Miss America says 'bye-bye' to swimsuit competition

LAUREN CARROLL 

Though they won't be walking across the Boardwalk Hall stage in a swimsuit this year, the 51 Miss America hopefuls traveling to Atlantic City in September will still be competing just as they have before, Miss America officials said Tuesday.

Miss America Board of Trustees Chair Gretchen Carlson announced this morning the annual scholarship event will no longer feature a swimsuit competition and that the organization would be revamping their evening gown section of the competition.

"We are no longer a pageant, we are a competition," Carlson announced Tuesday morning. 

Miss America Org
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We're changing out of our swimsuits and into a whole new era #byebyebikini #MissAmerica2019

9:39 AM - Jun 5, 2018

Carlson appeared on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday to announce the changes to the Miss America Competition, which will return to Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall from Sept 6-9.

Carlson said that the organization would no longer judge contestants on their outward physical appearances and that the changes would be going into effect for this year’s competition.

In its place, candidates will participate in a live interactive session with the judges, highlighting their achievements and goals in life, according to a news release from the Miss America Organization.

For the evening gown section of the competition, candidates will now have the freedom to wear the attire of their choosing while discussing how they will advance their social impact initiatives, the release said.

"We want to be open, transparent and inclusive to women who did not feel comfortable participating in our competition before," Carlson said.

Carlson, who took over as chair of the Miss America Board of Trustees in January , previously said she planned to immediately work with all Miss America stakeholders to continue an ongoing inclusive and transparent process in the changes to the organization.

”We’re experiencing a cultural revolution in our country with women finding the courage to stand up and have their voices heard on many issues. Miss America is proud to evolve as an organization and join this empowerment movement,” Carlson said in the release.

Unlike what some may believe, Carlson said the swimsuit section, formally called "lifestyle and fitness in swimwear," was not the most viewed part of the competition according to television ratings.

Former Miss Arkansas 1983 Regina Hopper took the role of CEO of the Miss America Organization in May. Hopper said recently it is time for a “revisioning and rebranding” of the organization.

"While we may have dropped the swimsuit competition, Miss America has always been chosen on her talent and personality," Hopper said in a phone interview.

The decision to judge physical fitness based on the swimsuit runway came after discussion with the new Board of Trustees for the competition on how to make Miss America relevant in a post-scandal and post "Me Too" era.

“A lot of people have worked under the impression that people watched for the swimsuits, but in fact, we found that people weren’t watching for that,” Hopper said. “Most people wanted to know who these candidates are — they wanted to know what the job of Miss America would be, what she would do and who she wants to be after Miss America.”

Last year, the Miss America Competition broadcast on ABC drew 5.6 million viewers, continuing a declining trend in ratings since 2015. The second hour of the broadcast, which featured the talent, onstage question and final contestant crowning was the No. 1 nonsports program during the 9 to 11 p.m. time slot, according to the Miss America Organization.

“You never heard from these women until the end of the competition, then they would answer a question that would be impossible to answer in a short amount of time” Hopper said.

The Miss America Competition changed the format of the onstage question for last year's event. The top seven finalists were asked a more lighthearted "personality question," then two competitors were eliminated and the top five finalists were asked the more traditional "current events question."

Hopper said the Miss America Organization is currently working with ABC Networks to finalize the competition and broadcast production lay out.

“This is an extraordinarily positive change we are excited this program can be more relevant to show the job of Miss America: being a leader for her generation, making a social impact for her communities and using scholarship to advance her education and career and focus,” she said.

The Miss America Organization teased the announcement Monday with some new branding online and on social media, touting "Miss America 2.0."

Rounding out the all female leadership of the Miss America Organization, former Miss America 1991 Marjorie Vincent- Tripp was named as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Miss America Foundation. The nonprofit foundation is responsible for the annual scholarships awarded to Miss America competitors, and recently unveiled the plan for a new scholarship available to non-pageant competing women that will be first offered to students of Atlantic City High School.

The Miss America pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921, as a part of the "Fall Frolic," a two-day event staged by local businessmen to extend the summer tourist season after Labor Day.

Margaret Gorman of Washington D.C., won the contest for “The Most Beautiful Bathing Girl in America,” which later that year became titled “Miss America.”

During the original contest, women wore one-piece swimming costumes and tights. In 1947, the first two-piece swimsuit was worn during the competition, which was later rescinded until it was brought back again in 1997.

The Miss America Organization says women have always been judged on personality, interactions with the crowd and interviews with the judges' panel. However, the underlying "beauty pageant" tone of Miss America has always been a point of contention.

Miss New Jersey 2017 Kaitlyn Schoeffel, who was a second runner up in the 2018 competition, has said she "never felt more confident" than when she walked across the stage during the swimsuit competition. She said Tuesday she was sad to hear lifestyle and fitness would no longer be a part of the competition.

"What drew me to (Miss America) was that each phase of competition prepared you for life after competition," Schoeffel. "It may sound vain to some people, but in the corporate world you have to present yourself."

Schoeffel won the lifestyle and fitness scholarships three out of the six years she competed for Miss New Jersey, which she said helped pay for books for her college courses.

Donna Ayres, co-executive director of the Miss New Jersey pageant told The Press that the Miss America Board is currently working on revising the local and state contracts and judging guidelines, for next month.

"While our winners (as well as the winners of the other state competitions happening over the next few weeks) will be competing in the swimsuit phase at the state level, the national competition will be quite different," Ayres said in a statement. "Hopefully this initiative will help our local contests reach even more young women across the state to take advantage of the scholarship opportunities the program offers."

Eight more state titleholders will be crowned this weekend and the Miss New Jersey pageant will be held on June 14-16 in Ocean City.

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