by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
Miss Connecticut officials have confirmed that this year’s contest will not happen.
But with the bad news, the two current titleholders received some good news.
The reigning Miss Connecticut Jillian Duffy and Miss Connecticut’s Outstanding Teen Lindiana Frangu, both of whom were slated to hand their crowns over to successors in August, will be able to continue to represent the state until the next contest is held.
In a statement on Sunday, the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Organization’s executive director Nakiya Troth confirmed that no new Miss Connecticut or Miss Connecticut’s Outstanding Teen will be crowned in 2020 due to concerns about the lingering effects of COVID-19.
The decision comes after last week’s announcement that Miss America also will not be held in 2020.
In her statement, Troth said, “The Miss America Organization has shared that this decision was made with everyone’s health and safety in mind given the current pandemic and related uncertainty. We are aligned with the organization and have made the difficult decision to postpone the Miss Connecticut competition until 2021.”
The last Miss America was held in December at Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun Arena.
With the postponement of Miss Connecticut, Troth said Burlinton’s Duffy, who competed at Miss America this past December, and Woodbury’s Frangu, who competed at Miss America’s Outstanding Teen last July, have agreed to stay on as titleholders for the next year until their successors are selected, said Troth.
This year’s Miss Connecticut competition had been pushed forward from its traditional dates at the end of June until Aug. 22-23 at a new venue, the Mohegan Sun Cabaret.
“We have not yet decided an exact date (for a rescheduled competition in 2021),” said Troth, “but we will share updates as we’re able to.”
In its statement last week about the cancellation of Miss America in 2020, MAO said it is working with the state qualifying organizations to amend rules and eligibility for the 2020 and 2021 competition years.