This weekend, teen Gabriela Cubela earned the right to represent Manitoba at the Miss Teen Canada World competition later this summer.

Cubela was a contestant in the Miss Teen Canada World’s Manitoba qualification competition.

 "It was a fantastic experience," the 16-year-old Garden City resident said.

The two-day event, held at the Fairmont Hotel, determined who the provincial representatives will be at the national finals this July in Toronto. Approximately 50 Canadian teenagers will compete for the title of Miss Teen Canada-World.

Cubela was judged, along with other Manitoba qualifiers on evening gown, behavior, speaking, overall impression as well as congeniality.

When her mother Ana approached her with the idea of competing in the pageant, Cubela thought it would be a great way to help educate people on the pratfalls of bullying with a strong anti-bullying message.

"I was bullied as a child and it hurt. I’d like to share stories about how kids can overcome it. I’m looking to make a change."

She is already well on her way to doing exactly that. Cubela volunteers with both the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Manitoba and at Folklorama as Croatian dancer.

Cubela has plenty of motivation. When she was 10 her father, Mirco, suffered a massive heart attack.

The incident forever changed the younger Cubela, her mother said.

"He was given another chance at life and she has since inspired family to volunteer for Heart and Stroke," she said

Cubela said she had butterflies leading up to the two-day Manitoba competition, held April 28 and 29.

"I was both excited and nervous," she said.

Cubela’s mother said it’s experiences like the recent competition here in Winnipeg which help build character.

"This pageant is one of those things we never would have thought of, but it just fell on our lap," she said, noting she found a link about the pageant while surfing the Internet.  

Ana said the fact the pageant promoted building character was a key factor in prompting her to present the idea to her daughter.

"That is what really attracted us...that the pageant is focused on what is on the inside of the girls and that their ideas can make a difference," Ana said.

Girls ages between the ages of 13 and 19 from across Canada will be competing for the Miss Teen Canada World title and one of the largest prize packages to be awarded in a Canadian teen pageant. More than $25,000 in cash, prizes, and scholarships will be handed out to teens.

Ana said 2013 might see at least one more competitor vying to represent Manitoba in Toronto.

"Pageant officials said they were interested in my younger daughter Martina for next year," she said.

For more information, visit www.missteencanadaworld.com

Facebook.com/TheTimesWPG
Twitter: @TimesWPG

rob.brown@canstarnews.com