Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility Requirements - Miss

Young women who meet the following requirements may enter the 2008 pageant:

Live, work (full time) or attend school in Louisiana
Must be at least 17 years old by the date of the pageant and a high school graduate (or equivalent) by 7/30/08.
No older than 24th on 09/31/08
United States citizen
Good moral character
Never married
Never pregnant

Miss Local is both a business and a culturally specific brand that transcends being just a beauty pageant. Miss Local herself is a critical member of the Miss State and Miss America Organization’s marketing team and works to advance the business of scholarship and community service for women. The Miss America Organization’s judging system distinguishes Miss Local via a form of Olympic scoring where each contestant competes against ONLY herself with judging using a 1-10 whole number system where the high and low are discarded.

Competition Scoring
The Miss Local areas of competition and their weighted score values are:
•Talent - 35%
•Private Interview - 25%
•Evening Wear - 20%
•Swim Wear - 15%
•On-Stage Question – 5%
•The Final Ballot -
The total scores from all areas of competition will determine the Top 5 whose names will be given to the judges in their competition order with absolutely no indication of their overall scores. Each judge then ranks these contestants in the order he/she believes they should each finish.
1st Placement = 10 Points
2nd Placement = 5 Points
3rd Placement = 3 Points
4th Placement = 2 Points
5th Placement = 1 Point
These scores are not additionally weighted and the high and low scores are not deleted. These points will NOT be added to the scores from the previous competitions and will be the final determination of the pageant outcome.

Judging Criteria for Talent
The artistic expression phase of competition provides an insight into the contestants preparatory and performance skills. Consideration is given to whether the talent selection fits these skills and the contestant’s personality while acknowledging the quality and technical skill of the talent being presented. Judges will look for a favorable overall first impression; interpretive ability; technical skill; entertainment value; stage presence and the integration of elements (costume, choreography, music and/or props)

Judging Criteria for Private Interview
The community & scholastic achievement phase of competition is an opportunity for the judges to learn as much as possible about the contestant such as her educational goals; her commitment to advance her community service issue; her level of communication skills; her opinions and aspirations; her sense of accomplishment, poise, and presence and the personal qualities and attributes that uniquely qualify her to fulfill the job responsibilities of Miss State. Judges will look for a favorable overall first impression; exceptional communication skills with a commanding presence; personality; personal appearance and beauty; validated opinions and responses; ability to fulfill the job responsibilities; sense of accomplishment; and knowledge and understanding of community service issue.

Judging Criteria for Evening Wear
The presence & poise phase of competition provides an insight into the contestant’s sense of style and her self-confidence. Judges will look for a favorable overall first impression while she showcases her beauty, poise and grace with a commanding stage presence across the footlights.

Judging Criteria for Swim Wear
The lifestyle & fitness phase of competition provides an insight into whether the contestant maintains a lifestyle of good physical health and fitness. Judges will look for a favorable overall first impression; physical beauty; sense of confidence and composure and a display of drive, energy, and charisma.

Judging Criteria for On-Stage Interview
The knowledge & awareness phase of competition is designed for the contestant to make an on-stage statement of her interests, opinion, and aspirations. Judges will look for a favorable overall first impression; charisma and stage presence to be a spokesperson. Special attention is given to whether or not the contestant answered the question in context, in the time allotted and if she had a commanding presence to make the audience want to listen to her.

Judging Criteria for Final Ballot
Judges will consider the job description, responsibilities and requirements necessary to be Miss Local as presented to them during the judges' orientation regarding the titleholder they have been entrusted to select. In doing so they will consider the following 3 questions:
Does she want the job?
Can she do the job?
Is she manageable?
They will also consider all phases of competition and then determine the order in which the contestants could best perform as Miss America/Miss State/Miss Local and serve as the “face” and the “voice” of this Organization. The contestant they believe to be the best woman for this job will receive the first placement; the second best, the second placement, and continue this process until all five have been ranked according to the judges belief in who would be the best applicant for the job description they have been asked to fill.

Eligibility Requirements - Teen

    - I must be at least thirteen (13) years of age and at least in the 8th grade on the first day of the Local competition leading to the state final



   - I am no older than 17 years of age and will not have graduated from high school before the MAOT 2008-2009 National Finals, except for 16 year-olds who graduated early (tentatively planned to be held in August 2008)

- I may not turn eighteen (18) years of age on or before August 31, 2008

  - I may be starting my senior year of high school in the Fall of 2008

- I am not eligible to compete in the Miss America Pageant.

Competitions scored on a scale of 1 to 10 using whole numbers only.

Interview – 35%

On-stage Question – 5%

Talent – 35%

Evening Wear – 15%

Lifestyle and Fitness in Sportswear – 10%

These competitions will determine the top five. Simply hand the five names back to the judges and have each judge rank the contestants with the pre-set scores on the “Final Ballot” form. This scoring would take place during the final production number, farewell, etc.

Presentation and Community Achievement in Interview-35%

· There are 5 judges on the panel, and the interview is press-style, with the contestant standing at a podium. Contestants will use a podium, however, they are not required to stand behind the podium during the entire interview. Contestants are questioned on their background as presented on their fact sheet, their educational and career goals, and their interests, hobbies and extracurricular activities.

· The interview can begin with a 30 second opening statement – interview will last for 5:30 minutes. Interview can go for 6 minutes total.

Scoring Note: Scoring is based on overall communication skills, including personality, intelligence, validated opinions, emotional control, overall first impression and personal appearance. Community Service is required on the local level.

Talent – 35%

·Contestants perform a 2-minute routine of their own choosing. Some possible talents include all types of singing, dancing, gymnastics, instrumental music, dramatic or comedy monologues, baton twirling and ventriloquism. Other talents that can be performed solo on a stage are also possible. Phone or e-mail us if you have a question about your talent presentation.

Scoring Note: Scoring is based on contestant’s skill and personality, interpretive ability, technical skill level, stage presence and the totality of all elements, including costume, props, voice, use of body and choreography.

Lifestyle and Fitness in Activewear – 10%

·Each Contestant briefly appears on-stage (up to 30 seconds) in sportswear. Sportswear is something that you would wear to work out in or something that relates to any physical activity that you may participate in during school or during the summer i.e. Cheerleading, Basketball, Softball, etc.

Scoring Note: Scoring is based on overall first impression, statement of strong physical fitness and health, sense of attractiveness and presence, display of energy, charisma and expression, sense of confidence and composure.

Evening Wear – 15%

·Each contestant appears on-stage in an outfit of her own choosing, representative of what she would wear to a prom or other formal event.

Scoring Note: Scoring is based on overall first impression, sense of confidence, personality and stage presence, walk, posture, carriage and grace, appropriateness of attire and sense of style, sense of attractiveness, beauty and charm.

On-Stage Question – 5%

On-Stage question will be asked in Casual Wear (you will be judged on the question, not your clothing).

· One on-stage question, drawn from a fish bowl, will be asked of each contestant – questions will be general in nature, relative to teen topics and current events.

The objective of the On-Stage question is to evaluate the contestant’s ability to think on her feet and answer a question of general interest to people her age, including, but not limited to, local, state, and national current events.

Scoring Note: Scoring is based on overall first impression and extemporaneous response to an on-stage question, contestant’s ability to handle the pressure of speaking on stage in front of an audience, and if young people see her as a role model who is reflective of today’s generation. Final ballot is also still administered, this is where the judges score the top contestants from high to low based on how each judge thinks the contestants should finish.

This will give each of you an idea of how the scoring will take place. If you have any more questions feel free to call.

Thanks…