Saint Lucia’s Carnival competition rules may soon change, with a tie-breaker set to be added to the National Carnival Queen Pageant after this year’s decision to crown two queens.
Speaking at Monday’s pre-Cabinet press briefing, Minister for Creative Industries and Culture Dr Ernest Hilaire defended the decision, arguing that under the existing rules there was no provision for a tie-breaker, leaving officials with little choice but to declare joint winners.
Hilaire said adding a tie-breaker during the event would have been unfair and might have exposed the Carnival Planning and Management Committee to legal challenges. He believes the right decision was made based on the rules at the time.
Even so, he made one thing clear: “A tie will never happen again. We’re going to redo the rules…”
Hilaire also said it’s time to review the rules and judging criteria for all Carnival competitions, not just the pageant.
He explained that the goal is to improve the quality of the competitions and reduce any possible bias. One idea is to remove the highest and lowest scores from judges in the Soca Monarch and Calypso competitions.
“I’m also going to ask the team to look at the rules across all competitions… just let us refresh; there are new methodologies for judging. There’s so much more we can do.”
The Minister, however, stressed that any changes would not be made unilaterally. He said the process would involve consultations with stakeholders, a review of best practices from the region and internationally, and collective discussions before any new rules are adopted.
