A local teen was recently crowned Miss Teen Prince George Canada World during the Miss Teen B.C. Canada World competition held at Richmond's Airport Plaza Hotel.
Kristie Girard, 17, the only contestant from Prince George, is among the 70 Canadian teens going to Toronto for the national competition July 14 to 22.
The competition works like this: teens start competing through an online application. Hundreds apply and 34 B.C. residents get to compete at the provincial contest where 15 finalists are picked to go to the nationals. Title is determined by location, so Girard gets the title Miss Teen Prince George Canada World.
"I've never done a pageant before but I saw their ad on Facebook and I saw how much volunteer experience you can get out of it, and it said how you could gain confidence and develop leadership skills through the pageants and I've always wanted to do something like that so I thought it would be really cool."
Girard, whose future goals include getting a political science degree at UBC and then studying to be a criminal lawyer, was really nervous when she first got to the B.C. competition.
"The first thing we did was put on our high heels and start rehearsing for the opening number and I never danced before so it was really scary for me," said Girard. She did something right as she was put front and centre during the performance.
Pageant officials teach the teens everything they need to know, including pageant walk, talk and etiquette for the interview portion of the contest.
"Everything they taught me really helped," said Girard, who is the Young Blood for Life coordinator for College Heights secondary school -- a nationwide blood drive geared for youth, which is also her platform during pageant competition.
During the show there was a chance to talk about her platform and introduce herself. Then the evening gown competition took place, where teens would walk in front of the judges with poise, followed by the bikini competition.
"They called 15 girls' names after the judging and they called my name first," said Girard. "I was not expecting that at all, but it was nice not having to wait for all the other girls. So there's the top three and then everyone else is equal after that and I was not one of the top three but I was one of the 15."
During the opening number all the girls were wore their own black dress. The teens also provided their own evening gown and bikini.
There's a few things she has to do before she heads to the week-long national competition.
She must raise a minimum of $400 for the Miss Teen Canada World organization's charity of choice Free The Children.
Contestants travel and lodging costs are their responsibility and that changes only when competitors make it into the top 20 at the nationals. Then contestants are on an all-expenses paid route to a selection of eight other competitions. Costumes for the opening number and swim wear is provided when contestants enter the national pageant, but the evening gown is left to them to choose and purchase.
During the national pageant there are sightseeing opportunities like a trip up the CN Tower and appearances on Breakfast Television, ET Canada and Etalk. Then there be will lots of rehearsals for the entertainment parts of the pageant.
First night of competition is a preliminary night and then top 20 go to the finals the next day when the Miss Teen Canada will be named.
"Between now and the national competition I need to look for sponsorship to cover my entry fee and raise funds for Free the Children," explained Girard.
She also needs to make appearances and volunteer around the community as Miss Teen Prince George Canada World. She wants to read to children and also perhaps go into classrooms and speak.
For more information visit www.missteencanadaworld.com or check out Girard's Facebook page.
