Bermuda College will be coordinating the Island's national spelling contest for elementary school children for the final time this year.

It is a bittersweet event for organisers who launched the competition in conjunction with the Ministry of Education five years ago as the college was celebrating its 30th anniversary.

"At the time the 30th anniversary theme was 'Leaving Our Mark'," said SpellDown steering committee chairwoman Evelyn James-Barnett, who is also director of communications at the college.

"We wanted to find a way of embracing and interacting with our community in an unusual but entertaining and educational way and this is how we decided to do it."

The competition has grown in popularity so that all 25 of the Island's public and private schools are taking part this year. SpellDown will be handed over to the Ministry of Education.

"We've certainly left our mark on five years of Bermuda's students," added Mrs. James-Barnett. "And we know that those students with whom we've had the privilege of interacting will remember us for a long time to come, as we will them.

"Hopefully that interaction will bear positive fruit when it comes time for them make the decision about what college to attend. In the meantime, such a competition rightly belongs with the Ministry and as we've been working closely together with them since the beginning, we're expecting the transition to be seamless."

This year's semi-final ZoneDowns begin tonight at 7 p.m. at the Dalton E. Tucker school (Western ZoneDown). The Central and Eastern ZoneDowns will take place tomorrow and Thursday at the Saltus Grammar and Harrington Sound Primary schools respectively, at 7 p.m.

The finals will take place on Saturday, February 7, at the Mount Saint Agnes Auditorium beginning at 6 p.m.

Sponsored prizes include laptop computers, pedal bikes, iPod Nanos, MP3 players and prizes for winning schools. The SpellDown 2009 champion will receive a Disney cruise for four to DisneyWorld courtesy of the Ministry of Education.