Everyday, our aim stays the same and that’s to make our students the best they possibly can be within our coding course. But if they can’t type as fast as they can, how can they reach their coding potential? That’s when we decided to bring a bit of friendly competition to our students to see who is really the best of the best. A typing competition. Seems simple enough right?

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

― Linda Bronson

We expected a bit of friendly competition to be in the air but what erupted seemed like something out of a Michael Bay movie, not a kid’s coding class. We gave them 0 preparation time which seemed to get them going immediately but nonetheless they were ready for the challenge, despite how suddenly we dropped the news on them. They instantly began giving each other trash talk to put each other off. It seemed like we were seeing the preview to the World Cup Final and not something that was meant to be a bit of fun. Then we told them to get ready as were about to start and like a racing horse flying out of the block, they were off.

I can safely say what was next truly left me more shocked than confused.

During The Chaos

The sound of keys clicking swallowed the room, leaving nothing but a palpable atmosphere that had everybody locked in to see who would win. Early on, the battle seemed to be between 2 students, Bilal and Ridwan. The 2 brothers were neck and neck, emulating the historic battle between sporting greats such as Messi v Ronaldo, Federer v Nadal or Senna v Prost.

Nobody seemed to get close to them at all, despite other students attempting foul tactics like unplugging laptops or even straight up screaming. None of these pressure seemed to even crack the brothers as they continued on the mission, fuelled by nothing but the motivation of beating each other. Eventually one had to beat the other and to this day, Bilal still holds bragging rights as he finally overcame his younger brother’s challenge to win the FST Typing Championship.

Fallout

Once the dust had settles, everyone seemed to sit there in shock and confusion waiting to see who had won. As Bilal lifted his laptop in jubilation, Ridwan simultaneously lifted his in pure defeat. A true championship battle.

Written by Saabir Hussein.