15 finalists competing to be marine ambassador

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KOTA KINABALU: All 15 finalists of the first Miss Scuba International will compete for the Miss Marine Ambassador 2102 title.

Initial training of the Miss Scuba International 2011 contestants is now on-going at Sipadan-Mabul-Resort (SMART) to expose the finalists to marine environment and scuba diving.

The 15 finalists are from four Asian countries: Malaysia, China, Thailand and Indonesia.

The founder and chairman of Miss Scuba International Ltd, Robert Lo, said this was the first time that an event was produced to celebrate the inner beauty and courage of today’s modern women and simultaneously advocate worldwide marine conservation.

“Through this beauty pageant we want to show the inner strength and inner courage of women as some people are saying that it is hard to dive and breathe underwater but I believe that if these pretty young ladies can do it, I believe anyone can.”

“During the two weeks’ activities on Mabul Island, there will be a team observer who will look and judge on the performances of the contestants whether above water or underwater,” he said during the Miss Scuba International 2011 press conference here yesterday.

He said all contestants had to go through Discover Scuba Diving test at their respective countries as it was part of the requirement to enable them to participate in this beauty pageant.

To ensure that the contest was well-organized, we also obtained assistance from the other organizations for diver instructors, said Lo.

This beauty pageant is aimed to promote scuba diving to women, promote scuba sport to boost tourism industry, promote ocean conservation and select the best contestant to be an ocean ambassador for 2012.

The final and grand gala evening will be held at 1Borneo Grand Ballroom on December 9, followed by a dive exhibition at the Centre Atrium on December 9 to 11.

The contestants will also participate in a beach clean-up to educate the people not to throw rubbish everywhere they like, he added.

Besides the top three awards, there will be five other special awards for Miss Photogenic, Miss Best Diver, Miss Personality, Miss Marine Conservation and Miss Popularity.

Lo said part of the judging would be done on Mabul Island, particularly the five special awards. These would then be tallied with the remaining which will be judged at the final at 1Borneo on December 9. Prizes in cash and gifts for the top three winners and for five special awards total more than USD 100,000.

Winner of Miss Scuba Indonesia 2011, Nendy Yunizar, 23, said this beauty pageant is totally different with the other beauty pageants.

It is the only beauty pageant promoting scuba diving sport and ocean conservation, she said.

“I am looking forward to the activities to be held during the two weeks’ training. I believe it will be fun because apart from learning diving from a professional instructor, we can gain knowledge on ocean conservation through the World Wildlife Fund (WWF),” she said.

“I am a diver and it’s really fun. I can explore what we have underwater. Since it is an extreme sport, we really need sufficient stamina to enable us to remain underwater for long hours,” said Nendy.

Meanwhile, a contestant from Hong Kong, Wang Shiqian Cecilia, 26, said she would try her best to learn more on diving during the training as she had only dived twice.

“I do not have much experience in diving, so with the training provided by an expert during the training, I hope I can become more confident.

“This is my first experience in taking part in a beauty pageant and my friend was the one who encouraged me to participate, and luckily I was selected among the top three winners from Hong Kong,” she added.