Flushing out the royal court

Jackson Bell

What started out as a pool of 1,000 girls has been whittled down to

34 hopefuls vying for one of the coveted seven spots on the 2005

Tournament of Roses Royal Court.

The finalists were announced Thursday at Tournament House, the

headquarters of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Assn. Those selected

for the court will be announced Monday.

The finalists include Heidi Hansen, Sara Heller, Meghan McGlashan,

Ashley Moreno, Kara Murphy and Melissa Richmond from La Canada High

School; Lara Pia Arrobio, Catherine De La Paz, Constance Peterson,

Megan Sheehan, Catherine Tran and Carrie Van Nest of Flintridge

Sacred Heart Academy; and Kaitlin Richardson and Allison Pedro of

Flintridge Preparatory School.

Kara Murphy, 17, decided to try out for the court because it is

considered the thing to do for most girls attending La Canada High.

But as she passed rigorous hurdles to become one of the finalists,

getting on the royal court increases in importance.

Kara is excited by the notion that she has a 20% shot at

eventually being able to make a scrapbook capturing her royal court

experiences, such as riding in the Goodyear blimp during the Rose

Parade and going to Disneyland as royalty.

“It’ll be two exciting months jammed packed with so many

memories,” she said.

The finalists endured four rounds of cuts in about three weeks. A

panel of judges from the Queen and Court Committee asked them various

questions to ascertain who is a best fit for the Royal Court.

For Heidi Hansen, the glory of winning is just one of the payoffs

for trying out.

“With every interview, I gain more confidence and become more

comfortable with myself when speaking with people,” said Heidi, 17.

Catherine De La Paz agreed.

“But it’s also been so exciting getting to know the different

types of girls around the area,” said Catherine, also 17. “This is

definitely a once- in-a-lifetime opportunity.”