Ainzley Cann from Tolaga Bay has been crowned Teen Face of Beauty International New Zealand. Photo / Nadya Montt
Ainzley Cann from Tolaga Bay has been crowned Teen Face of Beauty International New Zealand. Photo / Nadya Montt
Tolaga Bay’s Ainzley Cann has won the Teen Face of Beauty contest and will represent New Zealand at the international event in the United States next year.
Ainzley, 16, said she was thrilled to win the contest and looking forward to representing the East Coast and Aotearoa.
She wascrowned at SkyCity in Hamilton.
The year 12 student at Tolaga Bay Area School said people in the community had been very supportive and she had received lots of congratulations since winning the award.
Organisers reached out to her mum Stacey to see if Ainzley would like to be part of the pageant after she did some runway modelling and a photoshoot with them before the competition.
The girls taking part in the international pageant will need sponsorship to help get them to the US and Ainzley’s grandma Joan has already started fundraising, running a raffle in Tolaga Bay.
The Face of Beauty International, established in 2012 by Mila Manuel, is a national pageant that provides a platform for women and teens to showcase individuality, build confidence and represent their country at the global Face of Beauty International competition.
Central to the programme is the I AM ME initiative, which emphasises community service and charitable fundraising.
Zaley Tamihana-Brown and Ashreen Nand, of A-Z Pageants NZ, are national directors for Face of Beauty International.
The international competition has been hosted in Thailand, Taiwan, Mongolia, India and the Philippines.
“Ainzley’s win is not just a personal triumph, but a milestone for every girl who has not always seen herself reflected in spaces like these,” Tamihana-Brown said.
“Entering the competition with integrity, mana and the unwavering support of her community, Ainzley’s presence is a bold and beautiful statement [that] ‘we belong here, too’.”
Over the next year, she would have opportunities to grow in confidence, refine her skills and develop her presence on and off the catwalk, Tamihana-Brown said.
Contestants were judged on confidence and stage presence, intelligence and communication skills, charitable spirit and leadership, cultural representation and advocacy, and “beauty with purpose” — balancing outer beauty with inner values.
Ainzley Cann (left) from Tolaga Bay has been crowned the Teen Face of Beauty New Zealand. She is pictured with last year's winner Riley Roebuck.
