The Invisible Crown

Kat's Blog

Helpful Articles on Your Miss America Journey
Crown Image by Tiger Lily Photography
  • Home
  • Meet Kathryn
    • Invite Kat to Speak at your Event
    • Did You Know?
    • Kathryn at Miss America
  • Invisible Crown Originals
  • Kat's Videos
    • Original Videos & TV Appearances
    • Instructional Videos
    • Kat's Video Diaries
    • Miss America How To
  • Resource Links & Judging Criteria
  • News & History
    • Miss America & Miss Minnesota History
    • Forever Miss Minnesotas
  • Kat's Blog
  • Schedule Kathryn

9/3/2021

6 Steps to Enter a Miss America Local Competition

Read Now
 

​​I am often asked by potential candidates, “what do I need to do to compete?”  If you are new to the Miss America competition, I will do my best to answer your questions! Here are 6 steps to set you on the road to Miss America.
​
NOTE: To any young ladies who hold Ambassador titles, you are also eligible to compete for Miss Minnesota or Miss Minnesota's Outstanding Teen. Read the addendum at the end of this blog.

6 Steps To Enter a Miss America Local Competition

Picture
1. New in 2021: Register with Miss America and create your personal profile. 

​Starting in 2021, all young women competition for TEEN or MISS, must first register directly with the Miss America Organization. There is a $35 fee, but once you are registered, your information is sent to the Executive Director of your state program. From there, the Executive Director will provide you the links and resources to compete in your state.

You can sign up at this link below.
Miss America Official Registration

​Below are links to local competitions in Minnesota, as well as around the country.
​
MN Local Competitions
All State Competitions
Picture
2. Choose Your Social Impact Initiative 
The Social Impact Initiative (SII) is a cause for which you will advocate during your year. Examples can be: childhood cancer awareness; anti-bullying; advocacy for the arts; healthy eating, etc.

​The best SII is one you have personal experience with and are passionate about. You should be able to speak spontaneously on the subject if asked, and you will be!
Picture
3. Assemble Your Paperwork (Resume, Social Impact Statement & Photo)
Your paperwork will be the first thing the judges see before they meet you in the interview. Your Resume should showcase your education, personality and accomplishments. Your Social Impact Statement is an essay about why you chose your initiative; why your initiative is relevant; and what you intend to do or what you have done to advocate your initiative. Remember, choose a social impact initiative you are passionate about. You can check out my blog about the Miss America Social Impact Initiative for more detailed information. You will also need a color photo of yourself for the program book and social media. Be sure to select a nice picture for the judges which represents who you are. ​
Picture
4. Prepare A 90-Second Talent
The talent competition is like “America’s Got Talent” for women and is a hallmark of the Miss America competition. You can sing, dance, play an instrument, recite a monologue, demonstrate a skill (yoga, painting, baton twirling) or even conduct a science experiment! You have 1 minute and 30 seconds to wow the judges. The most important thing to keep in mind is to be entertaining!
5. Assemble Your Wardrobe: Opening Number outfit, Interview Outfit, Eveningwear, and Talent Costume
There are many pieces of advice I could share about wardrobe and what you should wear. I’ll leave you with this: what you wear should fit you well and make you feel great when you are on stage. It should reflect your personality and make you feel awesome! And, you do not have to spend a lot. I have found great dresses on pageant & prom resale sites, eBay, Amazon, and have borrowed clothing. Remember that you are competing to win scholarship money, and you don’t want to spend more than you can win.
6. Prepare For Your Judges Interview
This sometimes is the most overlooked part of preparation for new contestants. You will have a 10-minute interview with the judges, of which the last 30 seconds you may give a prepared (not memorized) closing statement. (NOTE: Teen Contestant interviews are shorter, so check with your local pageant. There is no closing statement for Teens.) What is the best way to prepare for this? First, read, re-read, and then re-re-read your paperwork! Do service work in your community. Stay up to date on current events. Practice answering questions with family and friends. You need to know everything that you have written in your paperwork and be prepared to talk about it. For keeping up on current events, I recommend theskimm.com which is an online news service providing an overview of current political issues. Have conversations with friends and family so you are able to articulate your views. The most important thing to know about the interview is to BE YOURSELF. Don’t answer questions based on what you think the judges want to hear. They are there to get to know you, so show them your heart! You can watch my video to learn more about the 10-minute judges interview!

Competition Notes as of 2021

NEW
During the On-Stage Question portion of the competition, candidates will first present a 30-second Social Impact Pitch about their Social Impact Initiative. Following the 30-second 'pitch' one judge will ask a question to the candidate to follow up from the private interview.

NEW
During the Red Carpet Eveningwear Competition (formerly the Evening wear competition) for MISS, candidates may choose evening attire of their choosing. This is a stand-alone competition.

NEW 
This is for STATE competition only. This will not be done at local competitions.
Prepare a Social Impact Pitch (SIP). The SIP will be a 60 second "Ted Talk" and will be done only at state competitions by the final top 5 candidates. ​

​Now that you have an overview of what it takes to compete in a Miss America local, find one today and join the sisterhood! Also, be sure to check you are eligible to compete. Miss America and Miss America's Outstanding Teen provide eligibility rules on age, residency, marital status, etc. I have not posted the links here, as the links and rules are changing often!  

Good Luck!
​~Kathryn

Ambassador Titles = Miss Minnesota Festival Title

Picture
Recently the Miss America Organization has embraced statewide Ambassador programs to be eligible to enter and compete at our state competitions. If you hold an Ambassador title, you are eligible to enter as a "Miss America Festival" title.

Here are the basics:
  • You have competed and have won an Ambassador title
  • You fall within the Miss America eligibility rules
  • You can compete in the areas of competition set forth by Miss America

​If these apply to you, you can compete for either Miss Minnesota or Miss Minnesota's Outstanding Teen depending on your age. There will be an entrance fee to do so. Contact your state competition to learn more.
​

Share


Comments are closed.
Details
    Picture

    Kathryn Rose Kueppers, Author
    ​Miss America Enthusiast

    Kathryn is a President's List graduate of Saint Paul College with an AAS in Culinary Arts, and a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Minnesota State University - Mankato with her degree in Family and Consumer Science Education. Kathryn won the title of Miss Minnesota 2019  in June of 2019 and competed for the title of Miss America on December 19, on NBC from the Mohegan Sun Resort and Casino in Connecticut. She has been awarded over $30,000 in educational scholarships from her participation in the Miss America organization. Due to the worldwide pandemic and cancellation of the national competition in 2020, Kathryn remained Miss Minnesota for an additional year... a record 734 days, passing along her crown in June of 2021.

    Kathryn's Social Impact Initiative is The Invisible Crown, a comprehensive online resource dedicated to the Miss America program. Upon giving up her title as Miss Minnesota, her initiative has turned into Invisible Crown Productions, where she will continue to create relevant content about this program.  

    In her free time, Kathryn loves baking, reading, vintage clothing, singing jazz, and listening to Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole & Ella Fitzgerald. She has currently moved to Oxford, Ohio, as a FOCUS Missionary, working at Miami University.

    Photo by Emily Stock, Tiger Lily Photography

    Archives

    September 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    March 2020
    February 2020
    November 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    August 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • Meet Kathryn
    • Invite Kat to Speak at your Event
    • Did You Know?
    • Kathryn at Miss America
  • Invisible Crown Originals
  • Kat's Videos
    • Original Videos & TV Appearances
    • Instructional Videos
    • Kat's Video Diaries
    • Miss America How To
  • Resource Links & Judging Criteria
  • News & History
    • Miss America & Miss Minnesota History
    • Forever Miss Minnesotas
  • Kat's Blog
  • Schedule Kathryn