Steps to Become a Miss Oshkosh's Teen Contestant

​

• Work, live or attend school in Winnebago County, Wisconsin

• Be between the ages of 13 and 16.​

​

Contestants must commit to a process requiring personal commitment, hard work, and talent. To compete in the Miss Oshkosh's Teen program, you need commitment, perseverance, talent, and ambition.

​

Participating in the Miss America Organization is one of the most rewarding and beneficial experiences available to young women in the United States. The Miss Oshkosh Scholarship Organization is a local preliminary competition that advances to the Miss Wisconsin's Outstanding Teen Competition.

​

Benefits of the Program

​

• Gain valuable experience and develop life skills that will benefit your everyday life (i.e. interview skills, public speaking, interpersonal communication, social interaction, etc.);

• Earn quality scholarship funds for college and graduate school, regardless of whether a title is won;

• Create awareness of your potential strengths and increase your self-confidence;

• Find new interests and discover new opportunities;

• Make lifelong friendships and relationships with your peers, as well as other generations;

• Gain a sense of accomplishment by using your free time in a positive and constructive manner;

• Learn to set goals, follow them through, and exceed your expectations;

• Develop a sense of responsibility for helping others;

• Foster a positive, self-motivated mindset to achieve your goals; and

• Receive recognition for your efforts in bettering yourself and your community.

​

Where to Start

​

To become a candidate, you must:

• Be a young lady between the ages of 13 and 17 (see the local/state contestant contract for more details)

• Be a United States citizen.

• Meet residency requirements for competing in a certain town or state.

• Meet character criteria as set forth by the Miss America’s Outstanding Teen Organization.

• Be in reasonably good health to meet the job requirements.

• Be able to meet the time commitment and responsibilities as set forth by the local program in which you compete.

• Must not be eligible to compete in the Miss America Competition.

​

PROGRAM REGISTRATION​

To compete in the Miss America Organization, a candidate must register at members.missamerica.org/register to set up an account and pay the $35 membership fee. Membership is valid for one competition season. Additional fees may apply for local, state and national competitions.

Benefits of MAO registration include:

• Access to compete in a local Miss or Teen competition

• Chance to win one of 51 $1,000 scholarships

• Access to MAO's exclusive Professional Development Series with experts in areas such as:

  • Social media training​

  • Public speaking

  • Media/press training

  • Advocacy & Fundraising

  • Financial literacy

  • Health & Wellness/peak performance training

  • Resume building

  • Career opportunities and networking events

  • Exclusive Miss America merchandise and discounts

​

BECOMING MISS OSHKOSH/MISS OSHKOSH'S TEEN

 

Step 1: $35 Annual Miss America Membership Fee, applicable to Miss and Teen

register at members.missamerica.org/register to set up an account and pay the $35 membership fee. Candidates must email a copy of their receipt to info@missoshkosh.com to confirm the completion of registration. 

​

Step 2: $75 Local Competition Fee

MISS: Candidates must register and pay a $75 local competition fee for each local competition in which she competes. Once your MAO account is set up, candidates will see available competitions within Wisconsin and register for one or more local competitions. Candidates must email a copy of their receipt to info@missoshkosh.com to confirm payment of the local competition fee.

TEEN: Teen candidates will have no MAO local competition fee, but still must complete local competition registration and email confirmation to info@missoshkosh.com. NOTE: Miss Oshkosh's Teen competition has a $100 local entry fee payable to the Miss Oshkosh Scholarship Organization and is due by the second rehearsal. 

​

Step 3: Spotfund

SpotFund fundraising is not required for participation in the local or state program. However, candidates are still required to set up a profile. Note: A new profile must be created each competition season. 

​

Step 4: Compete at Miss Oshkosh in early March!

​

Step 5: State Compeition

For local Miss titleholders to compete in the state competition, an additional amount of $325 is due. The Oshkosh Area Women's Association assists Miss Oshkosh with funding this requirement. The teen entry for state competition is $350 and is paid for by the Oshkosh Area Women's Association.  

2023 WISCONSIN MISS/TEEN ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

​

Requirement 1: Age Eligibility

Based on the candidate's age on December 21, 2023

• Age 19-26, qualifies for the Miss competition

• Age 14-18, qualifies for the Teen competition

• Age 13, qualifies for the Teen competition if she will be 13 by the first day of the state competition, June 2023

​

Requirement 2: Jurisdiction

Candidate must live or work or go to school in the qualifying region (as identified in the current Local License Agreement) or the state of Wisconsin (for an open competition), as defined below

 

Residency (section 2.4.1 of Candidate Agreement)

• Primary residence where the candidate physically lives

• For at least 30 days prior to the local competition

• Required documents to prove residency: driver's license, automobile registration, voter registration, property mortgage or lease, or tax filing

• Must show both the candidate's name AND the qualifying address

 

Employment (section 2.4.3 of Candidate Agreement)

• Minimum of 32 hours per week

• For at least 60 days prior to the local competition

• Required documents to prove employment: W-2 form, income tax filing, or other relevant document showing name and qualifying employer address

 

Student Status (section 2.4.2 of Candidate Agreement)

• At least 12 credit hours

• Required documents to prove student status: enrollment document from school showing full-time status or transcript

 

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Must be a citizen of the United States of America

• Female | Never Married | Not pregnant or a parent

• MISS: must graduate high school by July 31, 2023

​

Areas of Competition for Local Competitions

​

PRIVATE INTERVIEW - 25%

This phase of competition is an opportunity to learn as much as possible about the contestant’s qualities and attributes to fulfill the titleholder position; her level of communication skills; her opinions and aspirations; her sense of accomplishment; poise and presence, as well as her ability to fulfill the responsibilities outlined in the Local “Job Description”. The judge will need to assess the “impression” the contestant makes. She needs to possess a confident personality and the ability to express and distinguish her beliefs. She needs to have knowledge and understanding of her Platform Issue and have a commitment to community service. She needs to be attractive and stylish in an age-appropriate manner.

​

LIFESTYLE & FITNESS - 15%

This phase of competition is designed to see how well the contestant maintains a lifestyle of good physical health and whether or not she has the sense of confidence and self-assurance needed to be a titleholder. The contestant should show that she takes care of herself and participates in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle. This phase of competition is a great indicator of confidence. The contestants will wear a type of aerobic/active -wear clothing, chosen by the Local Organization, NOT a swimsuit.

​

TALENT – 35%

This phase of competition separates the Miss America’s Teen program from other competitions. The maximum time length for the talent presentation is 90 seconds at all levels of the MAOTeen program. The Talent competition is an insight into the contestant’s preparatory and performance skills. It acknowledges the quality of the performance, technical skill level, stage presence and entertainment value. The judge should look at whether or not this contestant has the true talent ability to represent the local organization as well as the MAOTeen program for the entire year. The judge should assess her talent presentation’s overall effect as a member of both the judges’ panel and the audience.

​

ON-STAGE QUESTION/EVENING WEAR – 25%

This phase of competition is designed to assess the contestant’s beauty, poise, grace, and commanding stage presence, as well as her ability to answer a question with eloquence and intelligence in front of a large audience. When the contestant enters the stage, immediately assess the first impression she makes. The contestant’s sense of confidence, personality, walk, posture and carriage should be considered.

​

For more information:

​

Email: info@missoshkosh.com