Competition and scoring

This is a 10 minute private interview with the panel of judges and takes place earlier in the day before the on stage portion of the competition starts. It is 30% of your total score.  Your wardrobe selection should be age appropriate and stylish interview attire.  Choose something that you would wear for a job interview. Questions are on general topics, current events, items from your bio sheet, and from your community service essay.  This is your opportunity to let the judges get to know you.  The judging will emphasize your poise in handling the questions and how well you articulate your beliefs on the issue, not the position you take.  They will also ask questions related to your Community Serive Initiative (CSI), covering any work you have already done, or what plans you have to further your work. The last 30 seconds of this interview is left for each candidate to give a final statement to the judges. This is your opportunity to go into more detail on a previously discussed topic, share something about yourself that has not been covered already, or explain why you should be awarded the title.

The judges are looking for: overall first impression, qualities and attributes of Miss America, positive role model, knowledge and understanding of CSI, ability to fulfill job responsibilities, confident and commanding presence, personality, ability to express feelings and defend beliefs, energy, intelligence, and communication skills (speech, vocabulary, and grammar).

This phase of the competition is an extention of the private interview and is worth 10% of the total score. The question is written by the judges after each interview. The judges are evaluating your extemporaneous responses to the onstage question, as well as your poise, confidence, and comfort level in speaking before a large audience. In addition to this personalized question, each candidate will talk about her Community Service Inititive (CSI). This might include a brief description of the issue, the candidate’s experience with or future plans to address it, or a call to action.

This is a routine of the candidates own choosing and counts for 20% of your overall score. Some options include singing, dancing, gymnastics, an instrumental music performance, an educational demonstration, or a monologue. The performance is judged on technical skill, stage presence, and the totality of all elements including the use of body and voice, choreography, costumes, and/or props. (The types of props allowed do have limits, please reach out to us to discuss what props you may and may not use.)

The judges are looking for:  overall first impression, interpretive ability, technical skill, stage presence, totality of all elements including costume, music, and choreography, quality of the performance, and entertainment value. It is not neccessarily who has the most talent, but who do they want to see more from.

This phase is 20% of the total score. The contestant’s entire look and stage presence is taken into consideration. You are not judged on the gown itself or the price of the gown.  Choose a style, color, and fit that is becoming to you. Your overall appearance should reflect a sense of style and appropriateness for the job of Miss Lewis County.

The judges will be scoring on how well the candidate expresses her own personality, as well as her attitude, grace, stage presence, and confidence.

FITNESS

Candidates must be in reasonably good health in order to meet the job requirements and schedule of Miss Lewis County. This portion of the competition involves an onstage, upbeat walking routine in athletic wear, and provides an opportunity for each candidate to highlight what they do to stay healthy. This counts for 20% of your overall score.

Judges are evaluating overall first impression and dynamic presence.  Does the contestant radiate health, high energy, engaging vitality, and a sense of confidence.

The Miss America Organization has placed service to the community as one of the pilars of participating in this program, so in addition to the above listed phases of competition, each candidate will have a Community Service Initiative (CSI).

Your CSI should be personal to you, something you have a passion for, and something you can make appearances with to advocate for or educate on. Judges will read your Community Service Essay which is a one page paper explaining your initiative, why you chose it, why it matters, and what you have done or plan to do for it. Titleholders will then go on to use their year of service to make an impact on the community through their CSI.