A new electronic judging system was launched on Saturday, December 8, at the Calypso Eliminations, which was the first major event on the Montserrat Festival 50 calendar.

The calypso eliminations saw 32 artists competing, some veterans and many newcomers with the judging made easier with Talypso, a web based software created to provide instantaneous updates once scores are entered.

Talypso, which is a merger of the words tallying and calypso, was created by Chairman of the Calypso Sub-Committee Dennison Daley and his business partner Manish Valechha.

The scores were not released to the audience during the event but there were a few people who were given access in order to test the accuracy and speed of the system. As it is web based, Talypso can be accessed on any communication device, including mobile phones and tablets.

“It was very user friendly and efficient. Mistakes were eradicated from the system as when scores of zero were given, you were notified and asked if you wanted to confirm the score,” explained Noella Weekes, one of the judges at the eliminations.

“Also it allowed for fairness and consistency, as after you submit your scores for a calypsonian you cannot revisit and make changes. You can only see the scores you gave each contestant and not what other judges gave. It was very quick as once the score is submitted it went directly to the system administrator thus enabling the efficiency of the tallying and the fast reporting of the results.”

Daley and Valechha say they plan to continue improving the system so it can conform to different judging requirements for events other than calypso shows, which will make it more marketable abroad.

Overall, the calypso committee chair said he was pleased with the outcome of the show and how Talypso worked to bring an announcement of the 16 through to the semi-finals, in a little over five minutes.

“The eliminations delivered a solid line up of performers and music and made a statement that there is better ahead,” Daley states. “So we are looking forward to the next round.”

The Calypso Semi-Finals take place on Friday 14th December 2012 at Festival Village, Little Bay, Montserrat and can be viewed live on pay-per-view.

Montserrat is presently celebrating fifty years of its cultural festival which officially opens on Saturday 15 December 2012 until January 1st, 2013. More information on the festival and the calypsonians competing can be found on www.montserratfestival.com.