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  • 18 hours ago
There has been a delay in the release of Tobago's National Carnival results up to Friday morning.

Confirmation came from Chief Executive Officer of the Tobago Festivals Commission, Kern Cowan, who indicated that the postponement is due to discrepancies involving several participating mas bands in Tobago.

More from Elizabeth Williams.
Transcript
00:00According to Mr. Cowan, some bands are facing disqualification after failing to comply with the established competition rules.
00:09He explained that the issue surrounds the required minimum and maximum numbers for the small, medium and large band categories
00:17on the road.
00:18Bands that did not present the stipulated number of masqueraders in their respective categories will not qualify for judging.
00:25Yes, some bands will be disqualified, especially if they did not reach the criteria. Those are the rules.
00:31Those were the rules shared with the bands and the band leaders well in advance so they understood clearly what
00:38needs to be done.
00:39This confirmed arrangement with TMBL leader, Ms. Macriman, and myself as TSL.
00:47We already agreed in the presence of the band leaders, with the band leaders, that these are the rules and
00:54there was a full agreement across the board.
00:56The CEO said the rules were clearly communicated to band leaders ahead of carnival activities and that adherence is critical
01:06to maintaining the integrity of the competition.
01:09Mr. Cowan explained the reason for the delay.
01:11Right now, the biggest delay is that some of the bands, while registering for a particular segment, group, small, medium
01:21and large, did not reach the criteria.
01:25And as such, that has now pushed the delay in getting all that information back out because we now have
01:32to cross-reference all of the information to ensure that all entries and winners are actually eligible for the price.
01:43Chairman of the Tobago mass band leaders, Diane Macriman, explained the criteria for the mass categories.
01:50She said over the years, the rules were flouted and enough was enough.
01:5651 to 80 is medium. 81 and over is a large band.
02:01And how many some people had?
02:03Some large band had 26. Some large band had 17.
02:08The only band that had the numbers so large, it was Astra Winchester.
02:13And we must be fair, Astra Winchester had 83.
02:18As a result, the official results remain pending on Friday morning while the necessary verifications are carried out.
02:26Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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