelling the words given to her, and comes off as very knowledgeable with regard to asking questions related to the words. According to her mother, as she progressed in the competition she put all her time into referring the dictionary. As her a little brother said, “as soon as she spots a word she doesn’t know she quickly refers the dictionary and in a matter of time will know the meaning.” Not much of a fan of the rapid fire round, it not only stresses Bhagya out but her mother too. A first in the competition, two sisters and both from the same school too, Charya & Bhagya Samarakoon of Visakha Vidyalaya Colombo 5, are the quietest competitors the competition has come across. Although quiet and reserved, both sisters are spectacular spellers. Their father, High court judge Mr.D.N.Samarakoon, said “it was a very happy occasion at that time, because they have come a long way up to come to the Top 20 and thereafter qualify to the Top 4.” Bhagya said she hopes her luck lasts for the rest of the competition, and when asked if it had to be either her or her elder sister Charya going through, she said “I wouldn’t exactly give in, because then she would feel that she got through not because of her talent but because I stepped down.” The competition doesn’t seem to have made both of them competitive, but rather brought them closer together, as they help each other out with practising for the competition. Their proud mother said they were both competent and would be able to achieve their target. The judges too said they were soft spoken, they seemed quite prepared for the competition, took time to get the words right and spelt very slowly. Both had a tough time at the rapid fire in previous rounds, and would be interesting to see how they fared at the grand finals. As Ramith said, “the competition is much fiercer”, and it would be would be interesting to find out who will carry the title of Spellmaster this year. Don’t miss out on the excitement of the two hour Grand Finale this Sunday on Sirasa TV from 5 – 7 pm as the Spellmaster 2013 is crowned.
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