Tamara Statman Visits Section 36!

Section 36 has another visitor! Tamara Statman is an

Photo by Elijah Bia

advocate for skin cancer prevention, a talented softball player, and the current Miss Tucson Del Sol. I was so excited she was willing to visit with us to discuss those topics, and a few more!

So, let's see what happens when Tamara Statman visits Section 36!

How did you celebrate winning the Miss Tucson Del Sol crown?

I celebrated how you should celebrate all wins, pizza with my family and friends afterwards. I was extremely grateful for all the support from my friends in family because competing was definitely out of my element.

What has surprised you about your time as Miss Tucson Del Sol?

I have been most surprised about how welcoming the whole Miss America community is. I thought it was going to be fairly superficial based of stereotypes, but the girls are really genuine and amazing women. Another thing that has surprised me is how the community really wants to be able to use the Miss America Organization to their advantage which has been amazing to see. 

Why did you decide to compete for the Miss Tucson Del Sol crown?

Competing in a competition like this has been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. When I was in middle school, I received an ad in the mail for a pageant with a little ribbon in it and I tried to beg my mom to let me compete. Needless to say, I was busy with softball and my mom did not let me compete. After I finished playing college ball, I wanted to participate in things that I was not able to do when I was in college. After seeing the different scholarship competition systems in Tucson, I decided to select the Miss America Organization to compete for the title of Miss Tucson Del Sol. I was extremely grateful that I selected this system because of the people that I have met and the skills I have been able to grow.  

How did you select your social impact initiative, “Skin Cancer Prevention: Educate, Facilitate, and Legislate”?

As a kid, I was a frequent flyer at the dermatologist's office. My dad has had various skin cancer surgeries, and he wanted to make sure that my sister and I would always get checked. Especially since I had light eyes, coloring, and hair. When I was in high school, I had an atypical mole removed through a Moh's Surgery. From there, I became a skin cancer prevention advocate with developing a program called T's K's for Skin Cancer in conjunction with the Arizona Skin Cancer Foundation. Individuals would be able to pledge money per strikeout I got pitching or just straight donate to AZSCF. All in all, I did help raise awareness of skin cancer during that time.

With continuing to live my life through college with the non stop application of sunscreen for practice and game-days, along with the wearing of long-sleeves, the choice to make skin cancer my initiative was a no brainer. 

As a talented dancer, what do you enjoy most about performing on stage?

So, actually, performing at Miss Tucson was the first time I have ever danced on stage alone. While I do dance improv west coast swing (the modern version of 50's swing that is danced in a linear slot and to modern music, you should Google it) competitively, typically that is done with anywhere from 10-30 couples on the floor. There has been a few opportunities to do a spotlight dance with a partner, but other than that I am dancing with others on the floor. 

I loved being able to showcase a dance, vernacular jazz, that is not often seen today. My dance is comprised of various 20's and 30's Charleston moves. While it may seem like a novelty, it is something that people certainly do still dance and I was excited to bring it to life. I cannot wait to do it on stage at state. 

If you could be a Disney character for a week, who would you choose? Why? 

I would definitely pick Mulan. She is one of the most B.A. characters of the Disney brand. Mulan is able to make the tough decisions and does not always take the easy way out. I would love to be able to learn and grow with that mindset. There is also nothing better than having Mushu as a companion. 

You were a four-year letter winner for the University of Arizona softball team. What do you remember most from that experience

Playing PAC-12 softball will certainly be one of the most challenging experiences of my life. There are a few moments. 1: Getting the game winning hit in extra innings AT Tennessee to move on to Super Regionals. It was great to upset a regional host. 2: Winning the PAC-12 season championships on UCLA's field in 2017. 3: Going to the World Series my senior year. It was a wild experience because we had plane issues on the way there and on the way back with birds flying into the engines before we were set to leave twice.

There are a lot of favorite moments, but those are the ones that are the least complicated to explain in a short period of time. 

You were also a member of the Israeli National softball team. How did that opportunity play out?

Playing for the Israeli National Softball Team is a very humbling experience. I went and made Aliyah to Israel and stayed and trained there with my teammates. We got to stay on a Kibbutz that had a field which was convenient. We never knew what was happening until five minutes before, but it was apart of the Israeli charm. It was crazy to see the quality of fields and just how lucky we are in the United States with the facilities that we have. 

After training in Israel, we traveled to the Czech Republic. The whole thing was just funny because of how wrong things went. Our 3 hour drive from the airport to Ostrava turned into 8 hours because we hit morning and afternoon traffic. The town of Ostrava was very cute and I loved the culture of the city. We wound up shocking a lot of people and got 9th place out of 23 teams. In years prior, Israel was second to last, so that was fantastic. Unfortunately, we did not place high enough in pool play to be able to compete for a spot for the European/Africa Olympic qualifier. 

It was a great experience. They play the national anthem before every game and there is just so much more pride than playing college softball. It's hard to describe, but there just is. 

Oh and by the way, we also had security guards with our delegation. They were funny.

Is there a feature or activity at an Arizona Diamondbacks game that you’d especially like to experience?

So, while I'm not a Boston fan, I grew up in the nose bleeds of Qualcomm Stadium and Petco park as a child for Padres games. I have been around a few stadiums over the years due to travel for softball from there to Petco park, Wrigley Field, Guaranteed Rate Field, to T-Mobile Park. However, at Chase Field, I would love to be able to experience the pool out in right centerfield with a Churro Dog as a snack. So if you know anyone has the hookup, ask them to help a girl out. 

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So if anyone ever has an extra pool ticket, you'll let me know?

As usual, I want to thank Tamara for visiting with us, and for sending along the wonderful pictures.

As Tamara continues her time as Miss Tucson Del Sol, I encourage you to check out her official Instagram Page. It’s a great way to make sure you don’t miss out on anything she’ll have going on. You should also frequent her personal Instagram and website. They both have lots of great information and ways you can keep track of her.

I also want to wish her the best of luck whenever she competes for the Miss Arizona title. It would be wonderful to have the first Section 36 visitor wear that crown!

Thanks again Tamara, and good luck!