Three young Bermudian floral designers, competing internationally for the first time, all returned home with awards for their entries in the prestigious World Association of Flower Arrangers (WAFA) competition in Boston, Massachusetts. Camille Chin-Gurret, her brother Christian Chin-Gurret, and Shane Antonition vied with youngsters from other countries in the newly-formed Youth Division, and did themselves and Bermuda proud.These are their stories, as told to Nancy Acton.You know the one about ‘the dog ate my homework?’ Well, in Camille Chin-Gurret’s case, it wasn’t homework but one of her practice floral designs which the family dog allegedly consumed.Despite the canine suspect’s bite out of time, the 11-year-old simply pressed on towards her goal, in which she fully intended to shine.Camille created her award-winning ‘Critter’ from a variety of dried materials, including lentils, which she spray painted; cinnamon sticks, and bits of pot pourri.No stranger to winning awards for her floral designs in Bermuda’s Annual Exhibition two seconds and a third the Bermuda High School for Girls student was undaunted either by the size or the level of the WAFA competition. All she hoped was that the judges would like her work.And indeed they did.“I got a ‘first’ ribbon and a certificate,” she said proudly. “I was pleased.”Apart from her personal success, Camille said she enjoyed the friendliness of her fellow competitors, and described her favourite moment as “looking at the other entries, especially an adult class called ‘Candy’ “.In terms of the future, Camille said the competition has motivated her to do more floral designing.When planning his ‘Butterfly’ design, her 13-year-old brother Christian found himself thinking of a ghost butterfly, hence the delicately pale creature created from materials gathered here and abroad.Like Camille, Christian said he was “fully confident” going into his first international competition, and was “overjoyed” to have been awarded third place and a certificate for his design.Asked what he liked best he said, “I enjoyed seeing the creative and innovative designs from all the classes in the flower arranging competition, and I particularly liked the ‘Fireworks’ class.”He also had fun meeting the young competitors from other countries, all of whom he found very friendly, “such as the girl from Zimbabwe”.Although he hadn’t done a lot of flower designing prior to WAFA, the Saltus Grammar School student said the experience had stimulated his imagination.“It has inspired me to be more creative in general, and not specifically in flower arranging.”Participating in such a huge international competition for the first time might daunt some, but not 17-year-old Shane Antonition. As a six-time winner for his floral designs in Bermuda’s Annual Exhibition, competing came naturally, although he recognised that the demands of the WAFA competition were much higher.“People told me it is the Olympics of flower arranging, as it is only held every four years,” he said.Competing in the Youth Division, Shane did not completely rehearse his “Caterpillar’ design in advance, although he did prepare and position the larger components before flying to Boston.Choosing material from the jaw-dropping array of flowers and colours at the huge flower market in Boston left him awestruck, as did the vast hall in which the competition was held.In all, seven hours elapsed from the time he began creating his design in his hotel room to transporting it by taxi and completing it on site, but it was all worth it when the judges awarded him second place and a certificate.“Judging was done on a merit system, and I was allowed to be there,” he said. “I was a little bit surprised because I got marked down, but following the judges’ comments I understood why. I was very pleased with the results, and pleased with how I did. To come second in an event of that standard was an honour.”In fact, Shane was so pleased with his success in his first-ever international competition that he is considering entering the next WAFA competition, to be held in Ireland in four years’ time.Like his fellow Bermudians, the talented teen also enjoyed the friendliness of his fellow competitors in the Youth Division, and remains in touch with his newfound friend from Zimbabwe.When touring the vast exhibition hall, Shane said he was particularly impressed with entries in the ‘Imposed’ class, where everyone was given the same material from which they had to create designs in teams of two in a specified time period.“One of the Imposed classes was ‘Birds’, and that really caught my eye. It was very different, and would be something interesting to try,” he said.In terms of the overall experience, the Mount St Agnes Academy student said he learned a lot, “especially looking at the calibre of the exhibits. Some of them were mind-blowing, and what could be done with flowers.”He was also intrigued to discover what the judges were looking for in the adult categories, such as originality.As for the future, Shane hopes to participate in next year’s floral design competition at the Annual Exhibition and thereafter “in whatever opportunity pops up”.