By admin COMMITTEE REGISTRATION Committee registration is driven solely to accommodate persons within the committee members’ social circle, close friends and family. This process is conducted to benefit the band with social profiling and masquerader management. Some would also say that selection is done to fill the band with those who are deemed “eligible” due to social and personal affiliations.
Basically it’s getting the people in the band who YOU want there. To be honest holding out for public registration in TRIBE, Bliss and Fantasy is usually futile, so my advice is to contact a committee member EARLY! Bands include:
- TRIBE
- Bliss
- HARTS
- YUMA
- Fantasy
- Entice
- IP Mas
- Passion
PAST MASQUERADER REGISTRATION Past masquerader registration is geared towards ‘loyal’ masqueraders. This usually occurs after the allocation of committee and friends and family registration spots has concluded. An allocation of spots are reserved for person who share band loyalty and express interest in returning to the band the following year. This applies to most Carnival Bands in the top tier such as TRIBE, Bliss, Yuma, Fantasy, IP Mas, and Passion etc. 
MARKETING SECTION REGISTRATION In 2015 we have seen the birth of ‘Marketing Sections’. This new sensation is where popular entities/brands in the entertainment arena are used to sell a provision of costumes designated to them by the band. The relationship between band and marketing entity is similar to committee registration with comparable end result. This is to enable persons already affiliated with the marketing brand to have ease of access to register in the band being marketed for. A sub-committee is formed to register persons within the section of the band by affiliated partner. If you are a frequent partygoer or associated with the brand, this makes your chances of playing with them a lot easier. Thus far we only know of four (4) bands with marketing sections which includes TRIBE, Bliss, Fantasy and Yuma. Listed are a few marketing sections affiliations. Air Huarache TRIBE – Scorch | Caesars Army | Illusions | Trini Jungle Juice Bliss – Punchy Punch | Winerboy Entertainment |Bikini Cabana Fantasy – Hakwai Clan | Trinidad Carnival Diary | Enless | Green House YUMA – Liming Professionals; The Syndicate (LPTS) 
PRIVATE REGISTRATION Private registration can be done via a series of ways, through band owner/s, section owner/s and designer/s. Commonly top notch designers in the BIG bands have private sections which they personally invest in. Registration can only be done via this medium to gain access to the band/section. Now is a good time to rub shoulders with the aforementioned. 
ON-LINE REGISTRATION If you have registered via committee member and live abroad, some bands provide the option of paying online by sending a url link to make such payments. Other bands, have online registration via their website without committee intervention. Select your costume, input your data and make your payments. 
OPEN/PUBLIC REGISTRATION Everyone would like it to be this simple. Walk in the mas camp, check out the costumes, sign up and make your deposit. This process is common with smaller bands or those who are not interested in masquerader profiling. They welcome all masqueraders to participate in the spirit of carnival. 
THIRD-PARTY ON-LINE REGISTRATION These are website whom you can purchase costumes from. My Carnival Bands sells costumes for the bands featured on their website, they provide the online registration process for bands who don’t have the indispensable technologies to facilitate online payments. Other websites provide costume resale services where you post your costume up for sale due to whatever circumstances you cannot play mas again. It is then auctioned off to interested masqueraders. It must be noted to be vigilant when engaging in costume resale purchases. There are a lot of horror stories surrounding this medium.
