By KATRINA BRANDON

 

IT’S not all glitz and style with international pageantry, according to Australian winners and Moe residents Sheridan and Alaska Larkman, who took out the titles Miss Curve and Junior Miss.

Pageantry is a sisterhood according to the mother and daughter duo.

“It has a community aspect to it,” Sheridan said.

“The people we met over the three days of competition we got to share our stories together with. We are all from very like-minded backgrounds, so a lot of us struggle with body image issues and bullying.

“It’s not a nasty community by any means. There is so much love, warmth and support there. Some of Alaska’s best friends have come from pageantry. It gives us the option to connect with others from all over Australia and the option to travel around the world.”

When signing up for pageantry, Sheridan explained that you must talk to a board of people about why you are doing it.

She told the Latrobe Valley Express that most pageants go in with intentions to create a platform for something. Alaska’s and Sheridan’s platforms raise money for the Australian Hearth Foundation.

“There was an interview portion, so I had to sit down with a panel of judges, and they asked me some pretty full-on questions,” Sheridan said.

“They asked me, ‘What would I do with the title?’, ‘If I had dinner with any three people, who would they be?’ It makes you open up with them about who you are.”

Around seven months ago, Sheridan’s son, Presley, was admitted into the ICU for a respiratory illness for 10 days. Not long afterwards, they found that he had an abnormally shaped heart and coagulation of the aorta. On February 9, Presley underwent heart surgery and is now doing well.

In November 2023, Alaska started fundraising for the Heart Foundation, and has so far raised more than $700.

To get to where they are now, Alaska and Sheridan have competed in Australia’s Regency Pageantry in Sydney, where they took the crowns for Junior Miss and Miss Curve.

“It is really exciting. Alaska and I went in with no expectations of coming home with a crown,” Sheridan said.

“We were just there to push those personal boundaries and boost our confidence. Especially for Alaska, as she suffers from anxiety and when she is on stage, she is an entirely different child.”

Sheridan and Alaska are heading to Orlando in July to compete for the grand titles.

For now, the duo are trying to raise community support for the fundraiser and get them to Orlando to raise the Heart Foundation platform higher.

“We will be trying to get some sponsorships with businesses, go to Bunnings barbecue or some raffles, raise some more money for the Heart Foundation, get out in the community, and help the community where we can,” Sheridan said.

“We are hoping to get some local businesses on-board that might be able to help us get over there and show what Moe, Gippsland has to offer.”

The world stage of Orlando awaits, and with it, even tougher competition.

“We will travel across with Team Australia, which consists of quite a few other women. There’s Junior Teen, Petite, Mini, Junior Miss (which is Alaska), Curve (which is me), Classic, Mrs, Ms, and Miss,” Sheridan said.

Within the sisterhood of pageantry, Sheridan said she is grateful for the pageant community and that it has helped her open up.

“I had Presley recently, and I have struggled with body image issues,” she said.

“A lot of the time, it’s perceived as these beautiful, thin girls on stage. I went on to push the boundaries, push my personal goals, and try to open myself up to that. I walked away with Curve Australia, which was really exciting. So, I guess for me, it’s just trying to empower myself and others who may not see themselves as they should. That we are all beautiful.”

For more information on the Regency International Pageant, go to regencyinternationalpageant.com

To support Alaska and Sheridan, go to Alaska’s Facebook page, Alaska Larkman – Junior Miss Australia Regency.