Miss Rome

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Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia are OPEN Miss Georgia and Miss America Preliminary Competitions. This means that both titles are OPEN to any eligible young woman who lives, works, or attends school in Georgia. All Miss delegates at our competition will be eligible for both the Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia titles. At the end of the competition, the two delegates with the highest overall scores will be named Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia (in random order). 

The next competition will be held at the Rome City Auditorium on Saturday, July 25, 2026.  ​Dress rehearsal will be at the Rome City Auditorium on Friday, July 24, 2026.  DEADLINE FOR ENTRY (paperwork packet, talent track, head shot) is Monday, July 13, 2026. We have a deadline with our local newspaper the following day and must have headshots and applications by July 13th in order to meet that deadline.

Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia are OPEN preliminaries for eligible young women who live, work, or attend school in Georgia (must provide proof of residence or school) and are U.S. citizens. The age eligibility range is 18 to 28 according to the criteria listed below (must provide copy of birth certificate OR driver's license as proof of age eligibility). 

UPDATED Age Eligibility for Miss:

Miss America has released updated age and eligibility guidelines for individuals competing as at-large, local, or state delegates in the lead-up to the 2027 national competition. These updates reflect the organization’s return to its historic September schedule—an homage to its origins in Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the first competition was held in 1921.

The revised eligibility criteria are as follows:

Age Eligibility:

Due to the shift in the national competition calendar, MISS age eligibility is now defined as follows:

●  Miss America: Delegates must be no older than 28 years of age as of September 30, 2027 and no younger than 18 on September 1, 2027

● Miss America’s Teen: Delegates must be no younger than 14 as of September 1, 2027 and no older than 18 on September 30, 2027.

Residency:

Delegates qualifying by residence must provide proof of at least 120 consecutive days of residency within the state prior to the date of competition.

Employment:

Delegates qualifying by employment must submit documentation of full-time, in-person employment (minimum of 40 hours per week) held for at least 120 consecutive days prior to competition.

Student Status:

Delegates qualifying through student status must be enrolled full-time at an accredited college or university located in the state. Full-time status is determined by the institution.

All forms of documentation required for eligibility verification remain unchanged.

These updates are designed to provide clarity and consistency across all local, state, and national competitions. For further information, delegates should contact their local or state director.

The process to follow for registering for our local competition through Miss America has 4 specific steps. It is IMPERATIVE that the delegate use the SAME email and phone number throughout each of the four steps outlined below! Additionally, for Teen delegates – that email should belong to the DELEGATE (NOT the parent) and that email should NOT be tied to a parent’s Facebook account. Visit the Miss America "Club America" Registration Overview Page here:   3 Steps to Become a Delegate · Miss America 

Step 1. Miss America Program Registration requirement:  Each Miss delegate must register for the Miss America Program Competition Season (2028 Competition Cycle) and pay a one-time-per-competition-year fee. This fee is good for the entire local competition year. This registration gives you access to MAO’s exclusive Professional Development series and MANY other opportunities. (If you have already competed at a local preliminary this season, you have completed this step). It is very important that you use the same email address for all steps throughout the competition season. The fee for the 2028 Competition Cycle is $49.99 (+card fees=$51.74). Register here:  3 Steps to Become a Delegate · Miss America 

Step 2. Miss America Delegate Agreement:  All Miss and Teen delegates must have a current, signed, completed agreement (contract) on file to compete at all levels in the 2028 competition cycle. When you complete your initial Miss America Program Registration and pay your one-time registration fee (see above and below), your contract (Delegate Agreement) will open automatically in your browser. The Delegate Agreement is digital with fillable fields that you complete online. Per the Miss Georgia Board, delegates cannot compete until their Delegate Agreement (contract) has been COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED. Use the SAME EMAIL ADDRESS and number for this step as you used to join Club America!!

If your Delegate Contract does not automatically open after you register with Club America (or if you already registered with Club America), use the link below for MISS delegates:

◦ Miss Delegate Contract - https://www.club.missamerica.org/miss-delegate-contract 

Step 3. Set up your Spotfund account for the American Heart Association Donation:  To compete in a local competition, each delegate must raise a $30 donation for the American Heart Association through the official Spotfund platform. A $30 donation must be raised for every local that a delegate competes in during the 2028 competition cycle. Once you 1. Complete the Miss America Program Registration and then 2. Complete your Delegate Agreement, you will then 3. Receive an email and SMS with a link to apply for your unique Go Red for Women (Spotfun) link. You will use this link to set up your American Heart Association Fundraising page on Spotfund for the NEW 2028 competition cycle and then raise $30 for the local competition you are entering. If you do not get a direct link, you may also request one directly at: https://www.club.missamerica.org/c28-grfw 

Step 4. Register online for the local competition. Once Steps 1–3 are complete, register for our local pageant at:

◦ https://www.club.missamerica.org/club-membership 

Under local competitions, select: "Miss Rome Scholarship Organization." You will be registering for and be eligible for both the Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia titles.

If this is NOT your first local competition of the season and you have already paid the $49.99 one-time fee, completed your Delegate Agreement (contract) and set up your personal American heart Association Spotfund for the 2028 competition cycle, you still need to register with Miss America for our local competition. However, you do not need to pay another fee. 

If you have any questions or difficulties with the registration process, Contact Field Operations at fieldops@missamerica.org. 

*NOTE* This registration must be completed by July 24th or the candidate will not be allowed to compete at Miss Rome/Miss Northwest Georgia. 

Local Competition Entry Fee:  For all Miss and Teen Local Competitions in Georgia this season, delegates have a $75 entry fee paid to the local competition. This replaces the previous fees paid per local competition to the national organization. Entry fee may be paid via check (see mailing address below), or online through the Miss Rome Competition Square account:    

https://square.link/u/jyJhx5ZL 

Contestant Application: The contestant application is standard for all local competitions in the Miss Georgia Organization. The application must be complete and submitted with the other paperwork. *The NEW application is listed below in the downloadable forms. The application lists the local entry fee for Georgia as $100. Because our competition information had to be posted prior to the new application being released, we will honor the $75 entry fee previously published. If you compete in other preliminary competitions later this season, you will be asked to submit a $100 fee. 

Interview Fact Sheet and CSI Essay:  Delegates will submit a one-page Interview Fact Sheet and a one-page Community Service Initiative (CSI) Essay by the deadline of July 13th. These two pieces will be mailed to the judges prior to competition weekend so that judges can get to know the delegates, formulate questions, and be prepared to ask the delegates questions during their private interview. Delegates must follow the guidelines set forth by Miss America for completing both the interview fact sheet and CSI essay. See the list of downloads below for instructions on completing each.

Proof of Eligibility and Headshot: You will need to provide a copy of your birth certificate and proof of residence. This serves as your verification of age eligibility and state of Georgia residency eligibility for competition. You will need to provide a digital color photo (jpeg) head shot for newspaper, social media, and program book publicity. Your head shot must be high-resolution and submitted via email.  

Opening Number:  You will not be required to learn a dance. There will be basic stage maneuvers for the opening number, followed by candidate introductions. Introductions will include delegate number, name, and title of your community service initiative. Opening number attire will be the same outfit worn for private interview. Immediately following opening number, Miss candidates will compete in onstage question, wearing their interview/opening number attire.

PHASES OF COMPETITION

Private Interview:  30%  Miss delegates will have a 10-minute private interview with the panel of judges, including a 20 to 30-second opening statement and a 30-second closing statement. Questions are primarily based upon the delegate's resume and community service initiative (CSI) essay, as well as other topics. When she enters the room, the delegate will be introduced by a member of the Miss Rome Board. The delegate will walk straight to the podium and begin her opening statement. Once she finishes her opening statement, the judges will begin asking her questions. The Head Judge will notify the delegate when time is up and allow her to make her closing statement. Once she finishes her closing statement, her interview is over and the delegate will immediately leave the room. Delegates should NOT approach the judges or shake the judges' hands.

On Stage Conversation:  10%  Delegates will answer a question on stage related to her community service initiative (CSI). This will be the first phase of on-stage competition. Delegates will wear the same outfit as worn for the opening number (interview attire). For this phase of competition, the emcee will state the title of the delegate's CSI and then ask her question. The delegate will then have 20 seconds to answer her question. 

Health & Fitness:  20%   Miss America has partnered with the American Heart Association to promote #MissAmericaFit. Miss America also continues their partnership with Rebel Athletics, now as the "official athletic apparel partner." Therefore, all delegates at local competitions are REQUIRED to wear a red Rebel Athletic top and bottom from the Curated Styles for the Miss America Organization page. On the Rebel Athletics website page, delegates have a choice of about 22 different red tops and red bottoms so that she can choose the items that best reflect her style and best compliment her Health & Fitness presentation. When purchasing your outfit, be sure to use the code: MAOGAGB and Rebel will give back 7% of your purchase to the Miss Georgia Competition. Use the following link for more information on how to use the Rebel "Give Back" code: How to use Rebel Give Back code

The choreography for the fitness walk will be demonstrated at rehearsals. Generally, the walk will mimic what was presented at Miss Georgia - walk to the front of the stage, 3 quick poses, and walk off.

Delegates do NOT need to purchase a new red Rebel Athletic Health & Fitness outfit for each local competition. She may use the same red Rebel Athletic Health & Fitness outfit throughout the local competition season. You are STRONGLY encouraged to purchase your Rebel items sooner rather than later. Stock of sizes can vary greatly and the size you want in the style you want may not be available if you wait too long to order. Follow this link to find the designated fitness outfits from the Miss America Red Collection on the Rebel Athletics website:   Rebel Styles - Miss America Organization – Rebel Athletic 

Talent/HERStory:  20%  Each candidate will have 90 seconds to perform her talent selection. Background music track must be submitted electronically and in advance of rehearsals, as part of the paperwork deadline. Submitted music tracks will be timed to ensure the 90 second time limit is met. If candidates are not using a background track, she must submit an audio recording of her talent performance for purposes of time-limit verification; this audio recording will not be shared with anyone other than the local executive director and will not be judged. Miss America has published a list of approved talent performance. You can find this in the list of downloads below. Talents may not be duplicated and are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. See the below list of downloads for a talent request form (prefer submission via email). Delegates may submit their talent request form prior to submitting the other items to ensure she secures her talent selection of choice.
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Evening Wear:  20%  Each delegate will wear evening attire of her choice, reflecting "red carpet" glamour. Scoring is based on how the delegate carries herself and performs in this phase of competition - not on the actual gown or perceived cost of the gown. 

Please refer to the paperwork list below and submit all the paperwork along with your 90 second talent track, copy of your birth certificate, your proof of residence, and a high-resolution digital color head shot (jpeg) by July 13, 2026 to missromegacompetition@gmail.com  (strongly prefer that all items be emailed). 

Entry fee of $75 should be made online via Square:   

https://square.link/u/jyJhx5ZL

or by check made payable to the Miss Rome Competition and mailed to: 

Andrea Pitts, Executive Director

22 Saddle Mountain Road

Rome, Georgia  30161

You may contact Andrea Pitts, Executive Director, for more information at missromegacompetition@gmail.com or 706-766-4887.