Sashing ceremony held for Miss Universe Cayman Islands
This year’s Miss Universe Cayman Islands contestants took part in a sashing ceremony on Friday evening, in the run-up to the annual international beauty pageant.
Mili Almaguer, 19, of West Bay; Ileann Powery, 25, of West Bay; Sydonie Barrett, 28, of George Town; and Tracey Campbell, 19, of Bodden Town donned their sashes bearing the names of their sponsors at the all-white ceremony at the Marriott hotel. The fifth contestant, Ayana Woolery, 19, of George Town, was off island and unable to attend, organisers said.
One of these five contestants will represent the Cayman Islands in the Miss Universe pageant on 18 Nov. in El Salvador.
The winning contestant will be chosen at a ceremony at the Westin hotel on 26 Aug.
The platform of this year’s local pageant is anti-bullying, with the support of local foundation United Against Bullying.
Derri Lee, organiser of Miss Universe Cayman Islands, explained in her speech at the sashing event that the organisation had chosen the foundation this year “because of the widespread bullying that our young people continue to face especially on social media”.
She added, “It shouldn’t become the norm here in the Cayman Islands. There are regulations in place for bullying in our schools and I believe it’s in the works for the work place, but absolutely nothing is being done with social media where people in the community are targeted based on infactual statements. I believe that we need to bring more awareness to this issue that seems to be trending and accepted by some.”
