“There is no better opportunity for Croatians to socialise on such a large scale !”

By: Ema MATULIC

On Thursday, the 5th of October, I boarded a flight at Adelaide Airport with my Miss Croatia Adelaide Amateurs buddy, Melisa Mehicic, and various other friends and players from our Adelaide Croatia first team squad, bound for Sydney and the 32nd annual Australian Croatian Soccer Tournament.

To say that I can't wait is a MAJOR understatement!!!!!!

The flight was an exciting one, filled with anticipation as to how the soccer tournament, the Miss Croatia pageant and the entire weekend, as a whole, would unfold.        

I touched down in Sydney following a short delay (yep, we flew Jetstar, of course!), but nevertheless felt excited to finally meet the other girls and the lovely organiser of Saturday night's Miss Croatia pageant, Rosie Stilin.

Our accommodation for the weekend, the centrally located Star City Hotel, was the initial meeting place for all the girls. After a quick meeting, it was time to get ready for our first meal together as Miss Croatia entrants for 2006.

That evening, we were taken to the 'Italian Village Restaurant' at the beautiful Rocks and were stunned by Sydney Harbour's awesome beauty. The breathtaking views and great meals became many a conversation starter around the table!

This evening's 'get-together' essentially allowed all the girls to get to know each other, each other's communities and also gave the visiting girls a chance to witness Sydney's charm by night.

The following morning, we were woken up bright and early at a crazy 6:30am, to begin the day. After a very early breakfast, we headed out to Sydney United's home ground at King Tomislav, Edensor Park. Each girl wore her 'Miss' sash and was involved in the opening ceremony of the 32nd National Croatian Soccer Tournament.

The day was exciting, to say the least, as it was our first opportunity to meet and greet members from the various Croatian communities from right around Australia.

In the afternoon, a group of Miss Croatias headed out to the harbour with Rosie and Di (another helper) like true tourists, ready to discover this unfamiliar city.

We caught the ferry to Circular Quay and then transferred ferries to head out to Manly. On this trip - with clear skies above - we managed to see, up close, some of Sydney's famous sites such as the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. Once in Manly, we enjoyed a bite to eat and had some time to relax prior to getting ready for the disco.

The Friday night disco at the King Tomislav club was a brilliant night and a highlight of the trip. It was great to have a dance, catch up with friends from our home towns and sing along to 'Prva Liga' in the packed out 'Bunker' club at King Tom.

The night was a blast and even though the wait for a taxi to get home was exhausting, it was well worth it!

The morning of the gala was left free for the girls to prepare for the evening ahead, in whichever manner they preferred. Most of us prepared our speeches, hair, make-up and trying to master walking in brand new high heels. Although the day seemed frantic for everyone involved, by our departure time, all the girls looked absolutely stunning.

Once we arrived at the NSW State Sports Centre in Homebush and saw just how much of a large scale event this was going to be, the nerves began to quickly set in. I became extremely nervous, but nevertheless, tried my hardest to stay calm by speaking to the other girls and in true Croatian style, having a bite to eat!

Waiting for the judges to call me up on stage for my interview was somewhat scary, but luckily I was second to be called upon, so the ensuing 'agony' was quickly over. The judges included Harry Stilin, president of the Savez (Australian Croatian Soccer Association) and Sydney United; Michael Furjanic from Tasmania (the Savez's honorary life member) and Andrea Sestan (the owner of the Hrvatska Knjiga shop in Sydney).

During the casual meetings with the judges, we were asked various questions about each of our communities, our interests, personal achievements and goals. Each girl was then required to introduce herself on stage and answer two questions. And, may I say, every girl managed to do it extremely well.

 Them suddenly, THAT time of the night was now upon us - with the first announcements to be made....!

The winner of the Miss Croatia Australia - Miss Personality was awarded to Nevenka Ilicic, from North Geelong Warriors, a deserving winner as she presented herself not only beautifully, but intelligently as well.

The runner-up for Miss Croatia Australia 2006 was then read out, with local beauty, Bianka Vucetic from HNK West Sydney taking out second place.

With so many beautiful girls left in the competition, I was momentarily in shock, when my name was announced as the winner. At that stage, I did not totally comprehend that they had just read out my name. It was a very bizarre moment and feeling!

In saying this, it was an honour to receive the title from Miss Croatia Australia 2005, Nikolina Marcinko. I only hope that I can be as good an ambassador for Croatian Australians as what Nikolina has been.

Sunday's grand final was my first chance to meet and greet the wider community as Miss Croatia Australia 2006. It was a fantastic day and it was one which only further demonstrated, to me, how caring and close our widespread community really is.

Many people stopped to congratulate me and in many other ways proved that Croatians have a very caring nature, something experienced not only by me, but by all the other Miss Croatia entrants and place-getters as well.

After the game, we enjoyed an evening at King Tom, where many people stayed to finish up the weekend by drinking, dancing, singing and most importantly socialising for the last time.... until next year!

Overall, the weekend was wonderful for more then just one reason. It was particularly great because there is no better opportunity throughout the year for all Croatians living in Australia to socialise on such a large scale.

All the Miss Croatia girls, at this year's pageant, formed not only great new friendships with one another but with their extended friends from various cities as well.

Finally, I feel that all the Miss Croatia entrants should be congratulated on the way in which they presented themselves as young Croatians.

 I am extremely honoured to have been chosen as Miss Croatia Australia 2006 and can't wait to continue to help the Croatian community in Adelaide and more so, around Australia.

Hopefully, future Miss Croatia contestants can learn from the girls this year and follow in their footsteps to be good ambassadors for their community and the national community as a whole.

See you all in Perth.....!