By Mark Wineka
mark.wineka@salisburypost.com

KANNAPOLIS — In preparing for the Miss World competition, Elizabeth Safrit has been following a strict physical regimen, a nutritional diet and keeping abreast of current events across the world.

Her parents also have been feeding her a long list of about 300 personal-type questions — the kind of things she might be asked during interviews that will be part of the busy month in London leading up to the Dec. 14 pageant.

Safrit, 22, is learning a lot about herself in the process.

“It’s forcing me to dive deep … it’s really cool, though,” she said Friday.

Safrit , crowned Miss United States July 6 in Washington, D.C., will leave Wednesday for London, where she will be among 128 women competing for the Miss World crown.  The departure date came in a hurry.

“I thought I had so long, and in the blink of an eye, it’s just around the corner,” Safrit said.

The weeks leading up to the actual pageant, to air in the States live at 9 a.m. Dec. 14 on the E! Network, will be filled with important preliminary round events, all which carry points. Safrit could find herself being judged in a sports component, modeling, evening gown, designer dress, beachwear, her multi-media  service project connected with Save the Children and her talent, which will be en pointe ballet.

So far, about 30 people have reserved seats in the U.S. section to root for Safrit Dec. 14.

A few things you should know:  Safrit is 5-7 with blue eyes. She’s a 2010 graduate of A.L. Brown High School in Kannapolis and graduated in May from the University of South Carolina with a degree in political science. Her parents are Wally and Lynne Scott Safrit. Wally is attorney for the city of Kannapolis; Lynne, president of the N.C. Research Campus.

Safrit first competed in a pageant in 2011, when she won a Miss Rowan County crown. She was then 2012 Miss Archdale/Trinity, 2013 Miss Kannapolis USA and 2014 Miss Charlotte USA, before switching to the Miss United States program and taking the North Carolina and national crowns.

Elizabeth Safrit’s wardrobe for Miss World is being furnished by Mac Duggal of Chicago, including her gowns. designer dress and 30 pieces of day-to-day wear.

“He is, in my opinion, the most international designer of all the pageant designers in America,” Safrit said.

Safrit’s platform in winning the Miss North Carolina United States and Miss United States crowns focused on voter registration through “Rock the Vote.” She has been continuing those efforts when possible, but in the months since winning the Miss United States crown she has become heavily involved in Save the Children and its Journey of Hope program.

She has been visiting children in hospitals who were there because of traumatic experiences. She also has worked with underprivileged children in literacy, nutrition and after-school programs. Her Miss United States obligations also have sent her  to events in places such as Miami, Las Vegas, Atlanta and New York, where she attended Fashion Week.

When Safrit has been home, the days are dedicated to preparation. She has early-morning sessions in the gym, followed by choreography classes. She goes through fittings for her wardrobe and practices walking with each piece. Yoga comes later, along with reading about current events in the United States and the world at large, making sure she’s abreast of situations and knows her position on many of the issues.

Safrit is following a nutritional program laid out by Isagenix, a national sponsor for her. She drinks a protein shake in the mornings, relies on certain snacks over the course of the day and eats a lot of lean protein and salads. Safrit said she is at competition weight, and one thing she respects about the Miss World program is that it’s not about dieting and being skinny.

All the contestants will be facing a fitness or sports component which could include  things such as a 100-yard dash, swimming, sit-ups, push-ups and races. Contestants don’t know exactly what they’ll be asked to do. Safrit said she took a couple of swimming lessons. “I’m not a great swimmer in the first place, but I did try to improve,” she said.

This will be Safrit’s third trip to London, which would become her home base for a year if she won the Miss World title. Interestingly, her boyfriend is a professional golfer from England whom she met during a collegiate tournament at the Irish Creek club in Kannapolis. If she won the title, she could find herself living and working out of London while he competed in golf in the United States.

Safrit laughs a bit, realizing she could be leaving Wednesday with upwards of 10 pieces of luggage.

“We haven’t finished packing yet, and I believe it’s around eight right now,” she said.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263, or mark.wineka@salisburypost.com.