It was well worth the 10 hours in high heels.
Brittany Orsted, who turned 19 just last week, is on her way to Toronto in mid-July for a week-long competition that will eventually see a new Miss Teen Canada World Pageant winner crowned. She will be joined by 12 other finalists from Saskatchewan who were selected at a preliminary pageant staged in Saskatoon March 23, and 52 other contestants from the rest of the country.
The idea to enter the contest sprang pretty well out of the blue, said the personable, soft-spoken but always smiling contestant who will be proud to wear a tiara and Saskatchewan sash as Estevan's and one of the province's representatives at the finals July 14 to 22.
"Some people, even people I don't know, have come up to me and said I should look into something like modelling, so I finally figured why not?" said Orsted who flung the trepidation aside for a moment or two and filled out an application form she found on Facebook, just a day or two before the entry deadline.
The entry was accepted, an online interview and photo exchange followed and then another interview via Skype which led to the invitation to compete in the Saskatoon event.
In the Bridge City, it was a gruelling 10-hour preparation day with all entrants wearing those challenging high heels from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. That also included some dancing, an interview, swimwear assessment and evening gown segment plus more question and answer sessions.
"Brittany in a bikini and high heels, I never would have imagined that," said her mother, Sherrilee, who accompanied her daughter to the Saskatoon event.
"She's known for walking with her shoulders rounded down and not speaking up too loudly, but by the end of the day it was a huge transformation. She was walking with her shoulders back and speaking confidently," she added.
Brittany smiled, then noted that her reticence did come to the fore just once during an interview when she stopped in mid-sentence, probably due to nerves and a desire to rethink her response.
"So I was told to work on those skills, and at the end, at least I wasn't looking down all the time," she said with a big smile.
At the end of the judging, the 13 Saskatchewan representatives were given a pass to the big show with Orsted finishing among the top five. She said one of the girls who placed in front of her admitted to have been doing beauty pageants since the age of eight. "And it showed. She was great and all the girls were friendly. We got along pretty well even though it was a long, hard day."
In Toronto, they'll all start from scratch again with interviews, swimwear, evening gowns, photography sessions and so on. During the course of the week, they will be exposed to various social events and will be gauged on the social skills and the handling of social media and how they represent themselves and overall impressions and behaviours. For the next few months, Orsted will be focused on another component and that is fundraising for Free the Children as well as to accommodate her now expanding wardrobe. For the Saskatoon contest, she simply recycled her graduation gown which she said wasn't laced up properly because of haste and inexperienced volunteer help from other contestants.
"I did a little trip or stumble half-way to my spot, but that wasn't a big deal. It was just the gown," she said.
The fundraising portion will begin as early as May 1 in Estevan where the Orsteds have partnered with Allies Restaurant for a steak night beginning at 5 o'clock. Tickets are available by phoning 634-5345 or 421-1350.
"On the final night of the competition in Toronto, the top 20 will advance to swimwear and then the top 10 from that will go on to evening gowns and the final five will have to submit to an on-stage interview," said Brittany. "We have a 40-page booklet that sets out all the stages and requirements."
She said for her speech segment, she is working on taking a stance against bullying. "I've been bullied ... often, so I know what this is about," she said. "I'll get more comfortable with my speaking.
"The Saskatoon experience was great because a lot of us were first-timers. I wasn't nervous at all when it came to the dancing. I had a background in that from the Drewitz School of Dance here. We got used to it so that helped ease that part of it. I'm really not that intimidated in front of people. But Toronto will be pretty intense I guess."
The five-foot-five graduate of ECS is currently enrolled in business courses at the Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Regional College Estevan campus and has oil industry work lined up for the summer. It probably won't involve much high heel time, so she'll have to work on that component in her off hours.
Brittany lists baking, curling, dancing and country and western music as her favourite leisure time pursuits.
"I know I'll have to work on my walk and my interview skills will have to improve if I'm going to boost my confidence level," she said.
After they got over the shock of the announcement that she had entered, Brittany's parents and grandmother, and even her younger brother Austin, have been totally supportive.
"It was really surprising but we made the last minute arrangements and got to Saskatoon and we're pretty proud of her for deciding to do this. It's a pretty amazing experience," said her mother.
The competition, which is open to Canadian girls aged 13 to 19, will no doubt feature a lot of first-timers like Brittany, so she feels she'll be on even footing with most of them, even if those feet have just been put through more than 10 hours in high heels.
"I just don't want to fall off the stage," she said with a laugh. In other words, just being on that national stage is a good step (with no stumbles) in the right direction.
