MISS ROME SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
GUIDELINES FOR CONTESTANTS
Miss Rome Scholarship Program
An Official Preliminary of the Miss America Competition
*Top 5 of Miss Georgia Franchises for In-Kind and Total Scholarships offered*
The Board of Directors of the Miss Rome Scholarship Pageant cordially invites you to participate in the Miss Rome Pageant. Our franchise has been a part of the Miss Georgia system for many years and this is our fourth year as an open preliminary. The Miss Rome Pageant will be held Saturday, January 5, 2013 at the Rome City Auditorium.
Some quick highlights: Mandatory dress rehearsal is at 6:00 PM on Friday, January 4 at the Rome City Auditorium. We will provide a light dinner for you, so feel free to come a little early if you like. This will be the only formal rehearsal. As this is a dress rehearsal, you MUST bring your competition wardrobe. However, THERE IS NO NEED TO BRING YOUR INTERVIEW OUTFIT TO DRESS REHEARSAL. We will hold a brief orientation meeting before beginning rehearsal. Contestant numbers and interview times will be reviewed at this meeting. You will be given ample opportunity to rehearse your talent. If you have never competed in a pageant or in a Miss America Preliminary, do not be discouraged. We are here to help you. We are glad to assist you in any way that we can in helping you to prepare for the pageant; all that you have to do is ask!
Again, do not hesitate to contact me if you have ANY questions. Our philosophy is to provide a well-run pageant with a contestant-friendly atmosphere. We want you to have a good time!!!
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Andrea Pitts
Executive Director
Miss Rome Scholarship Program
Andrea.Pitts@HCAHealthcare.com
706-766-4887 (cell)
OPENING NUMBER:
You will NOT be required to learn a dance. There will be basic stage maneuvers for the opening number followed by individual contestant introductions. For those of you who are competing in your first preliminary, your introduction usually includes your name, contestant number and platform in some combination. Opening number outfits are required and the information will be posted later.
THE PLATFORM: Although this is not an area of competition, Miss America does require each contestant to select a platform. This is an area of community service that the contestant is passionate about. You are encouraged to select something that you can work with on a community level as well as state and national level. At the local pageant level, contestants are not required to have done extensive work in their platform. However, you should have a very clear plan of what you want to achieve.
In addition, there is the National Platform for Miss America: The Children’s Miracle Network. All contestants competing in a local preliminary are required to complete the Service Requirement of raising $100 for the CMN. This is a tax deductible donation. 40% goes to the Children’s Miracle Network, 30% to the Miss America Scholarship Fund and 30% to the Miss Rome Scholarship Fund. Contestants are not required to handle any money. All fundraising may be done via internet and email. Please visit the official website at www.missamerica4kids.org. Here you can register and get answers to frequently answered questions. Please call us if you have ANY questions. There will be a deadline set for when the money must be collected.
THE PAPERWORK: Paperwork is not a phase of competition. However, it is the judges’ first impression of you and may influence their opinion of you (spelling/grammar, how prepared you are, etc). The paperwork is given to the judges at least a week or two before the pageant so that they can formulate questions for your interview. The paperwork consists of a resume and platform statement (short essay). You can obtain the format for each of these as well as an example of each from our website as pageant time approaches.
Deadline to receive ALL ITEMS is December 16, 2012
1. Contract(must be notarized)
7. Application
8. Copy of birth certificate (verification of age)
9. Proof of Georgia eligibility (EX: drivers license or school transcript, etc...)
10. Photograph (color photograph to be emailed in jpeg format - use highest resolution possible)
11. Talent Request
12. CD
13. Completed CMN (www.MissAmerica4Kids.org) service requirement
***(This is a Miss America requirement to be able to compete in the pageant!
AGE REQUIREMENT - A contestant shall not be less than seventeen years of age on the date of the Local Pageant in which she competes nor more than twenty-four years of age on December 31, 2012.
OTHER REQUIREMENTS - A contestant must live, work, or attend school in the state of Georgia for at least the last 6 months.
PHASES OF COMPETITION:
INTERVIEW (25%): Interviews are 10 minutes long. When you walk into the room, the judge who has been designated to ask your first question will begin immediately. The judges will then randomly ask you questions for the next 9 ½ minutes. You will then be signaled by the head judge that time is up and asked if you have anything you would like to add. At that point you have 30 seconds to say whatever you would like. This is your choice, but you may choose to discuss something not covered in your interview or to emphasize a topic already covered. The topics of questions will vary. Primarily, they will come from your resume and your platform. General knowledge questions and even current events are up for grabs. However, the judges are NOT trying to trick you. They are trying to get to know you. As a judge, my general knowledge and current events questions typically are sparked by something the contestant puts on her resume. Do not worry if you have not had a chance to do a lot of work on your platform. I WOULD encourage you to have a clear idea of what you would LIKE to accomplish. Dress is contemporary for a professional appearance.
ONSTAGE QUESTIONS (5%): You will be asked one general knowledge question. This is not meant to be tricky or difficult, so don’t get stressed out! This will be done early in the show WHILE YOU ARE IN YOUR OPENING NUBMER OUTFIT.
TALENT (35%): There is a 90 second time limit on talent. You must submit your music on a CD (no tapes accepted due to poor quality. This is for your benefit in presenting your best performance). If you do not know where to obtain a CD of music, I suggest talking with music teachers or even trying the internet (www.musicalcreations.com is a great resource). Your CDs will be returned to you at rehearsal. We have a variety of microphones available. Please have an idea of what you would like to use. We will provide suggestions and opportunities to work with other mics in order to showcase your talent in the best manner. If you by chance have your own mic, you may bring this with you and discuss with our sound person but realize that not all forms of mics provide the best sound quality.
TALENT BACKGROUND ENHANCEMENTS - Regardless of the talent performed, the background CD cannot have voices, instrumentation, or other noises, which mimic the talent of the contestant. (Example: A vocalist may have background vocals with "oohs and aahs” or other background lyrics, but cannot have a CD with a voice singing the melody line. The same would be said for instrumentalist, dancers, and any other talent, which could provide for an unfair advantage if a judge could not delineate from the talent on the track versus the live perforce of the contestant.
SWIMSUIT (15%): Your swimsuit MUST be approved (this will be done at rehearsals on Friday night, January 8). Swimsuits must be in good taste. You may choose a one piece suit or a two piece suit. Keep in mind that not all body types are best suited for a two piece suit. You may choose to wear shoes or not. If you choose to wear shoes, I would suggest a nude or tan "strappy" sandal. (I would be happy to answer any questions you might have).
Our hostesses will have firm grip for your use to keep your suit bottoms from riding up. If you do not like firm grip, please bring your own adhesive. You will need to use some type of adhesive....this is to save you from embarrassment! If you have any concerns as to whether your swimsuit is appropriate, please feel free to contact me. Swimsuit presentation will be similar as presented at Miss America and Miss Georgia this year.
EVENING WEAR (20%): Contestants may wear an evening outfit of their choice. This may be either a gown or pants. Shoes: are your choice but keep in mind that thick, chunky heels are not the best choice for the poise and elegance of evening wear. Judging criteria on the judge’s score sheet: Overall ‘first impression;’ beauty, sense of confidence; personality and stage presence; walk, carriage and grace; sense of style and appropriateness of the evening wear; does she take command of the stage simply by walking onto it?
SCHOLARSHIPS:
Thanks to the generous support of Berry College, Georgia Highlands College, Coosa Valley Technical College and the Miss Rome Scholarship Board of Directors, last year we made available well over $20,000 in cash and In-Kind Scholarships. Cash scholarships (estimates at $4,500 total) are awarded to Miss Rome and Runners-Up as well as the overall winner (high scores) for Talent, Interview and Swimsuit. Scholarships must be used for Miss America approved school expenses and are typically paid directly to the school or entity.
SPIRIT AWARD:
An award will be given to the contestant who raises the most money through the sale of tickets. You can obtain an advanced ticket order form off the website (as pageant time approaches). Note that tickets are discounted if purchased in advance! Tickets will be held at the front door as "will call" under the name provided on the order form.
If you have any questions regarding the pageant or pageant preparations, please do not hesitate to contact me:
Andrea Pitts
Executive Director
Miss Rome Scholarship Pageant
14 Arlington Court
Rome, GA 30165
706-766-4887
Andrea.Pitts@HCAHealthcare.com