Scoring Percentages Competitions scored on a scale of 1 through 10 using whole numbers only. Interview 25% On-Stage Question 5% Talent 35% Evening Wear 20% Lifestyle and Fitness in Swimsuit 15% The contestants have now competed in the competition phases described above and the scoring from these competitions determines the Top Five contestants. The point values for first, second, third, fourth and fifth place on the Final Ballot are listed below under Final Ballot Guidelines. It is appropriate for State Organizations with fewer than 10 to 12 contestants to not announce a Top Five and 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. Local Competitions Local Competitions held to send contestants to the State Pageant will use the same judging procedures, however, Local Pageants do not announce a Top Five for a Top Five competition. The winner and runners-up will be named from the entire group of contestants. After the competitions listed above are complete, Local Pageants are required to have the auditors hand back to each judge a Final Ballot listing the Top Five contestants in competition order (not by point totals). The judges follow the same procedures outlined in the Final Ballot. The outcome of the pageant is determined solely from the results of the Final Ballot. Final Ballot Guidelines Judges should be instructed well ahead of time that once all competitions are complete; Private Interview, Talent, Swimwear, Evening Wear and On-Stage Question, the auditors determine the Top Five contestants from the judges scores. At this point, all previous scores are discarded and each of the Top Five contestants now has zero points. (Allow the judges to review the Final Ballot in their Orientation so they are familiar with it before it is handed to them during the final moments of the competition. Obviously, this ballot must be returned to the auditors, before the judges are dismissed from the meeting.) Each judge is then provided a Final Ballot to list the Top Five contestants in the order they believe the contestants should finish: 1 st place vote is worth 10 points 2 nd place vote is worth 5 points 3 rd place vote is worth 3 points 4 th place vote is worth 2 points 5 th place vote is worth 1 point The points from each judges ranking are totaled by the auditors and these points alone determine the outcome of the pageant. The Miss America Organization 2011 58
Judges must be reminded to vote their conscience and accurately place the contestants in the order which they individually believe the contestants should finish, without consideration to any other factors. Any attempts to manipulate the outcome of the pageant can and do result in an outcome unsatisfactory to all parties and is a severe violation of MAO rules which must be reported to MAO s National Office Field Operations Director immediately at fieldops@missamerica.org. Depending upon the size of the pageant, the Top Five contestants may or may not compete in a Top Five On-Stage Interview Competition (Local Pageants CANNOT have a Top Five Competition). This on-stage interview competition is merely to assist the judges in placing the contestants in order from 1 st through 5 th place. If the onstage interview competition is held, the judges do not actually judge the Top Five interview competition. If a State Pageant has less than 10-12 contestants, pageant officials may choose to not announce the Top Five and may simply give each judge the Top Five names for the judges to rank the contestants names/titles on the Final Ballot in the order they feel the contestants should place. The winner and runners-up are announced solely from the results of the Final Ballot. The Miss America Organization 2011 59
SCORING VALUES Private Interview 25% Talent 35% Lifestyle & Fitness in Swimsuit 15% Evening Wear 20% On Stage Question 5% Top Five Final Ballot Not added to prior scores The Miss America Organization 2011 60
Private Interview Score Sheet Date: Judge s Name (Print): Signature: The Private Interview phase of competition is designed for the contestant to make a statement about her interests, opinions and aspirations, sense of accomplishment, poise and presence as well as her ability to fulfill the responsibilities of the Titleholder s Job Description. Each contestant is competing against herself and receives a score in the point range for all Single Night Competitions using whole numbers only. More than one contestant may receive the same score. If you make a change or erasure on your score sheet, you must initial it. When you have finished, hand your score sheet to the Judges Chair. The Miss America Organization 2011 61
Talent Score Sheet Date: Judge s Name (Print): Signature: IMPORTANT During the Single Night Competition, the titleholder s job description, responsibilities and duties are considered as part of the scoring for Talent. Each contestant is competing against herself and receives a score in the point range for all Single Night Competitions using whole numbers only. More than one contestant may receive the same score. If you make a change or erasure on your score sheet, you must initial it. When you have finished, hand your score sheet to the Judges Chair. The Miss America Organization 2011 62
Evening Wear Score Sheet Date: Judge s Name (Print): Signature: Each contestant is competing against herself and receives a score in the point range for all Single Night Competitions using whole numbers only. More than one contestant may receive the same score. If you make a change or erasure on your score sheet, you must initial it. When you have finished, hand your score sheet to the Judges Chair. The Miss America Organization 2011 63
Lifestyle & Fitness in Swimsuit Score Sheet Date: Judge s Name (Print): Signature: Each contestant is competing against herself and receives a score in the point range for all Single Night Competitions using whole numbers only. More than one contestant may receive the same score. If you make a change or erasure on your score sheet, you must initial it. When you have finished, hand your score sheet to the Judges Chair. The Miss America Organization 2011 64
On-Stage Question Score Sheet Date: Judge s Name (Print): Signature: The On-Stage Interview phase of competition is designed for the contestant to make an on-stage statement of her interests, opinions and aspirations. One or two questions may be asked and the judge is only to consider the answer(s) to the question(s). Each contestant is competing against herself and receives a score in the point range for all Single Night Competitions using whole numbers only. More than one contestant may receive the same score. If you make a change or erasure on your score sheet, you must initial it. When you have finished, hand your score sheet to the Judges Chair. The Miss America Organization 2011 65
Final Ballot Pageant Name: Date: Placements and 1st Placement 2nd Placement 3rd Placement 4th Placement 5th Placement 10 5 3 2 1 Point Judges Signature Remember to consider the job description and the titleholder s responsibilities and requirements presented during your orientation for the job of Miss State/Local which this organization has entrusted you to select. Determine the order in which the contestants could best perform the job responsibilities as Miss State/Miss Local and serve as the face and the voice of this Organization. RANK the Top Five Contestants from the list below in the order in which you believe each should finish for this competition (please note, you can only RANK the contestants who are not crossed off the list below). Write their contestant numbers and names or titles in the five spaces above. The contestant you believe to be the best for this job should receive the first placement; second placement for the second best; until all five contestants are ranked according to whom is the best applicant for the job described. In this area of competition, the point value for each placement is predetermined. The outcome of the pageant is based solely on the scores from the final ballot. These points are NOT added to the scores from the previous competitions and the high and low scores are not dropped. ATTENTION JUDGES CHAIR AND AUDITORS The Judges Chair should type in the contestants in competition order in the table below. Please note that Local Pageants do not announce a Top Five and the Winner/Runners-up are announced from the entire group of contestants. The Auditors will cross the number and names of the contestants who do not have the Top Five Scores. NO. NAME OR TITLE OF CONTESTANT NO. NAME OR TITLE OF CONTESTANT Date The Miss America Organization 2011-Judges Manual 65a