Superstars 2008: competition analysis

A very tough competition indeed it was for the learners to take part in. In the first place, for many of them it was the first time. In the second, out of 15 participants only 3 had to be chosen, which is not an easy feat to achieve, given that there is no hope for a follow-up or a second round.

With this in mind, I would say I felt really sad when we announced the winners. Looking into the faces of those who did not make it despite giving their best, I realised that there are certain things we as organisers can improve on, to give all participants a better chance to prove their excellence next year. What justifies the need for at least one additional round is that according to the points scored there was little difference between our Superstars, meaning that those who were, say in place 6, were not really much worse off than in the first three.

Judge for yourself from the following table where the participants' achievement breakdown is given. (The names and numbers of learners are: 1 - Dorothy Davids, 2 - Jowayne Strauss, 3 - Theresa van Wyk, 4 - Colleen de Wet, 5 - Christina Links, 6 - Gino, 7 - Darryl van Eck, 8 - Lindon and Gerrit, 9 - Brenvon Radloff, 10 - Anneli Freeman, 11 - Sebastian and Ashwin, 13 - Lucresha du Toit, 14 - Gurshwin Pekeur, 15 - Sereh, 16 - Christiaan Pietersen.)

Another very important point is that one should not forget about the 4th judge, the audience. The power of people voting for their favourite Star is huge, and one can see it if you compare the first table with the one that follows. Thus, for example, the 1st place winners should have been in the 4th place, according to the 3 judges, who would have put Anneli Freeman in the first place, and so on. Here comes the data:

OVERALL			3 JUDGES
Place	Number	Points	Place	Number	Points
1	11	106	1	10	82
2	2	105	2	15	81
3	10	102	3	2	80
4	15	96	4	11	76
5	3	73	5	3	73
6	13	70	6	13	70
7	16	70	7	16	70
8	9	69	8	9	69
9	8	68	9	8	68
10	5	62	10	5	57
11	1	55	11	7	55
12	7	55	12	14	50
13	14	50	13	1	45
14	4	44	14	4	44
15	6	36	15	6	36

At the same time, the audience voted like this:



I have a word of encouragement to the participating learners who did not make it into the first three. You are special in the eyes of God, and we were excited together with you when you appeared on the stage. You did very well. Just look at the points you scored in both tables - there is potential in you to win Superstars 2009!!!

Good luck.


YK