With the fitness trials completed in London to determine the top six competitors in each group, the stage was set for the 2011 Miss World Sports Final, which was held at Crieff Hydro as part of the Miss World tour of Scotland. Contestants competed in three disciplines, with both team and individual events – swimming, running, and traditional Highland games. Each group were given their team colours to show support for each other, with the representatives of each group as follows:
Group 1 (Red): Bonaire, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Chile, Bolivia
Group 2 (Green): Czech Republic, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Botswana
Group 3 (Blue): Panama, Paraguay, Jamaica, Latvia, Portugal, Germany
Group 4 (Orange): Trinidad & Tobago, Puerto Rico, Sweden, Singapore, Uganda, Scotland
First on the day’s action-packed schedule was the swimming. Contestants from each group gathered at the poolside to cheer on their team-mates across six races. The speediest swimmers in each heat were Bonaire, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Latvia, Chile and Scotland. At the end of the swimming races, Group 2 were the leaders, but the day’s events were just getting started.
The main section of the Sports Final was the Highland games, a series of challenges testing strength, accuracy and speed, inspired by traditional Scottish pursuits. Held atop a picturesque hill surrounded by woodland and a stunning landscape, each group tried their hand at Shot Put, Tossing the Caber (launching a long wooden pole and flipping it as far as you can), and the ‘Haggis’ Hurling (throwing a tartan ball as close to the central target, a fluffy highland cow, as possible). The 24 competitors tried their hands with increasing weights of shot puts and cabers and despite it being the first time many of them had done anything like these events before, there were many highly impressive attempts in each of the games. The air was filled with chanting and music, as the spectators cheered on their fellow contestants and a bagpiper played his pipes to add an extra local flavour to proceedings.
The Highland Games finished with a team relay – the Farmer’s Dash. The teams had to negotiate an obstacle course while carrying first a bag of hay, then two wooden logs, and finally two water carriers. First across the finishing line in the final was Group 4, beating Group 1 into second place. In the play-offs, Group Three and Group Two ended up in third and fourth place respectively.
Finally, the climax of the Sports Final, the sprint dash and shuttle run (a team relay in which the first participant runs to a set point and back, the second to a further point and back, and so on). Trinidad & Tobago, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, Latvia, Uganda and Scotland all triumphed in their respective heats of the sprint competition. In the shuttle run Group 3 crossed the finishing line first, followed by Group 4, Group 1, and Group 2.
After an exhilarating day, it was time for the all-important announcement of the Sports Team Winners, based on the results of the team events in the three sports sections. Miss World Alexandria Mills presented the medals to the successful team members as they took to the podium.
1
st Place: Group 3, the Blue Team.
2
nd Place: Group 4, the Orange Team.
3
rd Place: Group 2, the Green Team.
4
th Place: Group 1, the Red Team.
Guatemala and Bolivia also collected special awards for the ‘Haggis’ Hurling, for getting closest to the bull’s-eye, picking up a cuddly highland cow toy each. An extra title was awarded to Group 2, the Green Team, for being the Best Team Supporters.
Congratulations to Group 3 (Sc: MW)
