2011 Trinidad & Tobago Panorama Championships - Full Results

But Is This Still Panorama?

Panorama 2011 has been and gone. With all its usual controversies, and then some!

The utter fiasco that was the National Semi-Finals of the Medium and Large Band categories at the Queen's Park Savannah, Port of Spain, on Saturday 26th February, is perhaps one of the worst yet in the history of the competition and is one of the worst examples of incompetence that PanTrinbago has served up yet.

This appalling mess of course centres on circumstances of Renegades' disrupted opening performance. Just as they commenced playing, Renegades were completely overshadowed if not entirely drowned out by extremely loud music emanating from a fete behind or beside the North Stand. Only after a delay of some nineteen minutes and three or four such false starts, and finally intervention from the police to have the noise at the fete turned down, were Renegades able to start playing. However, all too understandably, by this time the players were hardly properly 'psyched up' for the performance anymore but rather, nerves had become pretty frayed. Naturally enough, the band were not able to give of their very best anymore and thus failed to qualify for the finals.

None of the subsequent bands were subjected to this kind of disgraceful and incomprehensible disruption. Thus, Renegades were left at a completely unfair disadvantage. The situation could conceivably have been remedied by awarding Renegades extra points in compensation (say fifteen to twenty) from the start, or by possibly letting the band recover and moving their performance, if necessary to the end.

None of these remedies were implemented. As a result, these semis will forever remain a stain in the history of the competition, and an indelible stain upon the reputation of PanTrinbago.

It absolutely beggars belief how PanTrinbago could have sanctioned the fete that was the cause of the disruption in the first place. If they did not sanction it, then who was responsible, and why wasn't PanTrinbago aware of this and why didn't they refuse to allow Panorama semis to go ahead under such ludicrous conditions?

Either way, PanTrinbago demonstrated gross incompetence in handling this affair, and it is an utter scandal that Renegades - or, come to that, any other band who might have been unfortunate enough to have been put in their position - were eliminated from the competition as a direct result.

Regardless of what particular panside anyone might support, I'm sure all true lovers of pan must be outraged at this series of events and would fully sympathise with the wronged Renegades. (I am incidentally, I will freely admit, a lifelong Despers supporter, but first and foremost I am a lover and supporter of pan. As such, I always want to see fair play and cannot abide injustice such as this.)

As always, controversy was never far from this years competition right from the prelims to the finals, particularly with regard to the judging.

Congratulations are certainly due to the Champions of the Large Bands category, Trinidad All Stars. I have no problems with that result, I admit I think it was a fair and square win.

However, some of the other results in that category are simply incomprehensible, having heard all of the performances. How for example the well below form Phase II could have been placed fourth while Despers and Deltones placed a mere joint seventh surely stretches credulity - and credibility - beyond all reasonable limit.

Above all, what this years' championships have once again more than amply demonstrated is that it is high time for the pan movement to take a very long and very hard look at its representative body PanTrinbago and indeed the whole format, concept and process of Panorama itself.

More than anything, what must not be overlooked in any such process is that pan is an instrument and a movement of the people and by the people, and for the people. And not of, by, or for fat cats and academics.

Keep pan a people's art, and keep it clean and honest.

For now, it's Panorama, but not as we know and love it...

N.B.: Several members of other large bands participating in the disrupted semis, who played on the North Stand side, have pointed out that they, too, could still plainly hear the music and DJ from the fete during their performance. This comment sums it up best. 'I played with [my band] and I could plainly hear the DJ while we were performing as my bass was on the North Stand side. Thank heavens for the loudspeakers in the stands or I would not have been able to hear the band.'

This plainly is a ridiculous state of affairs that should never have been tolerated. Quite frankly, I'm amazed there wasn't a riot in the North Stand! If I come to hear pan, I want to hear pan, not pan overlayed with some DJ and his music!

However, given the delays and false starts to their performance, it is fair to say that Renegades were still at a substantial disadvantage, and I stand by my above comments. With the addendum that perhaps other bands should also have been given a (proportional to the nuisance suffered) smaller number of added points.

Whichever way one looks at this incident, it is simply intolerable.

Many thanks to the panmen who took the trouble to comment and make corrections so far.

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Large Bands Finals

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Large Bands Semi Finals

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Large Bands Preliminaries

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Medium Bands Finals

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Medium Bands Semis

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Medium Bands Prelims

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Small Bands Finals

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Small Bands Semis

2011 Panorama Results - Conventional Bands - Small Bands Prelims

2011 Panorama Results - Single Pan Bands Finals (AKA Traditional Bands, Pan Around De Neck)

2011 Panorama Results - Single Pan Bands Semis (AKA Traditional Bands, Pan Around De Neck)

2011 Panorama Results - Single Pan Bands Prelims - North Region (AKA Traditional Bands, Pan Around De Neck)

2011 Panorama Results - Single Pan Bands Prelims - South Central Region (AKA Traditional Bands, Pan Around De Neck)

2011 Panorama Results - Single Pan Bands Prelims - East Region (AKA Traditional Bands, Pan Around De Neck)

2011 Panorama Results - Single Pan Bands Prelims - Tobago Region (AKA Traditional Bands, Pan Around De Neck)