Chronicle Editor
Tafadzwa Zimoyo and Tawanda Matanhire
As the day draws closer for the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe pageant to be held this Friday, two of the contestants that were in bootcamp at Rainbow Towers last week have been dropped.Audrey Mhungu and Rutendo Taruvinga faced the chop after failing to meet the requirements of the pageant. According to the organisers, all girls knew about the elimination process as 15 girls are expected to go on the ramp for the coveted title.
The process was handled just like United States reality show America’s Next Top Model where girls go to task and get eliminated after every episode.
Speaking at the event, patron of Miss Tourism Zimbabwe, Babara Mzembi said that the elimination process started from the first day the girls were in boot camp and they focused on several aspects to determine who was to be booted out.
“We looked at several aspects as we monitored them in terms of behaviour, how they express themselves, interaction with each other and we got feedback from the people who are always in their company.
“I also had a chance to meet with them where I used my own judgment based on behaviour and then reached a consensus to select those who failed to meet the standards,” she said.
Mzembi also said that they wanted to create a sense of competition amongst the finalists so that they to improve themselves throughout the whole process.
“This also gave us an opportunity to create some sort of drama for our reality show which will be starting soon. “In boot camp the finalists were trained on several aspects including grooming and deportment, life skills, being etiquette, public speaking, career advice and media management among other things,” she said.
Asked who is providing the dresses for the finale to the models, Mzembi said there was no international designers involved they are working with local designers.
“Local is lekker, I have engaged some local designers, both upcoming and prominent so that they also have their chance to shine. We should be proud of our fashion sense. The girls have already started doing fittings with designers and they are camped closer so that when rehersals start we don’t have much time to waste running around. This final days are hectic and we can’t wait for the show,” she said.
In an interview evicted contestant, Mhungu said that she was not moved with the elimination decision because there was stiff competition within the boot camp.
“I thank God, I have managed to make it this far. I’m not being emotional about it because there was tight competition. I don’t even know where I went wrong. “This is not the end of the road for me but it is just a starting point. We learnt a lot of things in the boot camp so for me it means more pageant participations as I would want to go further than this,” she said.
Meanwhile some equipment for staging and lighting has started coming in ahead of the pageant.
Online Reporter