A representative of the Grenada Judges Association says that although there is a shortage of judges for the 2008 calypso season for the 2008 carnival, calypsonians would not be assess by the same persons in back to back shows.
“Yes, we do have a shortage of judges but we do have a broad cross sections of persons whom we can rely on for the different shows but they are not sufficient, so in order to deal with the problem, what might happen, is that one or two of the judges who participated in the preliminary round may have to judge in the semi or final competitions,” said Jude Benoit who explained that the preliminary round of competition was done voluntarily by members of the Association.
‘The intention is for all the judges in the this year’s competition to at least participate in some recent training but because we don’t have that pool of persons what will happen is that the later shows mainly the semifinal and the final competitions judging panel may comprise of one or two who volunteered,” she said while pointing out that the adjudicating panel will be a reflection of skilled and competent persons.
Interim Chairman of the Judges Association Colin Dowe said that the shortage is not having persons but rather not having persons who attended the recent training programmes.
“It will be unfair to allow any person to judge when they did not attend a recent refresher training session to re-acquaint themselves with the rules, our ongoing training programmes educate members about the latest information on judging and it will be wrong to allow a person who did judge in the recent pass to become a judge for the season without participating in preparation workshops,” said Dowe.
The use of local persons to adjudicate the calypso competition for the 2008 carnival season was among the first changing decisions taken by the new administration which was elected in the July 08th general elections. The former administration had announced that for the second year, foreign judges would be use to adjudicate the calypso competition.
The calypso competition is an integral part of the island’s carnival festival which is usually observed the second Monday and Tuesday in August. Thousands of visitors flock to calypso and soca venues to enjoy the cultural activities.
WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:
- “Yes, we do have a shortage of judges but we do have a broad cross sections of persons whom we can rely on for the different shows but they are not sufficient, so in order to deal with the problem, what might happen, is that one or two of the judges who participated in the preliminary round may have to judge in the semi or final competitions,” said Jude Benoit who explained that the preliminary round of competition was done voluntarily by members of the Association.
- ‘The intention is for all the judges in the this year's competition to at least participate in some recent training but because we don't have that pool of persons what will happen is that the later shows mainly the semifinal and the final competitions judging panel may comprise of one or two who volunteered,” she said while pointing out that the adjudicating panel will be a reflection of skilled and competent persons.
- “It will be unfair to allow any person to judge when they did not attend a recent refresher training session to re-acquaint themselves with the rules, our ongoing training programmes educate members about the latest information on judging and it will be wrong to allow a person who did judge in the recent pass to become a judge for the season without participating in preparation workshops,” said Dowe.
