Former Festival Queen hopeful welcomes increased age limit
Published:Tuesday | January 7, 2025 | 12:20 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Former Miss Westmoreland Festival Queen first runner-up Ann Marie Patrick is celebrating the new age limit for the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen competition.
After being herself unable to re-enter the contest in 2006 due to the rules at the time, she is welcoming the change that allows more women to participate.
Last week, Culture Minister Olivia Grange announced that updated rules now permit young women aged 18 to 30 to enter the competition, a lifting of the previous upper limit of 24.
“I am way beyond the age limit now, but back then, I wanted to wheel and come and again, but by that time, I would have passed that limit,” said Patrick, who, after placing second in 2000, wanted to make another attempt for the parish crown and eventually compete for the Miss Jamaica Festival Queen title in 2006.
“That was a huge blow to me at the time, and I think that overall, the competition may have sieved out persons who were poised to enter the competition at that point,” she told The Gleaner on Monday.
Patrick also shared that she was not the only one disappointed by the previous age limit, noting that several young women she had encouraged to enter the competition in subsequent years were similarly affected.
“Therefore, I see it as a tremendous step in the right direction to have the age limit expanded,” she said, noting that at 24, many young women are still finding their footing and may struggle to balance school life with the competition. She emphasised that young ladies at that age are often unsure of whether they can manage both simultaneously.
In making the announcement, Grange said the change would make the annual Jamaica Cultural Development Commission-organised pageant more inclusive.
“This is so great for the competition. Over the years, we have met many wonderful young ladies who would have been great for the competition, but when we approach them, we are told they are over the age limit. So this will help us capture these potential contestants and bring them into this strong sorority and sisterhood of Festival Queen contestants,” the minister said.
“The truth is a lot of potential contestants complete their tertiary education and other commitments after age 24, so this move can only yield the best results for the pageant,” she added, striking a similar chord with Patrick.
The reigning Miss Jamaica Festival Queen is Omolora Wilson from the parish of St Elizabeth, and over the life of the competition, many intelligent, culturally aware, and talented young women have gone on to represent themselves admirably.
The latest example of this is Aundrene Cameron, Miss Jamaica Festival Queen 2023, who was recently named the Jamaica Rhodes Scholar for 2026. She is set to pursue postgraduate studies in criminology at Oxford University in the United Kingdom.
Several other Miss Jamaica Festival Queens have gone on to higher heights as cultural ambassadors and nation builders in their respective career fields, including Dahlia Harris, Toni-Shae James-Freckleton, Tanesha McGhie, Marsha Barnett, Katrina Grant-D’Aguilar, Jacinth Hall-Tracey, Kemesha Kelly, Jennifer ‘Jenny Jenny’ Small, Krystal Tomlinson, Sashane McDonald, and Dainalyn Swaby.