Life’s a pageant

Jon Gower

It’s a long way from Burry Port in Carmarthenshire to the Caribbean, where the finals of the International Teen Universe pageant competition were recently held.

Enfys Chapman, 14 years of age, has just returned from the top event in the Dominican Republic where she was representing Great Britain against more than 30 different countries.

Currently holding the title of Pre-Teen Universe Great Britain, Enfys is no stranger to the pageant scene as she won the title of Little Miss Teen Great Britain in 2022.

The pupil at Burry Port’s Ysgol Glan y Mor explained to Jon Gower how she first got involved in the colourful world of pageants.

My mum saw an advertisement and applied for me when I was 12. She thought it would be good for my confidence and improving my self-esteem. I never thought in my wildest imagination that I would go on and win my very first pageant when I competed in Blackpool that year. I honestly haven’t looked back since!

Could you tell me about your history in pageants since then?

Like I said, at 12 I competed in the Miss Teen Great Britain pageant system in the ‘Little Miss Teen Great Britain’ division. I competed against girls across GB both on stage and in an interview and went on to win the title.

I am relatively new to the industry and just less than 2 years later I was lucky enough to be crowned ‘Pre-Teen Universe Great Britain’ in October 2024. Unlike Miss Teen GB, Teen Universe is an international pageant system (the biggest in the world for teens) so being crowned Pre-Teen Universe Great Britain meant that I would go on to represent GB on the international stage for the very first time.  

It’s not just about appearance…?

No, it’s so much more. I work hard to raise money for charity, making appearances in my community, volunteering, helping others, developing my interview skills, learning how to walk and stage presence etc. 

It’s allowed you to travel a great deal, most recently to the Dominican Republic…

I have just come back from the Dominican Republic after competing internationally against girls from across the world from countries such as Canada, Philippines, South Africa, Nicaragua, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay, Gibraltar etc. Most of the girls spoke Spanish so communication was difficult, but my Spanish skills have definitely improved as a result. I made such lovely friends, some of whom I will go and visit in the future if I can.  

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You wore an extraordinary costume which doesn’t look as if you can fit it in a suitcase. Could you share the inspiration for that and how it was made?

One of the rounds was ‘national costume’ so I decided to design my own idea to portray a Celtic warrior queen with a dragon to add in a bit of my Welsh heritage. The costume was made by a lady called Krisina from Lichfield who is known for her costume design.

She used the image I sent her and came up with a design concept which was better than I could have imagined. The dragon itself was very big and the wings even moved so it was quite delicate. We had to somehow pack it into a suitcase on its own to transport it across the other side of the world. Good job we paid for extra luggage as we had to take so many dresses.

Were you always confident on stage?

I have had some previous experience of being on stage when I was part of the SA15 stage school performing shows when I was younger, but competing in pageants is very different. Being on stage does make me slightly anxious but it’s my happy place and I absolutely love it. Believe it or not, I suffer from severe anxiety and panic attacks are quite common for me but when I am on stage and competing in pageants this is not a problem, I manage to overcome these issues in pageant land.

How has competing in pageants changed you?

There was a time when I was younger when I lacked self-confidence and had low self-esteem, my anxiety was overwhelming me and wouldn’t want to leave the house, but pageantry has helped me to grow as a person and made me more confident. It has allowed me to meet like-minded girls across the UK and now the world.

Do all the competitors get on?

Yes, the vast majority of the girls I meet are friendly and kind. The pageant community is all about girls empowering each other and celebrating one another’s success. Even when we lose a pageant, we are always happy for the girl who won as each and every one on the stage deserves the crown and works hard for it.

What are your ambitions next?

Well, I have my title until October and when I hand over I will most probably compete in another pageant as I would very much like to go internationally again, but maybe in America next time. I am studying for my GCSEs at the moment so school is important too. I would love to continue with my modelling and really enjoy being on television so who knows what may be next for me. My social media following has grown with over 380,000 views on my account over the last 30 days! In fact, I came home with the Pre-Teen Universe Social Media Award whilst out in the Dominican Republic.

Pageants aren’t that well known in Wales but I gather they’re huge elsewhere…

Yes in some of the countries across the world they are huge and some of the girls I competed against had their own teams behind them with thousands of followers. There are now quite a few girls in Wales who have taken up pageantry and there is a nice community of girls and women supporting each other. I am thankful for the people who supported me during my international journey and hope maybe I will inspire others to compete in the future.