Waikato beauty to represent NZ
A young beauty from Morrinsville will represent New Zealand on the world stage after being crowned Miss International New Zealand.
Lydia Smit, 24, took out the national competition, Miss New Zealand 2022, in late February and is set to take it one step further as she prepares to represent her country in the 60th Miss International pageant.
‘‘It looks like we’re going to Panama in late November,’’ Smit told Stuff.
Smit takes over the position of Sydney Faye Batters, who was crowned Miss New Zealand in 2020. As the Miss International pageant was postponed until 2021 and later cancelled amid Covid19, the Miss International Beauty Pageant will now be held later this year.
The international three-week competition will include between 70 and 80 counties and it will be full-on, Smit said.
‘‘But it’s one of those things you look forward to for a really long time.’’
Smit said pageants sometimes come with a stigma, but it’s ‘‘absolutely not what they think it is.’’ ‘‘I’ve made friends for life, the travel is fantastic, but mainly it was a way to improve as a person.
‘‘You do all sorts of stuff with charity, major events, it’s another job really and it takes a lot of time.’’
Smit has been supporting the Brave Charitable Trust – a charity of New Zealand that works to raise awareness about sexual violence affecting young people – and the Mental Health Foundation.
‘‘Mental health has been a huge part of my life with friends and family and the foundation has always had a special place in my life.’’
Smit graduated with an honours degree in management, specialising in international management at the University of Waikato. She works for Mevo – a car share company – in Hamilton.
The New Zealand-based pageant, which normally runs for four to five months, ran for a week at the end of February.