Chrismore goes from mathlete to spelling champ

May Pen, Clarendon:

St Gabriel’s Anglican Church Hall

Thirteen-year-old Chrismore Robinson isn’t a stranger to winning parish titles, as the now grade-eight student won the title as a mathlete in 2016, representing Spaulding Primary.

He admits that being an orthographer isn’t his passion. His father signed him up for the spelling programme because he was having difficulty in that area, and his coach introduced him to the spelling competition and it sparked his interest.

Preparation for the parish finals began in February, and Chrismore says that studying took a lot of early mornings and sacrifice. His favourite words to spell are long and multisyllabic.

Chrismore enjoys watching sci-fi films, playing outside as well as video games. His favourite game to play is Gangster Vegas. He is a member of his school’s Technology and Science Club and his ambition is to become a pilot.

Coach on winning: “It’s the first time I’m winning in Clarendon and I felt happy about it. I am thankful. Over the years I said I wasn’t going to stop until the day comes. I am thankful to God that this happened.”

Coach Wilson shared that Clarendon has always had strong competitors, so in training his students for this parish he had to be hard on them.

Coach on preparing for the national finals: I will get Chrismore to show more attention, so that he can love it [spelling]. He likes spelling, he is happy when he spells; I see how he behaves when he is around the other spellers.

This is Coach Wilson’s third win in the 61st staging of The Gleaner’s Children’s Own Spelling Bee. He will carry Chrismore as well as Dominic Wynter of Munro College, representing St Elizabeth, and his daughter, Drizel Wilson, of Manchester High, representing Manchester, to the national finals next year.

Top 5 spellers

1.Chrismore Robinson, Knox College

2. Paris Lindsay, Spaldings Primary

3. Litania Edwards, Brixton Hill Primary

4. Michael Lindsay, Knox Junior School

5. Damanie Michelin, Midland Preparatory

Top boy: Chrismore Robinson, Knox College

Top girl: Paris Lindsay, Spaldings Primary

Winning word: C-A-T-A-S-T-R-O-P-H-E

Coach: Barrington Wilson

Number of spellers: 31

Chrismore on winning: “I am happy.”