The Tribune

CHARLES Hamilton will be among 285 hopefuls when he represents The Bahamas in the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, DC, next week.

The St Anne’s School pupil has been drawn to go eighth at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Centre in the opening rounds on May 24-26 and will be aiming for a place in the onstage final rounds of competition on May 27 and 28 in the Maryland Ballroom at the centre.

Hamilton, a 12-year-old eighth-grade student, was the only boy among the 20 finalists in the Bahamas National Spelling Bee in March in the Crown Ballroom at Atlantis, Paradise Island, but he emerged as the overall winner.

His profile of the Scripps Spelling Bee website states: “Charles doesn’t bat an eye at 864 pages; in fact, his favourite book, Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, is just that long. When he isn’t reading, Charles also enjoys putting in time figuring out riddles and solving puzzles.

“His other hobbies include swimming and playing soccer, and he aspires to be as great as his favourite soccer player, David Beckham.

“In his free time, Charles loves listening to music from the likes of Freddie Mercury and playing both the guitar and piano.”

The long-established Scripps National Spelling Bee aims to “help students improve their spelling, increase their vocabularies, learn concepts, and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives”.

Among the prizes the champion will receive this year are a $30,000 cash prize and the Scripps National Spelling Bee engraved trophy, a $2,500 US savings bond and a complete reference library and $1,100 of reference works, including the Britannica Global Edition and 1768 Encyclopædia Britannica Replica Set Deluxe Edition.