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STATE PAGEANT INFORMATION

AGE DIVISIONS _AWARDS CONTESTS EXPENSES ___FAQS
LINKS OUTFITS ___SCORING THE JUDGING PROCESS TESTIMONIALS

STATE PAGEANT AWARDS
American Coed Pageants will award over $20,000 in cash, trophies and prizes during pageant weekend. Every girl who competes will receive an official STATE FINALIST TROPHY on stage pageant weekend in honor of her participation in the pageant.

Each of the STATE PAGEANT WINNERS will receive:

• A minimum of $1000 Cash Award

• Official State Winners' Crown, Banner, Trophy, Bouquet of flowers

• Up to $300 in travel expenses to the National Pageant in Orlando, Florida

Each STATE PAGEANT WINNER will attend the National Pageant and compete for the national title for her age group. Thousands of dollars in prizes and scholarships are awarded to national winners in various categories. The contestant selected as the national pageant winner will be featured on the covers of 90,000 state pageant books during the year of her reign.

The STATE PAGEANT WINNERS will represent their states until the following year when they will return to the state pageant to crown their successors. Parades, meeting the governor, as well as other exciting activities are generally available to you during your reign, but are in no way required.

The QUEEN COURT MEMBERS (First through Fourth Runners-Up) will each receive:
• Trophy and bouquet of flowers & the opportunity to compete at the National Pageant.

AGE DIVISIONS

Divisions
Princess: 3, 4, 5, and 6
Sweetheart: 7, 8, and 9
Preteen: 10, 11, and 12
Junior Tee: 13, 14, and 15
Teen: 16, 17, and 18
Coed: 19, 20, 21, and 22

**age group is determined by the applicant's age on January 1, of the year of competition**

CONTESTS

Optional Contests

Competition Information

These competitions are offered in addition to the standard pageant categories. They are not mandatory and will not affect the scoring for the Pageant Title.
You may choose as many - or as few - of these categories to compete in as you would like.
You do not need to decide which of these competitions you want to participate in until you receive your Official Acceptance notification. It will contain all the information you need to help you decide. Each category is an extra opportunity for you to be a winner.

Academic Achievement Contest
(no entry fee)
All Age Divisions
Contestants who wish to compete in the Academic Achievement Contest must complete appropriate form and bring it to pageant check-in. Judges will select the contestant who has the best grade point average.

Volunteer Service Contest
(no entry fee)
[All Age Divisions
All contestants will receive a Volunteer Service Form. Contestants who wish to compete in this contest complete the form and bring it to pageant check-in. Judges will select the contestant who has the best record of helping others without receiving pay.

Best Thank-You Note
(no entry fee)
All Age Groups
Contestants are asked to write their sponsors "Thank-You" Notes and bring a copy of ONE of the notes to pageant check-in to be judged. The contestant whose Note is selected as "Best" will be recognized on stage and will receive an award.

Personality
(no entry fee)
All Age Groups
Contestants vote for the girl who is the friendliest, most helpful, and the most fun to be around on pageant week-end. The girl who receives the most votes is awarded the Miss Personality State Title.

Family Art Contest
(no entry fee)
All Age Divisions
Contestants wishing to compete in this contest will color/decorate a specially designed project that fits the dimensions of no larger than 12" x 12" x 12'. Contestants bring their finished projects with them to pageant check-in. Family members may help with this competition.

Most Ticket Sales
(no entry fee)
All Age Groups
Contestants may sell Pageant Admission Tickets and earn cash awards. The contestant who sells the MOST tickets will receive Reserved Seats for her supporters and receive an award on stage.

Talent Contest
($ 50 Entry Fee Per Talent)
All Age Groups
Contestants who have developed an interest in the performing arts may choose to enter the Talent Contest. Only live presentations will be permitted. Examples of the talent contest are as follows: any form of dance, piano, any musical instrument, singing, reciting a poem monologues, baton twirling, gymnastics, etc.

Modeling Contest
($ 50 Entry Fee)
All Age Groups
In this optional event, contestants will model age- appropriate attire that has a casual, tailored look, This is a fun, upbeat event!

Photogenic Contest
($ 50 Entry Fee)
All Age Groups
Contestants competing in this optional contest will bring a photo of any size to pageant registration. "Miss Photogenic" will be selected from the photographs. The photos may be black and white or color; head shots usually work best.

Best Actress
($ 50 Entry Fee)
All Age Groups
Contestants competing in this optional contest will perform a commercial, we send out scripts or you may create your own! They are to be 30 seconds in length and props may be used. Performances will be videotaped and then presented to the judging panel for review.

Best All Around Cheerleader
($ 50 Entry Fee)
All Age Groups
Contestants competing in this optional contest will perform a 90 second or less cheer routine. REMEMBER this is not a dance competition but a cheer competition. Your performance should be Cheer, Flag, Pom Pom or a combination of all.

Speech
($ 50 Entry Fee)
All Age Groups
Contestants competing in this optional contest will prepare a 100 word or less speech on one of the following topics; "Youth, Pride of the Present, Hope for the Future"
"My Favorite American" (must be famous)
"My Home State"
Parents, teachers or family and friends may help you write this speech. Speeches must be memorized. Bring two typed (double spaced) copies to registration.

Most Promising Model
All Age Groups
Everyone is automatically entered in this competition for FREE! The judges will select one girl who has the most promise of being a model. Judging is based on the contestant's poise and appearance in the Escorted Formal Wear Competition.

Hostess -
Outstanding Program Participation
All Age Groups
This optional award is an earned award for the most advertising sold for the Pageant Program Book. Many prizes including cash, crowns, banners, pageant weekend hotel accommodations, and trips to Florida may be won by selling advertising! Every contestant who competes in this contest will receive a special trophy on stage!

EXPENSES

Sponsor fees help offset the cost of producing the pageant.
Finding sponsors is surprisingly easy. Some participants are sponsored by their parents.

Others choose to be sponsored by people their parents do business with such as your dentist, grocer, hair dresser, etc. Sponsor fees are tax deductible as an advertising expense for businesses.

Many organizations sponsor young women who are a positive reflection on their community.

The sponsor fee is a total of $385. We provide the information you need along with some fund raising ideas. All you add is enthusiasm.

Sign up today to become your State's next Miss American Coed, Teen, Jr. Teen, Pre-Teen, Sweetheart, or Princess Winner!

No application will be evaluated unless all instructions are completed in full and on time - so don't delay!
Good Luck!

FAQS

Question and Answers

How do I get started?

Print an application, fill it out, find a picture of yourself and send all of this along with your $25 application fee into the Pageant office.
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What do I send in and when does it need to be there?

Read the instruction carefully for the application and send that along with a small headshot of yourself and the application fee for processing.
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What if I miss the deadline or don't know when it is?

If you would like to request an extension for a deadline, all you have to do is call or email our office and a pageant representative will be happy to help you whenever is possible.
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What is a "Sponsor Fee" and how much is it?

As will be shown in the brochures that will be sent to you, the total sponsor fee is $385 and can be broken up into two payments. The sponsor fee pays for the cost of producing the pageant, awards, choreographers, emcees, lighting, sound, staging, judges expenses, staff, florists, hotel ballroom rental, trophies, cash awards, scholarships, office support and all of the many other things that go together to make a first class event. You may have as many or as few sponsors as you wish contributing to make up your total sponsor fee of $385. Any combination of businesses, family, friends, or anyone is acceptable. Neither the number or name of your sponsors have bearing on the scoring in any way.
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Do I need to go to any other functions or take a modeling/grooming course?

No. All required pageant activities will take place on pageant weekend at the pageant host hotel. All preparation can be learned easily in the comfort of your home. Everything that you need for preparation will be in your newsletters and video to be coming out for the first time this year

OUTFITS

*Princess, Sweetheart and PreTeen* Long or short Party Dress for Formal Competition Church type Interview Dress Official T-shirt & Shorts outfit, available at the pageant Casual clothes for rehearsals & parties

*Jr Teen, Teen and Coed* A Prom Dress or Evening Gown A Business - Style Suit or Dress for Interviewing Official T-shirt & Shorts outfit, available at the pageant Casual clothes for rehearsals & parties

SCORING

1/3 Poise and Appearance in Formal Wear
1/3 Personal Introduction in Interview Outfit
1/3 Personality during a Personal Interview

Judging

Formal Dress:.

You will need one formal dress. Be sure your dress style is appropriate for your age division. We recommend that you do not wear trains, hats, gloves or hoop skirts. It is not necessary to buy expensive clothes for the pageant. Try to borrow or make use with what you have.

Where can I get the formal dress?

Most families look among four sources:

If you are a teenager; then perhaps you have a prom dress in the closet already;.use it!
Bride and formal shops sell and/or rent formal dresses. Friends might have one you can borrow orrent. Friends, family members, or a local seamstress can make one for you.
*** Don't forget to check clothing resale shops! In all cases be sure to have the rules with you when you are selecting a dress.

Does my formal dress have to be expensive?

Definitely not. What is important is that it meets the rules and is a dress that you enjoy. The formal wear scoring is based on your poise and presentation in the dress; not the dress itself.

Does it have to be white?

No. Choose a color that you feel good wearing. Solid colors work best. Girls have won in dark bold colors, like red or black, but you will generally find that for your appearance on stage that lighter, softer colors are preferable. White is a very popular color for dresses because it is easy to obtain and has a bright fresh appearance. Accordingly, many girls happen to have white dresses. This is not a scoring criteria in any way.

Interview Outfit:.

Girls in the Teen and Junior Teen Division should choose something suitable for a job interview. Girls in the Pre-Teen, Sweetheart, & Princess Divisions should choose something suitable for church. Be sure your shoes and accessories compliment your outfit. PLEASE, do not wear hats, gloves or carry a purse. This outfit will be for your interview and your poise and appearance judging on stage.

Official Opening Number Outfit:

This outfit will be worn during the opening number and for the optional speech contest. The selected outfit will be available at the pageant.

How We Select Our Queens

Each of our distinguished panel of judges are given the SAME INFORMATION as you are given. They score based on the information in Newsletter #1, #2 and #3.

After all three mandatory judges events our score adjudicator creates a TOP 15 list. Going into the FINAL PAGEANT the judges are given the names of these TOP 15, along with the remaining contestants scores. Each contestants is rescored based on her performance in the final presentation of Formal Wear during the Final Pageant. Those "rescored" performances are added to each contestants current score and we get an "Official TOP 10" (or how ever many we are pulling in each age division ~ it is not uncommon to pull 15 Semi Finalists in one age division but only 10 in another age division).

Based on these TOP 15 names that are announced, all other contestants are excused from the stage, and our TOP 15 will re-perform their personal introductions. This is the time to really shine and let your personality show! Our judges are given the opportunity to list their preferred Royal Court. Being their selected QUEEN, 1st runner up, 2nd runner up and so on.

Then our judge adjudicator applies points for every position each of the TOP 10 receives, if you are to acquire a Queens Position from a Judge then you receive 50 points, 1st runner up position receives 20 points, 2nd runner up position receives 10 points 3rd runner up position receives 5 points and a 4th runner up receives zero points.

Our judge adjudicator once again tallies the scores and we have our Royal Court, so as you can see there is always room for ANYONE to be crowned. Our judges are given strict instructions NOT to converse with each other, their placement of court is based on their own perception of the contestants performance.