4 December 2011

Charles University has its beauty queen

December 2, 2011, By: Libor Nenutil, Section: Students

On Thursday, December 1, Prague’s Roxy Club hosted the first ever Miss Charles University beauty pageant. The event brought up a lot of emotions and split the academic community into its opponents and supporters. It also attracted a lot of visitors and proved that Charles University female students are simply the most beautiful and smartest of all.

Miss Charles University – Lenka Volfová in the middle, photo: Studentskaleta.cz

The finalists were selected at an audition which took place a month earlier. Overall eight beauties were chosen whom we had a chance to see at the grand finale. The door of the Roxy opened at around 7 pm. Groups of visitors eager to see the show had already been waiting outside the entrance. The programme kicked off with two live concerts by the Moow and Nano bands. Those of you who attended the after-party at Chapeau Rouge after the student fair will be familiar with the latter at least. As is often the case with this type of events, the Miss Charles University programme was a little delayed, so the beauty contest itself got underway a few moments later than scheduled.

The show was opened by an evening gown competition, with dresses provided by the Krakora design label, followed by a show of skirts by AKARI and speeches delivered by the finalists. It was obvious that the jury had chosen the very best candidates at the audition. Each one of them filled the short time reserved for their introductory cameo in her own unique way. But what they shared in common was charm, wit and calm and the rest of the evening continued in this spirit. The contest also included a special discipline with the girls performing different and often quite difficult tasks. All of them managed that perfectly, but you would expect no less from Charles University students. The closing discipline, which at least the male part of the audience would not want to miss, was a swimsuit competition.

The evening also included an accompanying programme. Visitors could try out Nintendo Wii game consoles near the cloakroom. They could play different sports on one while the other one featured a dance competition where the players had to dance according to what appeared on the screen. In the VIP zone they could lounge in the Wegett bean bag chairs they might have remembered from the Majáles celebration. Hostesses walked through the club and gave away gifts provided by the sponsors of the event.

The evening culminated at around 11 pm with the announcement of the results. The first title awarded was that of Miss Internet. She was chosen by supporters on the official website of the contest. The crown went to contestant number 3, a Faculty of Education student Lenka Volfová. The would-be teacher was also voted Audience’s Choice a few minutes later. However it was by mistake. An error had occurred and Lenka had to pass her sash to contestant number 4, Markéta Kořínková from the Faculty of Social Science. But the announcement of the overall winner was all the more surprising. The title of the first ever Miss Charles University and a lot of wonderful prizes went to... Lenka Volfová! All spectators looked somewhat confused, perhaps wondering whether it was for real this time. But no shocking surprise took place and the winner was able to keep her crown.

After the ending of the official programme and the announcement of the winners, all the finalists came to the VIP zone for a photoshoot. In a confusion of flashes, microphone cords and omnipresent cameramen we managed to conduct a short interview with the winner.

Is this your first beauty contest? What prompted you to apply?

I had taken part in one such contest before. I applied because this was the first year and it could well be the last. I wanted to be there.

Last week, an email message was sent to all the organizers and university representatives by a student using terms like feminism, object of sexual desire, chauvinism, gender equality, linking the name of a prestigious institution with commercial entertainment. What do you think of that?

I had expected something like that to happen but I believe if the university leadership hadn’t been in favour of the idea, nothing like that would have taken place. The leadership was represented even in the jury. Our university organizes a lot of cultural events, so why not a Miss contest? There was also one male student among the candidates at the audition, so there was no inequality.

I’m not going to ask what you felt like when your crown was being taken away from you. When the result was announced, weren’t you afraid that it was again some kind of mistake? What were your thoughts?

To tell you the truth I don’t really remember. When I handed the crown over to Markéta, another one came right afterwards so I didn’t have time to even process it. It was a surprise both times. I hope this crown is going to stay with me

What would you tell the girls who would like to apply next year?

To definitely give it a try. This is a contest with a great potential. This was the first year and I believe the upcoming ones will be even better.