Judge Shona first for the Cooks too
It was the first time that the Cook Islands have been invited to have a judge at a Miss South Pacific Pageant hosted overseas.
For Shona Pitt, a Pitt Media Group director, the invitation to be a judge was an honour. One of five judges, Pitt said that she was told that the feedback the organisers in Samoa received about her selection was favourable and positive.
Pitt admitted to feeling under pressure during the competition, especially as the Cook Islands had a high profile at the event.
“The Cook Islands contestants are held in high regard and the feeling amongst the other island nations is that we are the ones to watch out for and to try and beat,” she said.
“Therefore I felt that as we are held in such high esteem I wanted to carry that reputation through to include judging as well.”
Pitt said that it was difficult to keep her distance from the Cook Islands contingent while in Samoa. Being a judge can be a very lonely experience and there were times that she wanted to show her support for Krystina.
“However, I didn’t want to do anything that would give the organisers and other contestants anything to complain about,” she said.
“It was foremost in my mind that I could not jeopardise the chances of our contestant and also jeopardise the opportunity for another judge to be selected from the Cook Islands.”
She admitted that it was hard to contain her feelings and not to show her excitement she spoke of how proud she was of both Kristina and Dorothea George, the outgoing Miss South Pacific..
Pitt said that all Cook Islanders should be proud of both young women as they were and are excellent ambassadors for our small island nation.
REPUTATION
The Cook Islands has a reputation in the Pacific region for having beautiful women. A reputation Pitt feels will not be hard to live up too.
“We have the beautiful women; we have the resources and the experiences to ensure that that reputation stays,” she said.
“I just wish that we as a nation, the people, and the government could show more support and evidence that we are proud of what our girls have achieved.”
Pitt said she was extremely disappointed that Kyrstina’s achievement had not been quickly acknowledged by the Government or by the Rarotonga pageant organisers.
“How hard is to pick up a phone and say congratulations?” she asked.

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