All eyes on the Miss SVG prize

Be it the encouragement from friends and family members, a childhood aspiration or the scholarship dangling in front of their faces, each of the eight young women contesting the title of Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines is confident that she will walk away with the crown on pageant night.{{more}}

At an interactive session with the media last Saturday, the young women indicated that they are thrilled at being in the pageant, which takes place at the Victoria Park on May 30th, and are eager to show the rest of the world what they have to offer.

The Young Island Resort was the backdrop for more than three hours of questions and answers, poses and photo ops, during which each of the contestants communicated that she is ready… well, almost.

The university scholarship, which was introduced as a prize in 2003, has motivated the majority of contestants aged between 18 and 23 years to participate in the pageant. For 21-year-old Miss Super 6, Kimorra Lavia, it is one step closer to her dream of becoming a Lawyer, while Miss LIME, Yasmeen Hadaway, sees her desire to pursue a Master’s degree in Arts Administration a bit more realistic with a scholarship.

Miss Mustique Co. Ltd., Kristell Cambridge; Nickillia Slater-Bridgewater, Miss Lotto; Eshurnia Glasgow, Miss Williams Fragrances and Miss Darcheville Construction, Veronique Williams also now see their dreams of becoming a business manager, fashion designer, a world class chef and a business advisor, respectively, within their grasp, with the possibility of a university scholarship.

For Miss Caribbean Imaging Center, Asmara Whiskey, and Tenille Austin, Miss First Caribbean International Bank, although the scholarship is important, it is secondary to their real reason for becoming a contestant.

Whiskey indicated that she was motivated by the encouragement of her ten-year-old sister Musica, while Austin, a former Miss St Joseph’s Convent Kingstown, was motivated to follow in the footsteps of her mother Irene, who contested the Carnival Queen crown in 1969.

The motivation of family members and friends is considered a confidence booster for the ladies, as they aim to do their best to satisfy not only themselves, but also the ones who have supported them since they started preparing for the pageant late last year. It also certainly helps when one of those family members has been there before, in the case of Austin, as well as Whiskey, whose cousin Karen contested last year and Hadaway, whose cousin Nicole actually won the crown in 1987.

Though most say that they are strong in every category (swimwear, talent, evening gown, and interview), they are wary about the interview section, which they acknowledge can be challenging.

The delegates say that they indeed have some work to do before pageant night, but promise that they will be giving their best in every area and guarantee wonderful performances when the time comes.

Look out for very competitive talent section; which most of the contestants say is where they are strongest and would wow the audience.

Preparing for an event of the magnitude of a ‘Queen Show’ carries a lot of weight on the shoulders of the contestants.

During their interviews, the delegates all insisted that they would not have been able to keep going, had it not been for the help and encouragement of their family members, sponsors and, especially, the chaperones, (who incidentally were standing close by, watching and listening intently, wiping sweat and adding powder here and there throughout the interviews).

They are all looking forward to being crowned the queen at a shortened, revised pageant, as much as the fans and spectators, who use the show as an indication of what is in store for Vincy Mas 2009.