Eight young women will be vying for the title of the Island's most talented teen this evening.

The competition is part of the Miss Teen Bermuda Islands Pageant 2008, the overall winner of which will fly to St. Kitts in December to take part in the Miss Digicel Haynes Smith Caribbean Talented Teen Pageant.

The participants for this year's competition are: Miss Sandys South, Sierra Reid; Miss Sandys North, Jasmine Caisey; Miss Southampton, Deneisha Hayward; Miss Warwick, Diamond-Lyn Hill; Miss Paget, Dalisa Johnston; Miss Pembroke is Sadre Steede; Miss Smiths is Miss Alyssa Rose; and Miss St. George's is Miss Astoria Smith.

Terry Smith, of Tee'L Productions, spoke to The Royal Gazette about what can be expected on Sunday's Red Carpet when Miss Teen Bermuda 2008 will be crowned.

Mr. Smith said the girls have been taking every available moment to improve themselves for the second round of events tonight at City Hall.

"It is a very focused group of eight girls," he said. "Among the eight, there is Sadre Steede who has come back for a second time from last year. When girls come back for the second time, their attention is much stronger and they are much more focused, so I think she will probably do very well. It is a very, very competitive group."

The girls represent not only several different parishes, they also hail from schools all over the Island. "We have schools represented by CedarBridge Academy, Berkeley Institute, Warwick Academy, and BHS," he said.

"So the calibre of girls is good and the mentality is definitely fixed upon doing well. I think that before we used to get a lot of contestants that were in it for the experience or in it for the fun, but I think these girls have come with the intention of hoping to win the title and hoping to represent Bermuda in St. Kitts."

To make the finale of the event more glamorous, Mr. Smith said: "This year we are introducing the Red Carpet.

"It will be from 6.30 to 7.30 p.m. and there will be a reception. All the significant males will get to walk the Red Carpet, they will escort the young lady and they also get to say why they escorted her."

Various titles are available to the contestants but Mr. Smith said one of the most coveted by the girls is Tyra Banks-inspired.

"The Miss Teen Super Model is definitely something that they look forward to, because as teenagers they definitely love fashion," he said. "They would love to get the title Miss Teen Super Model. With this they will get invites to all sorts of school and church fashion shows."

In tonight's talent competition, however, there can be more than one winner.

"The top three ladies of the talent competition will be given extra points to go towards Miss Teen Bermuda Islands," Mr. Smith said.

Miss Teen Bermuda Islands 2007 Alexa Lightbourne, who will relinquish her crown on Sunday, has produced a show with Miri Ben Ari which opens tomorrow night at City Hall. Mr. Smith praised her for her year with the title. "Of course she has done very well and has been a very good role model for her teenaged peers," he said. "We hope that the winner who is chosen will also be able to do that."

The competition, which is in its eighth year, is still going strong, but Mr. Smith has found that he still does not receive the kind of sponsorship that the pageant requires. "There is no financial support for the pageant, it is all financially supported by me," he said.

He added: "I just don't understand why no one has come on board. This is a clean function, which is about grooming young ladies. This year I will be sending the sponsorship requests out in November.

"It represents everyone, white, black, Portuguese, we have seen them all — it is a community event — and I wish we had more support. The Government supports once the national winner has been selected."

The teens also learn about etiquette, which he says is an eye-opener for many. "We encourage them to dress accordingly for their interviews, which they have on Friday, because they are applying for a job as Miss Teen Bermuda Islands," he said.

"It is very well rounded for the young ladies and more and more we are moving out of the stigma attached to beauty pageants.

"It is definitely about your talent and your inner strength. We have definitely passed the pretty face phase, although the girl is attractive."

l Tickets for the Talent & Supermodel portions of the competition are $35. For the finals they are $45, $55 and $75. All tickets can be purchased at Secrets, in the Washington Mall.