The 92nd edition of Miss America Competition will be held on 9th September 2018 where contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will compete for the national crown. With the organization scraping off the Swimsuit or famously referred as the Bikini Round, the competition has come under the scrutiny of the pageant lovers all over the world.
Just a few days ago, the Chair of the Board of the Trustees, Gretchen Carlson announced a few considerable changes in this year’s edition. The competition has gone through many changes through the years since Gretchen was crowned the winner in 1989.
On 5th June 2018, as the news came in about the swimsuit round being amputated from the competition, there were mixed reactions from the audience as well as the pageant world. Though there were a few people against the idea, but most of them agreed to the decision.
Miss America 2018 Cara Mund is the last crowned queen to go through the swimsuit round. On this decision, take a look at what she had to say –
Now Let us take a look at the changes being introduced in the competition from this year –
Changes in Name
The competition will be referred as the Miss America Competition from this year on and not as a beauty pageant. The decision also makes sense as Miss America is a scholarship competition.
Elimination of the Swimsuit Round
Elimination of the Evening Gown Round
From this year on, the contestants will be allowed to wear the attire that they feel comfortable in and confident. This will be a way for them to express their personal fashion style and not strangle them in a particular format.
New Judging Rules
The main areas of focus will be their individual talent and their performance in the live interviews section instead of the physical attributes of the contestants.
An All-Female Board of Directors
Last January, a new board of directors was selected for the Organization. Now it’s an all female board which makes it the first time in the competition’s history that a female board will take over the decision making of the competition.