Angry patrons who paid to see Friday’s night’s National Carnival Commission Stick-fighting semifinal at the Arima Velodrome were left disappointed after the competition failed to start due a protest from the competitors.
The fighters refused to participate in the event after they were not paid their fees for the preliminary round when they arrived at the venue as promised by the organisers.
The fees for gayelles are reportedly $3,800 for the preliminary round and $5,800 for the semifinal. A gayelle is made up of a manager and three fighters.
Several boismen told Guardian Media that they felt the action was necessary as they believed the NCC was taking them for fools.
But an official said cheques are typically made up after events to ensure accuracy in the accounting, as in the past gayelle teams had registered and not shown up to take part. He said while the cheques were ready they were not taken to the venue for distribution to the various gayelles.
The organisers tried initially to negotiate with the boismen to see if they could still salvage but did not get a positive response.
Shortly after 10.30 pm, angry patrons went to the entrance area seeking refunds. One female patron, who gave her name only as Ann, said she had been at the venue since 7 pm.
The oganisers eventually reimbursed all patrons their $100 entry fee and the event was aborted although there was no official announcement of this to the patrons.
NCC chairman for the competition Joseph Adams said they would meet early next week to see if they could resolve the issue with the gayelle managers. However, he said he was not optimistic they could reschedule the semifinal and the final would thus be in jeopardy.