Queen Victoria accepts TUCO’s offer for fresh review

VETERAN calypsonian Queen Victoria has agreed to a settlement proposed by the Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO), paving the way for a fresh review of her dispute of the 2025 National Calypso Monarch semifinal results.

In a response to TUCO, her attorneys Joel Roper and Skeeta John said Victoria Cooper-Rahim, who performs under the name Queen Victoria, maintained her disagreement with TUCO’s version of events but expressed willingness to accept the resolution.

“We do not agree with the facts as presented in your letter, [but] we are willing to accept the settlement proposed by your client,” John said in a reply on March 1.

On February 28, Cooper-Rahim’s attorneys sent a pre-action letter alleging unfair treatment and procedural failures in the handling of her dispute over the results.

She claimed TUCO wrongfully rejected her request for a review of her scores and argued that TUCO’s Adjudication Review Committee improperly dismissed her dispute resolution form.

According to the letter, the results of the semifinal were released 12 hours late, contrary to established practice. Upon reviewing the scores, Cooper-Rahim noted discrepancies, including what she believes was unfair scoring in comparison to other competitors. She sought clarification from TUCO but was allegedly denied access to the Master Score Sheet for hours.

She said despite submitting her dispute resolution form the next working day, TUCO rejected it as late.

Her attorneys demanded that TUCO conduct an independent review of her dispute, disclose the full adjudication criteria, and explain the delay in results. They gave TUCO 24 hours to respond, warning that failure to act could lead to legal action, including an injunction.

In its response on March 1, TUCO's attorney Umesh Majaraj denied any wrongdoing, insisting that the adjudication criteria were publicly available and that no obstacles were preventing Cooper-Rahim from submitting her resolution form by the deadline. However, to resolve the matter, TUCO offered to allow her form and all supporting documents to be reviewed afresh by the Adjudication Review Committee (ARC), treating it as if it had been submitted on time.

Cooper-Rahim’s attorneys described this as “a reasonable start to resolving our client’s issues” and requested that legal costs be incorporated into the full and final settlement.

“We look forward to your confirmation of this arrangement and the necessary steps to proceed and also to bringing this matter to an end this morning,” John said.

In his letter, Maharaj said the semifinal results were published “as soon as reasonably practicable” and that the adjudication criteria requested were publicly available in Rule 27 of TUCO’s Adjudication Handbook.

Addressing her claim that she was obstructed from submitting her Resolution Form on time, Maharaj said no impediments were preventing her from doing so by the stipulated deadline.

However, in an attempt to settle the matter, he said TUCO has offered a compromise. The organisation has proposed that her dispute resolution form, along with all supporting documents, be reviewed afresh by the ARC as though it had been submitted within the required timeframe.

“We remain open to your suggestions and/or a conference to discuss possible solutions,” Maharaj said.

Cooper-Rahim placed 13th at the semifinal and had not qualified to proceed to Calypso Monarch finals at Dimanche Gras, at Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain on March 2.