TWO of the New England North West’s top showgirls will head off to the Sydney Royal Easter Show to try their luck at the state title next month.
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Quirindi showgirl Rebecca Cope and Walgett showgirl Sarah Groat were winners at the weekend when Moree Show Society hosted the annual zone competition.
To win, the girls had to do a full interview with three judges relevant to their respective show societies and towns, attended an informal lunch and an evening dinner where they had to answer questions on stage.
They were each awarded points for their speaking, knowledge and presentation with the two highest scoring girls chosen to compete in Sydney.
Rebecca said she was “humbled and grateful for the opportunity” to represent Quirindi at the zone
showgirl competition and now to represent the zone in Sydney.
“It’s a great opportunity,” she said.
“Quirindi has had three winners in the past with the first in 1967, but it’s been about 20 years since a Quirindi Showgirl won in Sydney. It’s going to be quite interesting with 15 girls going to Sydney.”
Rebecca is the 19th Quirindi Showgirl to compete in Sydney.
Sarah said she had an aunt and friends who had competed in Sydney Royal Easter Show’s showgirl competition, so was getting some ideas from them.
“It sounds like a week of really good opportunities,” she said.
“We’ve already been drilled on public speaking, but I’m looking forward to furthering that and learning how to really answer questions well and be a good ambassador for your area. I entered because it’s a great chance to meet some like-minded women in a rural community and agriculture.”
Sarah is an agronomist, originally from Rankins Springs, who moved to Walgett for work, and said she wanted to promote the strength of the community in her new hometown.
“When I first got to town, before I’d even unpacked or met my housemates, I had a phone call inviting me to a Young Farmers Forum at the club, the next day I was helping out at the barbecue at the rugby and the next night I was at the show ball – I felt like I’d moved to the social hub of the North West,” she said.
Sarah said there were many opportunities in farming and agriculture now and she wanted to be an advocate for the farming community and promote where our food comes from, because so many people didn’t fully understand this.
“I’m proud that we can produce our own food in Australia, but there is a lack of knowledge about it,” she said.
“I’d like to try to bridge that gap between urban and rural areas.”
The two girls will be judged in the state final in Sydney from Monday, March 25 with the final presentation on Saturday, March 30.