Miss Teen Ponoka County earned success at pageants and most recently that ability has landed her a spot in a national competition.
For Ann-Marie Rogers-Cooper it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
She was one of 15 finalists at the Miss Teen Canada World competition in Red Deer Jan. 27 and 28. Because of her placement she will compete in Toronto, Ont. in July against more than 70 girls to represent Canada at the world challenge. The competition is tough, only the best will represent Canada.
“There’s only one girl that moves up from here,” explained Rogers-Cooper.
Some of her points are dependent on how much money she raises for the group Free the Children. The most money raised by a contestant automatically places her in the top 20. If Rogers-Cooper brings in the most Twitter followers or Facebook ‘likes’ then she also places in the top 20.
Placing was not an easy challenge as contestants were on the go most of the day, Rogers-Cooper explained. They had to learn how to walk and stand in front of the judges to garner more points.
To help calm her nerves, Rogers-Cooper spent her time helping other girls feel less nervous. One contestant was almost in tears and Rogers-Cooper and a few other contestants rolled on the floor in their dresses to cheer the nervous teen.
“I was really excited, overall it was a really good experience,” she stated.
The rest of the time was spent practicing on stage — and not getting her heels stuck.
One of the challenges she faced was to cheer on the other girls but also do the best she could to win. “They’re all wonderful…It’s a challenge because you don’t want to beat your friends but you also want to win.”
Her performance was good enough for the judges and Roger-Cooper is going to be busy these next few weeks encouraging participation on her social media sites and thinking of ways to raise funds for Free the Children.
Some of the other categories giving her more points are: swimwear, the most fit contestant will place in the top 20; being photogenic can also fast track a contestant to the top 20; interview abilities and evening gown will reflect on her total score; talent is an optional challenge and she is unsure if she will enter that one. The congeniality award has contestants voting on each other; parents and family will also have a chance to vote during the week of the pageant.
Some of Rogers-Cooper’s points will reflect on how well she does; five per cent of the score is based on fundraising, five per cent on social media and 10 per cent on being photogenic.
Find Miss Teen Ponoka County on Facebook at www.facebook.com/missteenponokacounty2013 and on Twitter: @TeenPonoka2013.