Hey! My name is Elizabeth Marnoch, Im 18 years old from London Ontario and I compete in pageants. My pageant journey began at the age of 10 in 2011. I walked into that first competition scared and also incredibly unprepared. Since then, pageantry has become my greatest passion as it has given me friends all around the world, enhanced my public speaking skills and has skyrocketed my self-confidence.
There are a lot of misconceptions when it comes to the world of pageants. I truly think that if everyone who had a negative view on them, their minds would change the second they attend one or better yet, competed. Pageants take a lot of preparation, time, service, and focus to even place at a competition. I like to think of it as a full time sport. I really do not think I would be the strong, goal-oriented person I am today if it wasnt for pageantry. From the ages 10-14 I competed in day pageants. These are the beginner competitions where you would have several different categories and you would go on stage to perform a routine. On top of the evening gown, casual wear, and talent competitions, each contestant would be asked to prepare a speech about themselves. This scared a lot of contestants because they were so young and there were a lot of people watching. This was my favourite portion of the competition. I loved practicing my speech and trying to impress the judges with my presentation skills and I think that was what pushed me into larger national and international pageants
When I turned 15, I knew I wanted a higher level of competition, meaning competing at some of the most competitive competitions in the world, having amazing pageant wardrobe (special thanks to Elizabeth Noel), and learning how to nail pageant personal interviews. I competed at the Pure International Pageants Canada Prelim and ended up taking home the Miss Teen Canada title my first time, meaning I was off to Orlando, Florida to represent Canada for the very first time. I did well at the competition but ultimately I did not have enough experience and I made some rookie mistakes. Learning from that experience I applied to compete at Miss Teen Captivating the year after and was accepted as the Teen Canada delegate. I traveled to Columbus, Ohio and competed for the title. I did well at the competition, scoring high in interview, but there were still several things that were preventing me from winning a title.
After that competition I sat myself down and went through everything the winners had that I didnt. I was committed to winning a title and I wanted to have absolutely everything perfect for the next one. I realized I needed even stronger wardrobe, professional photography, and I really needed to nail down a strong pageant platform that really resonated with me. So when I applied to be Miss Teen Galaxy London 2019 to compete for the title of Miss Teen Galaxy Canada, I knew that I was going to put my heart and soul into that competition. So i went down my list of past mistakes and corrected those first. Wardrobe was fixed by simply visiting Elizabeth Noel and having the staffs amazing support. I got a great pageant headshot by a local photographer. And finally I discovered what I wanted my platform to be while shopping at Elizabeth Noel for my wardrobe. I loved the message and the purpose behind The Princess Program. I truly believe that everyone should have a magical prom and grad regardless of financial trouble. With that I had the three missing pieces of my pageant puzzle solved! I spent 5 months preparing my walk and interview every single day for the Canada Galaxy Pageant. I ended up taking home the title of Miss Teen Galaxy Canada 2019 and advancing to the Galaxy International Pageant with team Canada! Although I did not win Miss Teen Galaxy it was still an incredible experience and it made me want an international title even more.
That brings me to where I am today. After I handed my Miss Teen Galaxy Canada title over to the next lucky girl, Chole Arsenault, I set my sights on my next international competition. I applied and was accepted as the new International United Miss Canada Teen 2019-20 and I could not be more excited. Right now I am going through the long preparation process with selecting wardrobe, going to public appearances, practicing my walk and of course practicing for my favourite competition, the personal interview. I am ready to compete at International United Miss Teen in Atlantic City, New Jersey this summer July 2020! If you ever thought about competing in a pageant, I would highly encourage you to do so. There are so many pageants out there and there is an amazing community of pageant women here to support you! Please feel free to reach out to me on my pageant account @iumcanadateen to ask questions and to follow my journey to the International United Miss Teen crown!