Once upon a decade or two ago, the Miss SA organisers of the day would publish the names of all the regional semi-finalists in regional newspapers for all to see. The report was usually accompanied by a group photograph of the 15 or so semi-finalists (there were usually 75 semi-finalists).
Then in 1994, Doreen Morris implemented the regional finalist system, and the selection of a provincial winner would be held in a major shopping centre in each of the 9 provinces. Once again, the process appeared transparent and the selection was witnessed by a crowd of interested parties and members of the public.
Since 2000, the Miss SA selection process has became a cloak-and-dagger affair, and to be perfectly honest, it is easier so smuggle nuclear secrets out of Russia than it is to obtain a reliable list of semi-finalists. Pageant fans and enthusiasts have had to resort to all sorts of devious tactics to lay a hand on the official list of semi-finalists.
It's just become a silly game. I, for one, have become tired of having to rely on a " a source" or "someone in the know" or "a friend in the industry" or "Sophie, the tea lady at Sun International" or "Jemimah, the cleaning lady at Cap Events". Why don't they just pop the names on the Miss SA website and get it over and done with?
In any event. On with the "big reveal".
Semi-finalist #23 is Tamsin Groom. That's right, it's Tamsin, not Tasmin as has been reported online. Tamsin hails from KwaZulu-Natal and is currently a law student at Stellenbosch University. She did her first professional "shoot" shortly before entering the pageant. A google search for Tamsin Groom will result in references to Dr Tamsin Groom, Consultant in Sexual and Reproductive Health from Scotland.
Semi-finalist # 24 is supposedly one Sarah-Jane Smith. Whilst the surname of the semi-finalist is indicated as Smith on the e-mail that was sent to successful entrants, her first name, statistics and occupation remain a mystery.
Whilst there are only 24 addressees on the aforementioned mail, there now appears to be an additional 6 semi-finalists that are not mentioned in the mail. How or why they were suddenly included in the semi-finals remains a mystery (the pageant should be renamed Miss Secret Service SA). A google search for these 6 additional semi-finalists gives one questionable search results, but here goes.
Carol Makhathini is a model and Sharks cheerleader from Durban. She was a runner-up in the Miss Cafe Vacca Matta 2008 pageant and is 1,70m tall.
The next semi-finalist is supposedly Nolwandle Sikhakhane. She could be Nolwande Sikhakhane (Miss Soweto 2007) or Lwandle Sikhakhane (Miss Earth SA 2009 finalist). Perhaps they are one and the same.
Next up is Mahlatse Mkhawana. She was one of my personal favourites and then a runner-up in Miss Earth SA 2009.
Another possible semi-finalist is Refiloe Motsei. The name Mpho Motsei has been bandied about, but I can't find anyone by that name online, and this is the closest I could get. Her photograph has also incorrectly been identified online as that of Lerato Mokoena.The final two additional semi-finalists are supposedly Nataschia Beukman and Babalwa Retyana. The only references to Nataschia are a FaceBook account and some or other school camp in Limpopo, and the closest I got to Babalwa Retyana is Babalwa Ratyana, a finalist in Miss Port Elizabeth 2008.
Hell's bells! I think SA pageant enthusiasts should ditch the pageant world and sign up for the CIA or MI5. Methinks all the "spy" crap would be a walk in the park compared to eliciting information about the Miss SA pageant.