by ROZ PULLEY
SHE dazzled judges on the world stage – now our talented Miss World Australia will help choose France’s most beautiful young women. Classically trained Cairns-born opera singer, model and current Miss World Oceania, Erin Holland has been invited on to the judging panel for Miss France in June. “Every year, the Miss France organisation invites one international contestant to judge their competition, so it’s exciting they picked me out of everybody in any competitive pageant for 2013,” the 25-year-old said during a surprise Easter visit home to her parents in Freshwater. Ms Holland said the French competition differed from Australia, where the Miss World and Miss Universe contests were run separately.
“Miss France is the country’s most prestigious competition and is actually Miss Universe, Miss World and any other pageant all in one,” she said. It is the latest international jaunt for the busy Sydney-based model and entertainer, whose blonde good looks, easy manner and elegance took her into the top 10 against 130 nations and gave her a global audience of 2.3 billion while singing a trio from Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with Miss World 2012 and Miss World Indonesia 2013. She has since sung at fundraisers in the US and China, promoted Australia as an education destination in India and Nepal, starred on Channel 9’s Carols by Candlelight and darts around Australia on an almost daily basis for her charity, modelling and singing commitments.
Former Miss Universe 2012, Olivia Culpo has a role in “The Other Woman.” After discovering her boyfriend is married, a woman (Cameron Diaz) tries to get her ruined life back on track. But when she accidentally meets the wife he’s been cheating on (Leslie Mann), she realizes they have much in common, and her sworn enemy becomes her greatest friend. When yet another affair is discovered (Kate Upton), all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on their cheating, lying, three-timing SOB. In theaters this Friday.
The 2014 MISS TEEN USA® Competition will stream LIVE from the Atlantis, Paradise Island Bahamas on Saturday, August 2, 2013 on http://www.missteenusa.com. Cassidy Wolf, Miss Teen USA 2013, will crown her successor at the conclusion of the event. The competition will feature contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Contestants will be judged in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview.
In the past, Guyana has been represented at various international pageants by delegates who were either selected or chosen by the franchise holders and with the upcoming Miss Earth Pageant, it is no different.The Guyana Indian Worldwide delegate, Katherina Roshana was selected by Chandini Rambalak to represent Guyana in Malaysia. She was chosen after an audition at the Princess Hotel and Casino.Another delegate that was selected to represent Guyana in the said pageant a few years ago was Renata Rambalak. She too failed to bring home the crown.
Alana Seebarran, sponsored by NEW GPC INC, won the local leg of the competition in 2012, and subsequently won Guyana’s first international title, Miss India Worldwide. Ruqayyah Boyer was in 2013 selected by the Miss World Guyana Committee to represent Guyana at the Miss World Pageant in Indonesia and again, she did not come close to winning the coveted title. This year, Simpli Royal, the franchise holder for the Miss Guyana Earth Pageant, has selected a delegate to represent Guyana at the international pageant to be held in the Philippines. There was no pageant to select the best to represent Guyana, but according to Pageant Coordinator Pamela Dillon, several persons were interviewed and Ramcharan was the best of the lot.
Recently, this newspaper made several attempts to interview the selected queen, but all proved futile.The Earth Pageant is expected to draw scores of beauties from around the world, who will definitely showcase their curvy bodies, as they vie for the title. Due to time, the Committee’s last resort was to select Ramcharan whom they thought was the best. She will be mandated to assist in helping to preserve and restore Mother Earth and to support Guyana’s role of raising awareness of climate change. However, Ramcharan, according to Simpli Royal is a motivated, focused young woman, who will fulfil the ideals of the competition and showcase Guyana’s stance on protection of the planet. She was selected on the basis of being a citizen of Guyana; being between the ages of 18 to 26; being between five feet tall, five inches and six feet tall, with weight in proportion to height; possessing beauty of face; and having an outgoing personality, among others.
The coronation of Miss Stacy Ramcharan was be held at the Umana Yana on Tuesday, April 22.
BY MELISSA AVERY GRANATIREThe Pageant Planet
Haley O’Brien is a household pageant name with multiple state and national titles under her belt! She is a competitor that delivers and remains extremely motivated and determined during competition. She captured a USA state title which means she keeps her body in tip top shape and is currently doing extreme prepping for the prestigious title of Miss USA. I was able to get some of her inside tips for preparing for the stage!
MG: What swimsuit prep workout did you use to target your results?
HO: My favorite exercise that I used to slim down and tone up for the swimsuit portion of competition is called “the triathlon.” My mother introduced it to me after she watched a trainer attempt it in the gym.
It’s an hour long cardio exercise set that moves from the treadmill to the elliptical and then to the stair climber. All three cardio “phases” of the triathlon are interval training, meaning you alternate from high intensity to low intensity about every minute. By the end you are just dying!! But if you push through, you feel amazing once its all over. About two months prior to the pageant, I started doing the triathlon 2-4 times a week. I also did a lot of lifting. I did light weight lifting with 25-30 reps at 3 sets each. I alternate arm day and leg day so I can more accurately target muscle groups, and so each portion of my body gets some semblance of a rest day. It is important to understand that you will not get “huge” from lifting! A lot of my closest girlfriends were really nervous about weight training. They were scared they would turn into huge bricks of muscle. Don’t worry! That’s a myth.
Weight training does so much more for your body than cardio. Not only does it increase your metabolism, but you will see results much faster if you put a bigger emphasis on weight training than you do on cardio. It’s not always my favorite part about going to the gym, but it works like magic!
MG: How did you pick out the perfect gown and swimsuit for competition?
HO: For my gown, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work with Sherri Hill and Henri’s Cloud 9. I was able to fly to Austin, TX and work with Sherri Hill in her studio. She helped me pick out what beading, coloring and style I wanted my dress to be. She sketched out the design and sent it to the creative studio to be made. I still remember receiving the huge box in the mail!! It was my dream evening gown!! Every detail was perfectly matched to fit my style and body shape! I can’t thank Sherri Hill and Henri’s Cloud 9 enough for the experience. They are both miracle workers when it comes to finding your perfect gown! Finding my swimsuit was a lot less structured. I had some idea of what I wanted, but I had yet to see it in an actual store. I was fortunate enough to walk into a swim shop at Mall of America and find the perfect base shape for my swimsuit. I then took the swimsuit to a tailor and had her create off the shoulder straps for a high fashion twist. I had seen the straps featured in a couture runway show and knew I had to have them on my swimsuit!
MG: How long before a pageant do you start your diet and exercise prep?
HO: I began training about six months prior to the state pageant. As the state pageant drew nearer, my workouts became more intense. My eating plan also became more rigid. The important thing about preparing for a pageant is making sure you are living a “healthy lifestyle.” I never like to say that I am dieting. Instead, I am focusing on living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle of eating well and going to the gym on a regular basis.
MG: What is one pageant tip that never fails you?
HO: A lot of young women ask me this after they decide to compete in a pageant for the first time. I will always say the same thing: confidence. It takes a lot of confidence to put yourself out there…to walk on a stage in front of an audience…. to sit in a room with a group of strangers and talk about yourself…. to answer an onstage question with poise.
You have to be extremely confident in who you are and what you love. If you are confident, you won’t worry about any of the fine details. Because you won’t be worried, you can just have an absolute blast at the pageant. The judges know which contestants are having fun and they are drawn to those girls! People are naturally drawn to someone who is always smiling and having fun. Confidence allows you to be that person.
The Zagreb-born Ivana Mišura was crowned the past week by Melita Fabecic (Miss Universe Croatia 2013) as the new queen of Croatia for the next edition of Miss Universe pageant, which will take place further on this year.
The 24 year-old model standing 5’7″ and fluent in Croatian, Italian and English won the crown on April 12th, 2014 at the conclusion of the pageant defeating other 19 contestants fighting for the coveted crown. After being crowned, Mišura said: “This is awesome, a wonderful feeling, I would like to thank everyone for their support”. She concluded with: “In the fashion world you need to watch out with your look, make sure your hair, your dress are all perfect. Posture, attitude, personality, were some aspects part of my preparation”.
Later, on her two days as a queen, she said in an interview: “Smile! It is the most important thing, to laugh a lot, be cheerful, if you are a positive person, people will notice”. The first runner-up of Miss Universe Croatia 2014 was Meri Bencic and the second runner-up was Andrea Generalic. Another prices awarded to other candidates were the Miss Photogenic Award for Mateji Hunjed and Andela Marijanovic won the Miss Congeniality Award.
