Miss Grand United States Virgin Islands

Miss Grand US Virgin Islands is a national beauty pageant title awarded to women chosen to represent the US Virgin Islands at the Miss Grand International contest.[1] The title was first awarded in 2014 when a 24-year-old Stateside Puerto Rican, Wilma Echandy, was appointed to represent the US Virgin Islands in Miss Grand International 2014 in Thailand.[1]

Miss Grand US Virgin Islands
Formation2014
TypeBeauty pageant
HeadquartersMiami
Location
Membership
Miss Grand International
Official language
English
National director
Brian Javier
Parent organization

From 2014 to 2015, the license to send US Virgin Islands representatives for Miss Grand International belonged to the national pageant named Miss US Paradise,[1] which was headed by Cyndee Frontal, and the main winners were sent to Miss World in that particular year.[2] The license was then transferred to Miss Grand United States founder Chantel Martínez and Miss Universe US Virgin Islands organizer Lulu Orange in 2017 and 2018, respectively.[3]

Since their first competition in 2014, the US Virgin Islands' representatives have never secured any placements on the international stage of Miss Grand International.[1][4][5][6]

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][7] 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.[8][4] 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.[9] 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.[3]

No the United States Virgin Islands' representatives competed in Miss Grand International from 2019 to 2022 due to lacking licensees; however, the USVI was expected to return in the 2023 competition in Vietnam.[10]

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
2014 Wilma Echandy Queen of Puerto Rico 2012 Unplaced — Cyndee Frontal [1][2]
2015 Petra Cabrera Miss U.S. Paradise World 2013 Unplaced — [4][8][11]
2017 Brianna Key 1st runner-up Miss Grand United States 2017 Unplaced — Chantel Martínez [5][9]
2018 Morgan Evans 1st runner-up Miss Universe U.S. Virgin Islands 2018 Unplaced — Lulu Orange [3][6][12]
2023 Heather Thompson Finalist Miss Grand United States 2019[13] Unplaced — Brian Javier [10]

References
  1. "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. "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.
  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. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  4. "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.
  5. "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.
  6. "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.
  7. 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.
  8. "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.
  9. "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.
  10. 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.
  11. "Kyrelle Thomas To Represent Territory At Miss World". 5 November 2016. Archived from the original on 20 July 2023. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  12. "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.
  13. "Miss Grand New York". www.autumnmoonportraits.com. 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 19 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.

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