THIS year’s annual minstrel carnival has come to a close, with Santam District Six Entertainers being crowned as champions for the second year running.

The concluding phase of the competition unfolded at the Athlone Stadium on Saturday, with top teams eyeing the title of “Carnival Kings”.

Malick Laattoe, owner of Santam D6, was over the moon saying: “This is what we worked for and it’s an unbelievable feeling, winning the carnival for two years in a row.”

Santam District Six Entertainers walked away with 13 trophies comprising of first prizes for Adult Drum Major, Junior Combined Chorus, Group Song, English Combined Chorus, Afrikaans Moppie and English Moppie, second prizes for Junior Drum Major, Junior Sentimental and Minstrel Song, fourth prizes for Grand March Pass, Exhibition, Best Board and a fifth prize for Best Band.

“We beat the second placed competitor by 27 points; what an achievement,” says the excited owner.

Laattoe believes that “hard work, strategic planning and setting achievable goals” was the secret behind the team’s success and most importantly, racking up back-to-back titles.

“This year it was a collective commitment from all role-players that made our goals attainable, from the two-year-old youngster to the 80-year-old pensioner. Pressure was definitely on us and we could feel the heat,” says Laattoe.

Supporters from all over congratulated the team on their success, most saying that Santam District Six were “deservedly crowned as Carnival Kings”.

Ayesha Galant has four children, three grandchildren and five son-in-laws all walking in the troupe and says winning the competition brought “excitement to the house”.

“They all rushed in here jumping up and down in the early hours of the morning, and then they rushed out to link up with the team again to go and celebrate. This troupe really knows how to entertain the masses and winning the competition proved they are true entertainers,” says Galant.

Ebrahim Jacobs, another fan of the team, said: “Congratulations to the Santam District Six Entertainers, because throughout the year, everybody involved with the team works around the clock to improve their performance and they deserve to be crowned champions.”

The top five teams in the Super League of the competition were: Santam District Six Entertainers, Shoprite Pennsylvannians, Ashwin Willemse Orient Community Entertainers, Happy Boys Entertainers and Salt River Crooning Minstrels.

Laattoe concluded by saying: “The year ahead has much more hard work and we are revising our strategy, as the competition level has been raised. To all teams that made this carnival a success, we are all winners. We as Santam D6 salute you and our mother body, Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association.”