Rule breach leads to TUCO Junior Calypso Monarch disqualifications

A BREACH of the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians' Organistion's (TUCO) rules for the Junior Calypso Monarch competition has led to the disqualification of two contestants and the announcement of a new monarch.

The new monarch, according to a TUCO release on Friday, is A’Janae King Fraser of St Francois Girls' College, who sang, A Visionary.

Koquice Davidson from Bishops' High School, Tobago now takes second place with Rally Round the Children; and Zachary Ransome from Montrose Government Government Primary, is the third place winner, with Calypso Legend.

The release chairman Thora Best received numerous complaints of breaches to rule 3.4 which dictates that the song used for that competition should not have been used prior to Ash Wednesday of the previous year.

“In light of this, the Junior Calypso Committee investigated and verified the complaints that there were indeed breaches of rule 3.4. These findings were brought to the attention of TUCO’s General Council and at their Friday March 3 meeting, a decision was taken to rescind the February 13 results to reflect the disqualification of two finalists,” TUCO said.

The release said Best has informed the parents of both disqualified finalists.

Contacted for comment, Best told Newsday TUCO usually depends on the goodwill of parents who sign an agreement indicating none of the rules are to be broken.

“The Junior Calypso Committee has to meet on this particular incident,” Best said. “We have not yet sat down, we just wanted this (clarification and adjustments to the results) to happen first. We are going to sit down and ventilate and see how we can...you know, put tighter restrictions or checks and balances in place for the future.”

Best said that there was no prize-giving ceremony so contestants would not have to give back any prize money.

The Junior Calypso Monarch Competition was held on February at the Queen’s Park Savannah where 16 competitors vied for a $25,000 prize. The second place winner received $20,000, third place got $15,000, fourth place got $10,000 and the rest each got $5,000.