Thursday, March 8 2007
FOR THE first time in 16 years, this country will not have a representative at the prestigious Miss Universe and Miss World competitions.
This country has an excellent track record in these beauty competitions producing two Miss Universe Queens (Penny Commissiong Chow and Wendy Fitzwilliam) and a Miss World Queen (Giselle La Ronde-West) and holding the record as the only nation to have a delegate in the top 10 for four consecutive years. According to National Pageant Director Peter Elias: “I have not received one cent from anybody to start preparing for this year’s Miss Universe show which comes off in Mexico in May.”
“I have written to over a hundred companies and several government agencies without any success to date. I started back in July 2006, when I returned from Los Angeles, California with Kenisha Thom.
“This is a full time project which requires financial support in order to adequately prepare delegates and maintain our level of success,” Elias said.
“I have been doing this for 15 years and I feel I have been doing a good job but maybe it is bigger than me. What is needed is a country effort. I cannot continue to use personal funds to prepare this country’s representative as I did with Kenisha nor am I a magician to make a winner today for tomorrow. It actually takes months to get the Miss Universe delegate ready for the competition,” he added.
Elias’ sentiments come swiftly on the heels of similar views expressed by CONCACAF President and FIFA vice-president Jack Austin Warner who said he would stop all of his personal funding of TT football, which have thrown this country’s participation in several tournaments including the prestigious Gold Cup, in jeopardy.
“To prepare a Miss Universe and a Miss World to represent Trinidad and Tobago will take just about $600,000,” Elias said.
Elias said the proudest moment of last year’s campaign came when a national newspaper in Colombia and another in the Phillippines reported that Kenisha Thom was cheated in the National Costume category. “That’s how strong people on the outside feel about our efforts in these competitions,” ended Elias.
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