Meet the First Ever Miss Scuba Belize

There are pageants such as Miss Universe, Miss Costa Maya, Miss World, Miss Earth and now there is Miss Scuba International at which Belize will compete for the first time.  A student from Corozal, eighteen-year-old Joswanie Hall has been selected to represent the jewel in a pageant that seeks to promote the marine ecosystem.  The event takes place in Malaysia in November this year. The coordinator is Zenaida Moya who explained today how it all came about. News Five’s Duane Moody reports.

Duane Moody, Reporting

You may not have heard about this pageant before, but Miss Scuba International has been around since 2011. But for the first time a delegate will represent Belize in the international pageant. According to its website, the organization was founded by Robert Lo, who is a supporter of the sustainable development of the marine environment. According to National Director, Zenaida Moya, she was contacted in early January by the organization, based in Malaysia, to take on the task to choose the first ambassador to further expose Belize’s marine ecosystem.

Zenaida Moya

Zenaida Moya, National Director, Miss Scuba Belize

“What they want is to ensure that marine conservation is promoted throughout the world. Belize is one of the main countries indeed—you know all the wonders that we have—however, Belize was not represented and they felt that we need to have Belize represented.”

Chosen to represent the country from November sixth to the eighteenth at the Magellan Sutera Resort in Malaysia is Joswanie Hall, an eighteen-year-old student of Corozal Junior College.

Joswanie Hall

Joswanie Hall, Miss Scuba Belize 2018

“So far my thoughts are to promote my country and its beautiful things that it has that many of us have not explored. I can say that this weekend was the first weekend I went diving and it was really challenging for me, but I got there and it was so amazing under the water; it’s like a different world for me.”

Zenaida Moya

“We had our Facebook page and we asked around also. Persons applied and it had to be shortlisted as to who met the qualifications. Two of the qualifications had to be that you can swim (there is a certain distance you have to know how to swim); you also have to know how to scuba dive, so you have to be a certified scuba diver. Joswanie was the only one who met all this certifications. You also had to be a minimum of five feet four inches, so she surpasses that as well. You also have to be fluent in English, you have to have excellent knowledge of marine conservation and so forth and so all of those had to be looked at.”

National costume, swimwear, a conservation platform segment, talent and questions and answers are among the various categories that Hall will be competing. Moya says that of the seven persons that applied, Hall was the only one that fit majority of the criteria.

Zenaida Moya

“The females that applied did not know how to swim. We had exactly seven persons, but they did not know how to swim. They might be able to go on stage and all that, but Miss Scuba Belize is not only about being beautiful and knowing to catwalk; with fairness, that comes secondary. You have to know how to scuba dive and you have to know how to swim. But if you know how to swim and not how to scuba dive, that is fine because the training. And that is why we are working with Blue Seas Diving to ensure that she gets certified.”

Hall leaves the country on November third. Duane Moody for News Five.