The Dhivehi Language Academy (DLA) has announced that the first national handwriting competition is set to be held.

The academy said the competition is being held to increase love and interest in the hearts of the office staff and the public toward the Dhivehi language and Thaana, to recognize those with beautiful Thaana writing and to encourage them. Being creative and innovative is also a purpose of this competition, said the academy.

The academy has held a handwriting competition previously but this is the first time it is being done at a national scale.

The DLA stated the first national handwriting competition for Ali Fahumy's Competitive Cup will be split into two categories, which are the office category and the private category.

The competition itself will have three categories, according to the academy. They are neatness, speed and calligraphy. Competitors will receive marks up to 100 points in each category.

An announcement from the academy reads that a maximum of five staff from each office taking part in the competition can participate in each of the three categories. For private individuals, they can only take part if they have turned 18 years of age before 31st December 2025.

The deadline to participate in the competition is 8th October, 1:00 pm. Those who are interested have to submit a Google form to participate.

In order to place first in each category, the writings will need to have the highest scores from 75 percent or above. If there is no writing that scored higher than 75 percent, first place will not be chosen.

Placing second requires the writings to score 65 percent or higher. To place third, the writings will have to score above 55 percent or higher.

Points will be allocated based on how the letters and syllables are written, the distance between the letters and the distance between the words.

The DLA has published the competition guidelines and other related documents on their website. The academy said those who want more information can contact 7772816.