How I choose the Right Pageant System

My evening gown during USOA Nationals 2024

Let’s face it, pageantry can be a very expensive and time consuming hobby. Registration fees, hair/makeup, and coaching can all add up very quickly. For that reason its VERY important to choose a pageant system that you have the best chances of having a positive experience.

The biggest mistake I see so many contestants make is not choosing a system that is the best fit for them. I see women pick systems that won’t allow them to highlight their strengths and cause them to feel terrible when they don’t take home the crown year after year. Here is how I ensure I pick a system that will value me as much as I value them.

1.Know your goals

First,I sit and determine what I want to gain from a pageant experience. For example, the last pageant I joined, my goals were to make friends, learn new skills, and have more opportunities to serve the community. Once I figured this out, I researched pageants and found ones that emphasized sisterhood and community service to ensure I had plenty of opportunities to reach my goals. Pageantplanet.com is a great place to start pageant research!

2.Will I be successful in this system?

The next step is look at what the pageant is really looking for.

Not all pageants are the same. Some pageants emphasis the beauty and poise, some are very big on platform and community service. To figure this out, I look at the areas of competition and how heavily each area is scored. If a pageant is scoring interview 50% and gown 10%, that tells me this pageant is looking for a personable and well-spoken queen.

Another clue to what the system is really looking for is to look at past queens. Take a look at the past queens and look for patterns. What do all previous queens have in common? Do they all have a ‘look’? Are they all well spoken and great speakers? Do they all have impeccable style? If I feel I have many of the similar traits the winners have, or if I want to work on developing the skills they have, I will consider applying.

3.What are my strengths?

Looking at your strengths is an important step in this process. Take an honest look at your skills. Do you have very strong stage presence and have a beautiful walk? Are you passionate about your platform and have made a great impact in your community? Or are you very charismatic and eloquent? Take stock of your skills and now take the information you gathered from step 2 and make sure the areas that are your strengths are scored highly. Being that I am strong in the interview, I look for systems that score that phase of competition 40% of more.

4.The Prize Package

Now let’s assess the prize package. It should be somewhere prominently on the pageant website. Is it something you feel is worth your time and effort if you were to win? From scholarship money to travel opportunities, if it's valuable to you, then it's worth it. But if the pageant doesn't have a listed prize package, that's a red flag that the pageant may be disorganized.

5.Savings

That’s it. I found a pageant I feel is looking for someone like me and has a desirable prize package.  Now its time to focus on saving. Financial prep is and should be a big part of pageant prep. One of the worst things you can do is to go into debt for a pageant. Getting sponsors is an amazing way to off-set pageant costs, but what if the amount you get falls short of what you need? That’s why I encourage contestants to save a good amount.

My favorite way to save it so do savings challenges where I make savings into a game. Click below for my pageant savings challenge freebie. To use it, you pick a crown and save that amount and color that crown. It really works and its the method I used to pay off my student loans.

It is important to do thoroughly research a pageant system to ensure you set yourself up for success. As the saying goes, "The right fit is worth the wait." So take the time to do your research and find the perfect pageant for you!

Let me know below how you choose which pageant you want to join. Also subscribe below for more pageant talk.