-becomes first-ever Miss Cricket Carnival Queen

WHEN 21-year-old Amel Griffith won the coveted Miss Jamzone Guyana 2022 title back in August, little did she know that several weeks later she would be adding another crown to her collection.

Some might have said that Amel had the edge as she was participating in a pageant that was not only being held in her home country, but was organised by Guyanese.
On September 26, she showed the sceptics that the Miss Cricket Carnival crown belonged on her head.

“I’m so elated that my third crown is actually [from] a regional pageant. This means so much to me,” she told the BUZZ moments after she was crowned.

She managed to defeat Beviny Payne who represented Barbados, Tyra Spaulding of Jamaica, Melanie Lawrence of Trinidad and Tobago, Chalisa Parris of St. Kitts and Nevis and Claire-Marissa Smartt of St. Lucia.

Amel made it clear to the Buzz that this ‘sweet’ victory did not come without its share of challenges and hard work.

“As I stand here, it shows that my hard work paid off. Of course, I was nervous, I was competing with some of the Caribbean’s most beautiful women,” she said.

The smiling queen told the Buzz that she was excited to be pulling off a hat trick. This will be her third crown having previously won the Jamzone pageant and Miss Bartica Regatta.

Amel might be creating history, as wearing three crowns at one time may be a rare occurrence.

Since copping the Miss Jamzone title in August, Griffith said it has been a “tiring” journey as she was practising seven days a week.

The pageant queen hailed the tremendous crowd support as the “wind beneath her wings” which motivated her to do her best during the competition.

When it was announced that she had won, Amel could not control her tears. The screams that erupted in the National Cultural Centre’s Auditorium made her even more emotional.

The pageant was held as part of Guyana’s inaugural Cricket Carnival calendar of activities. The Cricket Carnival committee did not disappoint as they ensured each of the region’s cricketing nations was well represented.

As the competition began moments after the scheduled 8 pm start, a sea of colours exploded on the stage as the delegates introduced themselves to the packed auditorium. They were wearing Carnival costumes that best represented their representative countries.

Based on the crowd’s reaction, it was clear that Guyanese came out in their numbers to support Amel.

Hope was not lost for the other delegates as they had pockets of supporters which gave them a boost of confidence each time they sashayed across the stage.
The swimwear/bikini segment was followed by the talent and evening wear segments.

Quite a few delegates stood out during these segments as the clear front runners based on the audience responses and level of support. Aside from Amel, Miss Barbados and Miss St. Lucia captured the audience’s attention from the beginning.

Doing an ode to mother earth in the form of a spoken word piece was Miss Barbados. She left the audience speechless.

Miss Guyana also opted to do a spoken word piece as her talent. She spoke of representing Guyana throughout which was met with loud cheers from the audience.

Miss St. Lucia performed an interpretive dance which captivated the crowd as they cheered her on during and after her performance.

When it was time to choose the top three, the judges agreed with the audience and chose Griffith, Payne and Smartt as the delegates advancing to the final leg of the competition.

Just before the final question was asked, several special prizes were distributed with Griffith collecting the Best Talent, Best Evening Gown and People’s Choice awards, while Miss St. Lucia received the Best Carnival Costume and Best Swimsuit awards.

All three delegates were asked the same final question by popular radio/tv personality and Mistress of Ceremonies, Feliz Roberts. They were asked, “If your pageant sister visited your country for vacation, which tourist destination would be a must-see and why?”

Griffith in her winning response noted that she would take her pageant sister to visit the majestic Kaieteur Falls while also ensuring she gets a taste of the Cricket Carnival experience.

Miss Barbados copped the first runner-up position while Miss Lucia’s efforts earned her second runner-up.