Miss T&T 2008 LIVE on www.CTnTworld.com.

According to www.CTnTWorld.com, the online television portal of the Caribbean New Media Group/CNMG, the finals for the Miss T&T competition 2008 will be held this Sunday at 6pm at the Zen Nightclub. Once again, CNMG has been kind enough to remember us - the foreign folks who love to keep abreast of what's happening back home - and from 7:30pm TT time, they will be broadcasting the program live on their website. The 08 delegates - Anya, Gabrielle, June, Kerry, Makeda, Priya, and Sasiya have been giving video diaries on Facebook and interacting with the public via these new mediums that signals a markedly younger marketing approach for the pageant. I can guarantee you that the current 'reality' style of the Miss T&T competition makes for interesting TV, but it does leave me wanting so much more. I still remember the buildup for the old competitions; those shows used to take FOREVER on TTT ch. 2 & 13, but I loved it!

The original lengthy televised program format was scrapped in favour of this new, and according to Peter Elias & Associates, cheaper one. In 2006, the first time the current franchise holders held the competition in its new format, some Trini Media folks said that it seemed like the organizers were rushing to crown one of their 'own girls.' The selection of a delegate was a rather low key and almost secretive one, where Keneisha Thom was eventually selected as Miss TnT 06 in front of a private audience, even though she had already been given at least 2 chances to represent the country. From the seven delegates that are up this year, I believe there is at least one who may have tried before and is returning to the competition.

This is another Peter Elias & Associates trend - bringing back girls who may have tried for the selection, but were deemed 'not ready' at their initial tryouts. I guess in that way, the pageant company gets to ensure that their girls are indeed ready for the local and international stage, but what about the hundreds, if not thousands of local and foreign Trinbago young women who are more than capable of successfully representing the country at Miss Universe/Miss World? How would they have a chance to win if girls are being re-elected in the competition? On the other hand, I know that Elias & co. is definitely not looking for a repeat of the 05 Cheryl Ankrah disaster and as such, they probably wouldn't mind bringing back the girls they believe in, and have nurtured; Ankrah apparently failed to live up to the expectations of the company, and instead gave them a hop, skip and a run for their money in the courts.

Anyways, check out the girls on www.CTnTWorld.com, to get a little backgrounder on each contestant. You can also vote for your favorite by simply texting VOTE to 78247, leaving a space, then including your choice, e.g. VOTE SASIYA or VOTE KERRY. My US and Canada residents, you can also participate in this poll as well.

So check out the pageant, and tell me what you think. I hope your girl wins!

L.M.N. Harris.