-360 contenders registered to date
THE NATIONAL Library launched its annual Champion Readers Competition in the Library’s conference room yesterday.
According to the Coordinator of Extension Activities at the Library, Mrs. Margaret Eastman, there are presently 360 registered participants, in comparison to 570 entrants last year.

She said she expects the number to increase significantly, as persons are being registered every day.

The competition will be divided into two sections, Preliminary and Finals, and will be comprised of four age categories, namely: 9-11 years, 12-14 years, 15-17 years and the final category, 18-30 years.

For the preliminary round, participants from all categories will be required to read two pre-selected books, after which they will be tested in an oral and written segment.

In the 9-11 category, the titles include ‘Snow Goose’ and ‘King Solomon’s Mines’ (preliminary), and ‘Two Lives’ and ‘White Fang’ (finals).

The titles to be read in the 12-14 category are ‘Cricket in the Road’ and ‘Ckike and the River’ (preliminary) and for the finals, ‘War Record’ and ‘School Days in the Colony’.

The 15-17 category has for the preliminary round ‘Beka Lamb’ and ‘Diary of a Young West Indian Immigrant’, and ‘A Brighter Sun’ and ‘Things Fall Apart’ for the finals.

Finally, for the preliminary round in the category 18-30, titles include ‘Festival of San Joaquin’ and ‘Coloured Girl in the Ring’, followed by ‘Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry’ and ‘Wide Sargasso Sea’ for the finals.

For the oral segment, worth 20 points, competitors will be assessed on the fluency of delivery and dramatic effect, while the written section, worth 80 points, will test the competitor’s knowledge of the text, awareness of literary techniques used, and comprehension of the texts read.

Alluding to the benefits to be derived from such a competition, Mrs. Eastman said: “Reading will become more meaningful, as young readers will emerge into great writers.”

Eastman also divulged plans to have the winners participate in other competitions regionally and internationally.

She added that where there  will be prizes awarded for  the 1st , 2nd and 3rd place in the preliminary round, only the winner will move on to the finals.

She said: “Even if you do not place in the top three, the experience and knowledge you would have gained from the competition will be rewarding.”

The feedback from the parents and the children participating are encouraging, as many eagerly collected their first books to be read for the first leg of the competition.

One parent, Mrs. Sophia Da Silva, pointed out that programmes such as the Champion Reader’s Competition are much needed.

“This is a very interesting thing that they are doing, they are catering for persons at all literacy levels,” she said.

The Champion Readers’ competition, ongoing since 1996, was rolled out centrally at the National Library in Georgetown, but now includes branches at Ruimveldt, Bagotville, Linden, Anna Regina, New Amsterdam and Corriverton.

The preliminary leg of the competition is set for July 10 at the National Library, with the finals being set for August 27. (Chevon Singh)