Miss Teen Carlsbad competition redefines “beauty” pageant

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Jessica Streich

Miss Teen Carlsbad 2012 winner Jessica Streich crowns the most recent queen Hannah Webb as her successor. The Miss Carlsbad competition isn’t your average pageant, it focuses less on beauty and more on personality and presentation, allowing a girl that will act as a role model and ambassador for the city to win.

Bratty girls. A face full of makeup. Gravity-defying hairstyles. And of course, drama galore.

Thanks to popular shows such as “Toddlers and Tiaras,” the public’s view of these glamourous events  has taken a rather negative outlook; the Miss Carlsbad and Miss Teen Carlsbad pageants, however, are the exceptions to this belief.

“The Miss Teen Carlsbad pageant is a really fun event,” previous contestant for Miss Teen Carlsbad and sophomore Boston  Anderson said. “It’s a really great experience and a cool way to meet a lot of new people throughout the Carlsbad community.”

Unlike many events of this type, the Carlsbad pageant doesn’t include a talent portion but instead asks contestants to provide an opening speech about themselves and answer judges’ questions. This creates a more ideal atmosphere, with healthy competition rather than the cut-throat frenzy of stereotypical, physical beauty-based pageants with the ultimate goal of finding someone to represent Carlsbad.

“The pageant is a scholarship pageant, meaning it is based more on personality, poise, and your role in the community,” Miss Teen Carlsbad Princess of 2013 and sophomore Arianna Ricci said.

Rather than receiving a large trophy or cash to spend, the winners of this competition win a prize that will help benefit them for the rest of their lives.

“The winners win money that can be used to benefit their education,” Anderson said. “All the people that place get money from the community that goes towards a college fund or some other type of fund to further one’s education.”

After being crowned a princess at last year’s competition, Ricci is participating in the event again this year. These girls continually participate in the pageants, not only for the chance at winning scholarship prize money, but also for the experiences attained through competing.

“The judges interview you, see your personality and get to know you,” Ricci said. “It’s not like a pageant that you prance around. It’s all about finding out about yourself and who represents Carlsbad the best.”

That being said, it is not necessarily beauty, but how far you will go in this competition.  Everyone who competes in this event walks away with something, whether  it is the scholarship money, certain skills and experiences or some confidence.

“I would definitely recommend doing it,” Anderson said. “It’s really different from a normal pageant, and it’s cool to experience Carlsbad in a different way.”