Mongouge Combined and Sir Ira Simmons are the winners of this year’s National Schools Calypso Competition, the latter securing the title for the second year in a row.
Representing Sir Ira Simmons, ‘Yandi J’ dominated the Secondary Schools’ category yet again, after edging out her competitors at last year’s event.
‘Ti Keno’, who secured the fourth spot in last year’s competition, snagged the title for Mongouge Combined this year, to the delight of his supporters.
This year’s ‘Schools Calypso’ was another memorable one with twenty schools participating in the competition on the Sab Playing Field in Vigie last Friday.
Ave Maria Girls Primary, Les Etangs RC Combined, Morne Du Don, Augier Combined, Mongouge Combined, Carmen Rene Memorial, Ciceron RC Combined, RC Boys Primary, Anglican Infant, Vieux Fort Infant, Sir Ira Simmons, Corinth Secondary, Castries Comprehensive, Bocage Secondary, Patricia D. James Secondary, Ciceron Secondary, Saint Lucia Sports Academy, Vieux Fort Comprehensive, Micoud Secondary and St. Joseph’s Convent all participated this year.
📷 Check out some of the scenes from the gallery below (Photos via Carnival Saint Lucia)
However, according to Coordinator Jason C. Joseph, 40 students auditioned for the event – the highest number ever recorded, with quite a few coming from the south of the island.
The latter was a “personal objective” for Joseph who said that he wanted to get more participation from the south.
“I’m responsible for getting the schools ready, making sure they are prepared, that their songs are written way in advance… so the judges can select 10 primary schools (and) 10 secondary schools,” Joseph said.
He explained that preparations for the event start well in advance though timeliness continues to be an issue.
“We always start very early—from September, the beginning of the school year. Messages go out to the schools to start seeking writers (for) those who need (them). The problem is always the procrastination, however, (the Carnival Planning and Management Committee) sent (an) official message to principals (and) district education officers and we did get quite a few more people on board compared to last year,” Joseph emphasized.
In an interview last week, Joseph said he was looking forward to the students’ performances, noting that the quality this year, “if not similar to last year”, was better.
“We did a workshop to prepare the students to get them to work on their stage presence because that is extremely important. You could have the best song (and) best writer it’s all about your performance so (we) tried to get students,” to improve in that area, Joseph said.
The workshop also focused on the importance of connecting with the audience, using the microphone correctly, etcetera.
Though the audition process went smoothly, Joseph said that some schools were “still not ready and were not able to participate – something that we are continuing to work on.”
Chelsa Jongue, Public Relations Officer of the Carnival Planning and Management Committee (CPMC), recently noted that the CPMC is building a sustainable festival and is creating a space for young people to thrive.
“Their talent is amazing so we’re really encouraging major partners to do their best to give them the visibility (and) to encourage participation not from a CPMC standpoint but from a youth standpoint. They need to know that they have the backing of Saint Lucia,” Jongue said.
Whilst this year’s participants were all determined win, it was Mongouge Combined’s ‘Take Your Time’ and Sir Ira Simmons’ ‘Number 1’ that won judges over ultimately.
Here are the full results of the competition:
Primary Schools Category
First place: Mongouge Combined
Second place: Ave Maria Girls Primary
Third place: Carmen Renee Memorial
Fourth place: RC Boys Primary
Secondary Schools’ Category
First place: Sir Ira Simmons Secondary
Second place: Micoud Secondary
Third place: Castries Comprehensive Secondary
Fourth place: Bocage Secondary