- Competition intensifies to crown overall winner to represent Botswana in Poland
GOSEGO MOTSUMI
As a buildup to crown the country’s first Miss Supranational Botswana on 15 April, 30 contestants battled it out on the runway in Gaborone over the weekend, each to earn a spot in the beauty pageant’s top 12 finalists.
Event a success
Dubbed the Talent and Fashion Showcase, the event saw an array of talent spanning poetry, singing and dancing that was perfected with the help of artistic experts like Samantha Mogwe and Tefo Paya.
“The event was a success as the young ladies worked hard and brought their A-game,” said the spokesperson of Miss Supranational Botswana, Kaone Moremong, in an interview.
“We were pleasantly surprised how they came alive with the support of their family and friends. As our first Miss Supranational event, we set a very high standard for ourselves.”
Judging
The judging panel faced a difficult task of trimming the contestants down to 12 but ultimately announced the winners at the end of the night.
According to Moremong, the judging criteria for Miss Supranational requires the contestants to accumulate marks from the beginning of the competition, right from the auditions.
Each time they interact with anyone from the beauty pageant’s team, they are awarded certain marks based on how they behave, their time management, how they interact with one another, team work and their overall manner.
“On the Talent and Fashion night the judges looked at their creativity, content and confidence levels on stage. These marks were tallied and added to the marks that the girls had already accumulated over time.”
Bootcamp
After the top 12 selection, the competition intensifies because they are now looking for the overall winner. Moremong said the marks thus far accumulated are still relevant because they will be added to the marks they will accumulate over the next couple of weeks until the night of the finale.
The top 12 will undergo intensive training that will feature walking on the runway, public speaking, grooming, personal branding, overall look, financial literacy and legal workshops.
“There is going to be a bootcamp in the last days before the finale where they will be confined to one place with the team, trainers and workshop facilitators,” Moremong said. “This is done to understand their different personalities and to mirror the international competition that the winner will be a part of in Poland.”
Miss Supranational
Travelling the world to promote tourism and goodwill among nations is among some of the core entitlements of the pageant. The reigning Miss Supranational is Lalela Mswane of South Africa.
PULL QUOTE: “We were pleasantly surprised how they came alive with the support of their family and friends.”
SIDE BAR
Miss Supranational Botswana Top 12 Finalists
- Felang Kwapa
- Baitse Serai
- Dabilo Moses
- Precious Haushiko
- Stephinah Sebina
- Cynthia Kalayakgosi
- Mosa Balesamang
- Laura Alfred
- Millicent Ramatlhape
- Kitso Makgekgenene
- Tia Lekgowa
- Naledi Philemon