The 14 parish finalists in The Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee competition. They are (clockwise from bottom, second from left): Kevaughn Newland, Kingston; Mikhail McLeod, St. James; Renee Taylor, St. Thomas; Alyssa Powell, Trelawny; Cornel Grey, St. Catherine; Danielle Thomas, St. Andrew; Marissa Boothe, Clarendon; Alicia Lindsay, Westmoreland; Romeisha Foster, Manchester; Norando Brown, Hanover; Patrice Christie, St. Mary; Evan Brown, St. Elizabeth; Yarek Yankannah, St. Ann; and Cherice Dunbar, Portland. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer

A NEW champion will be crowned today as the 2003/04 Gleaner's Children's Own Spelling Bee enters its final day of competition.

The 14 parish finalists and their coaches arrived at the Hilton Kingston Hotel, New Kingston yesterday to battle for all-island supremacy. The mood was not intense though, as both spellers and coaches chatted and joked throughout the day's activities.

PUBLIC IS INVITED

After receiving a tour of the hotel and having a scrumptious lunch, the competition started at 2:30 p.m. with the dictation, comprehension and written spelling tests. For the first time, the dictation will not have any bearing on the number of handicaps the children will have after today's semi-final round. That round begins at 9:00 a.m. and all the spellers will face spell mistress Pat Lazarus.

Members of the public are invited to today's spell-down at the Hilton Kingston Hotel.

Scores from the written spelling test, along with the spellers' performances at the semi-final stage this morning will determine the final seven and their allocation of handicaps. The most handicaps any child can have going into the final afternoon round is three.

Various sponsors were present to hand over prizes to both spellers and their coaches. Representatives from Lasco, Colgate Palmolive, Nestlé Jamaica Ltd., the Jamaica National Building Society, Kraft Foods and Courts presented gifts to spellers and coaches.