SKC bball player wins title

PABLO — Tiffany Sinclair holds many titles: student at the Salish Kootenai College, member of the SKC women’s basketball team and she  recently added another title: Miss Indian Rodeo 2009.

It is her first national title.

During the weekend of Nov. 14, Sinclair, from the Blackfoot Reservation, traveled to Las Vegas to participate in the pageant.

“It was really stressful,” she said. “But a lot of fun.”

Sinclair prepared for the pageant on her own and with her team. At a team dinner, she recited her speech for feedback.

“They were a lot of help,” she said. “It turned out great.”

During the pageant, she performed her two minute speech explaining why she wanted the title with minimal nerves. She wanted the title because it is important for her to be a role model.

“I think everybody gets nervous,” she said. “But nobody knows my speech, so they don’t know if I mess up.”

Three judges scored the participants in many other areas, including modeling a traditional dress and personal interviews with the contestants.

Sinclair also completed a 30-question test and answered questions about her culture, world events and rodeo.

Another aspect was horsemanship. This included riding a set pattern and performing different tasks and answering questions related to horsemanship.

Sinclair said this was the easiest part for her.

”I’ve done this all my life,” she said. “I’ve grown up around horses.”

The pageant also had silent judges that were people who watched how the contestants interacted with other contestants and people.

“You never knew who was watching you,” Sinclair said.

Each participant submitted an essay and a two to four page scrapbook about her personality. Sinclair won awards for the best essay and best scrapbook.

The most stressful part for Sinclair was making sure everything went as planned.

“I stressed on the little things,” she said. “I really enjoyed it though.”

The preparation paid off when she was awarded the crown. Ever since she was 12, Sinclair had this title on her to-do list. She was the 2007 Miss Big Sky pro-rodeo princess.

“That was one step towards where I wanted to go,” she said. “I knew I had a lot of support.”

Now that she is queen, her duties include attending events and traveling to the different rodeo circuits. She will talk with youth about the importance of education and staying away from drugs and alcohol.

“Basically, I’m the spokesperson,” she said.

Sinclair knows that her life is going at full-speed.

“It was, and is, a lot on my plate,” she said. “I know I can handle it.”

Balancing her duties and the basketball team will be tough and basketball will get pushed to the side and said head coach Juan Perez was sympathetic.

“He was really understanding,” she said. “I’m busy. Real busy.”

To know that the team acknowledges her crazy schedule is something Sinclair appreciates.

“Some times I feel bad for not being there for my team,” she said. “Knowing I have their support, it’s one less thing to stress about.”