Bikini Contests

Bikini Contests Aren't Just for the Beach

When you think about bikini contests, as one is sometimes prone to, you probably imagine sun, surf, and hundreds of college students gathered on a beach in Fort Lauderdale, or Daytona during Spring Break. Impossibly beautiful young women are strutting, and posing for the judges, often composed of the crowd itself, trying to garner the most attention to win the competition.

If this is your idea of the typical bikini contest, you're not alone in your thinking, but beaches aren't the only venue for bikini contests. People living in land locked areas can be awfully resourceful when it comes to wanting to see some bikini clad beauties.

The Local Watering Hole

Yes, bikini contests and their close counterparts, wet T-shirt contests, are a staple at many pubs around the world. The contests are usually quite jovial. The bar gets a boost in business for the night, and the local ladies gain a little notoriety.

Malls

If you offer a bikini contest, they will come- and probably shop while they're there. Just prior to swimsuit season, many retail shops will get together and put on bikini contests in order to spark swimwear sales in the coming months. Sometimes these affairs are more fashion show than contest, but the key elements are there; beauties and bathing suits. What more do you really need?

Online Swimsuit Contests

The virtual bikini contest is alive and well, thank you. Bikini clad lovelies are encouraged by various websites to send in their most appealing photos, and the best are selected and posted. Then visitors to the site are able to cast a vote for their favorites. Traffic and sales rise on the website, the lucky winner receives some sort of prize from the sponsors, and a good time is had by all.

There are dozens of these contests going on at any time, including ones sponsored by:

• Micro Kitten Brazilian Bikinis
• Wicked Weasel Bikinis
• Hooter's Bikini Contest
• Absolute-Bikini.com
• Miss Dangerous Curves

Major League Bikini Contests

Some bikini contests are major events, drawing the same type of sponsorship and notoriety as the Miss America, or Miss USA pageants. A win or high placement at one of these contests can jump start a modeling career, a designer line, and more. Perks for contestants include goody bags filled with gifts from sponsors, and winners often receive cash prizes and trips as well.

• Ms. Bikini World is one of the major swimsuit events. Held in Turkey in 2005, it's no surprise that winner was Miss Brazil, Cristiane Biazioli. Brazil has long be at the forefront of bikini fashions, and home to some of the most sought after designers. The 2006 contest will take place on November 11, in Taipei, Taiwan.
• Miss Bikini Universe 2006 was held at the Sheraton Convention Center in Miami, Florida, and featured beautiful swimsuit models from all over the international scene. While winner Katie Uter won some fabulous prizes, even the runners up benefited from the national exposure. First runner up, Jennifer Lee Nicole's swimwear line is about to be featured in Sports Illustrated. Not too shabby.

Summing It Up

Shakespeare once said, " A rose is a rose, is a rose...", and the same philosophy can be applied to any bikini contest. The venues may change, the prizes and attention garnered may vary, but in the end, it's still about the appreciation of a fine female form in a wondrous bikini, and we hope it never changes.