The end of summer is in sight and so is the unofficial end of swimsuit season. For one last hurrah, the residents at Bradley Creek Health Center decided to strut their stuff in a friendly swimsuit competition.
The residents even got to design their own swimwear … on cardboard cutouts. Bradley Creek activities director Meredith Mercer said she got the idea as she was scrolling through Facebook.
“I scroll through those [posts] and get ideas from other people just trying to find new things,” explained Mercer. “I went ahead and drew out a few examples of the bikinis just so they already had a rough draft. Some of them are artistic — they would just paint them. I let them take control and told them [to use] whatever colors they wanted.”
There was no shortage of unique swimsuit designs, from the classic yellow polka dot bikini to an East Carolina University-colored Speedo from the only male contestant. Once all 12 contestants lined up, the winners were chosen based on the volume of the audience’s reaction.
The decision turned out to be a tough one, made more difficult by the disproportionate gender representation, Mercer said.
“Obviously, it was funny and then we went through it one more time just because the judges couldn’t make a decision,” said Mercer. “Then they came to the decision and I announced it, and then the top three winners got prizes. We had a little arguing because [the judges] were like, ‘Did he just win [a place] because he’s the only guy?’ So it’s kind of funny here.”
After all the planning and organizing, Mercer was thrilled to see her residents express themselves on the runway in front of more than 20 in the audience, including family and staff. Next time, maybe they’ll remember to invite the Sports Illustrated photographers.
“All the different poses they would do, it was just funny how they got into it,” said Mercer. “They didn’t just stand up and stand there. They were really getting into it. One resident started dancing, and one girl went out in the middle so she could really show it all. Honestly, just [telling] them to be themselves made it fun.”
