Miss Grand US Virgin Islands

Last updated

Miss Grand US Virgin Islands
FormationMarch 25, 2024;17 months ago (2024-03-25)
Type Beauty pageant
Headquarters Miami
Location
Official language
English
National director
Brian Javier
Current Titleholder
 Gisselle Burgos
Parent organization
Affiliations
Website grandusvirginislands.store

Miss Grand US Virgin Islands is the national beauty pageant responsible for selecting representatives of the United States Virgin Islands to compete in the international contest, Miss Grand International. [1] The title was first introduced in 2014, when Wilma Echandy, a 24-year-old Stateside Puerto Rican, was appointed to represent the territory at the Miss Grand International competition in Thailand. [1] Under the directorship of Brian Javier, the first Miss Grand US Virgin Islands contest happened in 2024. [2]

Contents

From 2014 to 2015, the franchise for designating representatives of the United States Virgin Islands to Miss Grand International was held by the pageant Miss US Paradise, [1] directed by Cyndee Frontal. During this period, the principal winners of Miss US Paradise were primarily assigned to the Miss World competition, while the franchise also enabled representation at Miss Grand International. [3] In 2017, the license was transferred to Chantel Martínez, founder of Miss Grand United States, and in 2018 it passed to Lulu Orange, organizer of Miss Universe US Virgin Islands. [4]

Since the first participation in 2014, the pageant has recorded a single placement at the international level: in 2024, Samantha Keaton achieved a Top 20 position at Miss Grand International. [1] [5] [6] [7]

History

The United States Virgin Islands made its debut at Miss Grand International in 2014 when the director of Miss US Paradise, Cyndee Frontal, acquired the license and subsequently appointed a Puerto Rican American model, Wilma Echandy, to compete internationally in Thailand, [1] but Echandy went unplaced. [1] [8] In the following year, former Miss World United States Virgin Islands 2013, Petra Cabrera, was assigned by the same licensee to compete and also was unplaced. [9] [5] The partnership between Miss US Paradise and Miss Grand International was later terminated in 2016.

After an absence in 2016, the license was purchased by the Miss Grand United States director, Chantel Martínez, who assigned the first runner-up of Miss Grand United States 2017, Brianna Key, to join the 2017 international stage in Vietnam. [10] The license was then transferred to the Miss Universe US Virgin Islands in the following years and the vice-miss of such a contest was sent internationally. [4]

Edition

The first edition of the Miss Grand United States Virgin Islands pageant was held on March 25, 2024. [2]

EditionDateVenueEntrantWinnerRef.
1st March 25, 2024CUZ Miami Venue, Doral, Florida, United States 8Samantha Keaton [a] [2] [13]
2ndMarch 2026
Note
  1. ↑ Later dethroned. [11] [12]

International competition

The following is a list of the United States Virgin Islands' representatives at the Miss Grand International contest.

YearRepresentativeOriginal national titleCompetition performanceNational directorRef.
PlacementOther awards
2014Wilma EchandyQueen of Puerto Rico 2012Unplaced—Cyndee Frontal [1] [3]
2015 Petra Cabrera Miss U.S. Paradise World 2013 Unplaced—
2016No representative
2017Brianna Key1st runner-up Miss Grand United States 2017 Unplaced—Chantel Martínez [6] [10]
2018Morgan Evans1st runner-up Miss Universe U.S. Virgin Islands 2018 Unplaced—Lulu Orange [4] [7] [15]
2019–2022No representatives
2023Heather ThompsonFinalist Miss Grand United States 2019 [16] Unplaced—Brian Javier [17] [18]
2024Samantha Keaton Miss Grand United States Virgin Islands 2024 Top 20— [13] [19]
2025Giselle BurgosMiss Grand United States Virgin Islands 2025

National finalists

The following list is the national finalists of the Miss Grand US Virgin Islands pageant, as well as the competition results. Eight contestants competed in the pageant's first edition held in Doral, Florida, the United States. [20]

Miss Grand United States Virgin Islands 2024 competition result by division
Color key:
Twemoji12 1f451.svg  Winner
  Top 5
Eo circle indigo white number-1.svg  1st runner-up
  Unplaced
Eo circle indigo white number-2.svg  2nd runner-up
  Withdrew
  No representative
Year
Represented
2024 [13] [20]
Barrett Emma Knapp
(Withdrew)
Christiansted Shriya Boppana
(1st RU)
Cinnamon Bay Sonika Komal
(Top 5)
Coral Bay Samantha Keaton  
(Winner) (Dethroned)
Frederiksted Brianna Lopez
Kingshill Rebecca Arianna
Red Hook Kathyria Burgos
Reef Bay London Tucker
(2nd RU)
Saint Thomas Alayzia Christopher
(Top 5)
Water Island Layel Hamchou
(Withdrew)
Total8

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Otra boricua en Miss Grand International que niega la patria" (in Spanish). El Nuevo Día. 8 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Miss Grand USVI 2024". grandusvirginislands.store. 2024. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Miss U.S. Paradise Whitney Carter leaves for Miss World 2010 in Sanya". www.whatsonsanya.com. 2 October 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Major Announcement: The MUUSVI Team is happy to announce that we are bringing the opportunity to compete in the Miss Grand International pageant back to the U.S. Virgin Islands! Effective immediately, the first runner-up of the Miss Universe U.S. Virgin Islands pageant will be awarded the Miss Grand U.S. Virgin Islands title". Miss Universe U.S. Virgin Islands. 1 September 2018. Archived from the original on 20 October 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Lệ Quyên bất ngờ "trắng tay" tại Miss Grand International 2015". Dantri.com.vn (in Vietnamese). 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 9 February 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Ngắm Top 20 Miss Grand International 2017 nóng bỏng với phần thi bikini" (in Vietnamese). Voice of Vietnam. 26 October 2017. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Meenakshi Chaudhary from India wins 1st runner-up title at Miss Grand International 2018". Times of India . 25 October 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  8. ↑ Arvin Ello (6 October 2014). "Miss Cuba is Miss Grand International 2014". www.vintersections.com. Archived from the original on 31 July 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Nhiều thí sinh 'Hoa hậu Hòa bình Quốc tế' bị chê xấu". Baodautu.vn (in Vietnamese). 17 October 2015. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Miss US Virgin Islands, Miss Puerto Rico arrive in Vietnam". Voice of Vietnam. 5 October 2017. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "ดราม่านางงามโผล่อีก! ปลดฟ้าผ่า Miss Grand US Virgin Islands หลังเพิ่งประกวด MGI ที่ไทยเสร็จหมาดๆ" [Another beauty pageant drama! Miss Grand US Virgin Islands was fired after finishing the MGI competition in Thailand.]. Matichon (in Thai). 26 October 2024. Archived from the original on 29 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  12. ↑ Minh Nghĩa (26 October 2024). "Một hoa hậu bị phế truất ngay sau chung kết Miss Grand International 2024" [A beauty queen was dethroned right after the final of Miss Grand International 2024]. VietNamNet (in Vietnamese). Archived from the original on 29 November 2024. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 "Á hậu Mỹ đăng quang Hoa hậu Hòa bình đảo US Virgin". Tiền Phong. 28 March 2024. Archived from the original on 29 March 2024. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  14. ↑ "Kyrelle Thomas To Represent Territory At Miss World". 5 November 2016. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Trang phục dân tộc độc đáo tại Miss Grand International" (in Vietnamese). VNExpress. 13 October 2018. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "Miss Grand New York". www.autumnmoonportraits.com. 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  17. ↑ Berkat Prima (23 August 2023). "7 Potret Miss Grand Kepulauan Virgin AS 2023 Heather Marie, Comeback!" (in Indonesian). IDM Times. Archived from the original on 26 August 2023. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  18. ↑ Chavely Chiroque; Carol Ruiz; Richard Gomero (25 October 2023). "Luciana Fuster ganó el Miss Grand International 2023: sencillez y glamour en su paso por el concurso de belleza". www.infobae.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 October 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  19. ↑ Josiah Antonio (25 October 2024). "India wins Miss Grand International 2024; PH bet CJ Opiaza is 1st runner-up". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on 25 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  20. 1 2 "Miss Grand US Virgin Islands 2024 contestants". grandusvirginislands.store. January 2024. Archived from the original on 15 January 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2024.

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