Never too late 64-year-old finally enters Spelling Bee and she wins

For many persons, a childhood dream can fade with time. For Veronica Richards Whittaker, however, the passage of time does not mean those dreams die. At 64, the St Mary woman finally got the opportunity to compete in a spelling bee, and she made the most of it by emerging as the 2026 National Senior Spelling Bee Champion.

A member of the Emmanuel Senior Citizens Club in Port Maria, Richards Whittaker conquered every word presented to her during the competition, held last Thursday at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in St Andrew. The victory meant far more than claiming a national title. It was the realisation of an ambition that had stayed with her since childhood.

“I have always wanted to enter Spelling Bee when I was a kid. I didn’t get a chance to do so,” she recalled.

Decades later, that missed opportunity came knocking through her involvement in the senior citizens’ club. After becoming a member, Richards Whittaker was able to compete in the spelling bee and represent St Mary.

Her journey to the competition began after retirement, when a friend encouraged her to become involved with the Emmanuel Senior Citizens’ Club.

“I was introduced to the club by a friend of mine because I’m a retiree at home doing nothing,” she shared.

The decision opened the door to new experiences, friendships and, ultimately, the chance to pursue the spelling bee dream she had been unable to fulfil as a child.

Richards Whittaker took the opportunity seriously, preparing twice a week with her coach and repeatedly working on words that challenged her.

“The difficult words that I have, each time that we have a session, the words that are giving me problems, I will keep trying… to spell those words on my own by using certain pointers to remember the words,” she explained.

Her preparation became particularly important when she stepped onto the competition stage, where she relied on a methodical approach to tackling each word.

She broke difficult words into syllables, concentrating on each section before spelling the word in full.

The strategy worked.

Richards Whittaker completed the competition without incorrectly spelling a single word and was eventually crowned the national champion.

When her name was called as the winner, she said she was “very elated”.

Now, having finally fulfilled the childhood dream of competing in a spelling bee — and doing so by becoming Jamaica’s national senior champion, Richards Whittaker wants other older Jamaicans to recognise that age should not stand in the way of pursuing new goals.

“Age is just a number. Don’t say I can’t but try and put your best foot forward,” she said.

The National Senior Spelling Bee forms part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC), being observed under the theme ‘Honouring a Golden Legacy, Shaping a Bold Future’.