Times Of Swaziland: NO CRITERIA FOR MISS ESWATINI 2022

NO CRITERIA FOR MISS ESWATINI 2022
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Nombuso Dlamini on 16/08/2022 08:56:00


MBABANE – The biggest beauty pageant in the kingdom has been making a buzz
since its return, the latest development is the news of the final top 35.
After  entry lines were closed the competition had 40 hopefuls but as of last
Saturday, two girls dropped out of the competition, have the organisers decided
to drop the numbers to 35.
The theme of this year’s competition dubbed ‘Beacon of hope’, has
confirmed to have seen the largest number of entries since the very first time
the competition was held in 1975.
Entry lines for the competition officially closed last Sunday. Miss Eswatini
President Catrien Potgieter, confirmed that the nominations this year were
over-whelming as they had over 70 entrants to choose from.
Pageant
The pageant had a lot of noticeable changes, which were intentional. The videos
that were an entry requirement saw a different way of seeing the girls in their
raw form and their own space.  No training or photography requirement s were
stipulated or needed and this made it quite unique and new to the competition. 
It is a very different feel from international pageants requirements like (SA)
where physical appearance, height and body structure count. A Miss (SA)
applicant must be; at least 20-years -oldand be an SA citizen. The applicant
must be in possession of a matric certificate or equivalent NQF Level 4
qualification. (In the event that the applicant makes it through as a
semi-finalist she’s required to provide proof of this qualification).
The applicant is encouraged to provide the organisation with details of any
further tertiary qualifications, proof of which will be required should the
applicant make it through as a semi-finalist, It’s worth mentioning that
education is a key must-have in the Miss SA competition. The applicant shall not
ever have been married (civil nor customary), nor had a marriage annulled. The
applicant should have no criminal record and be truthful in respect of all
matters in relation to the run-up to the competition, the competition itself and
the period after the competition. There is no restriction in terms of tattoos or
piercings that the applicant may have.
Scholarship
Also, a very noticeable difference in Eswatini and SA is that in the kingdom one
of the prizes is a scholarship for the winner, whereas in the SA, contestants
are required to have a significant tertiary education background. The
educational requirement is also a priority even in the Miss USA pageant and the
likes. The event organisers had also mentioned in this year’s edition of Miss
Eswatini that they were trying to change the image of beauty pageants and the
stigma around them. This year there is no restrictions in terms of height,
weight or image conditions to qualify. Taken from this year’s theme, the
competition is trying to show that the true beauty of an individual is  beauty 
inside. “What you contribute to the current state of the entire world it is
what you bring to the world, that is more important. What unique trait are you
offering to such a world filled with grief and uncertainty,’ said Potgieter.
Voting lines are now open!
Let the games begin, and get those fingers ready as the voting lines for this
years’ Miss Eswatini have open. In the interview with Potgieter, it was noted
that the girls were judged in stages and voting accounts for only 50 per cent of
the final scoring of the contestants. The more votes don’t automatically
ensure that the contestants with the most votes wins, but only secures a spot in
higher stages of the competition.