Though Miss America eliminated the swimsuit portion of the competition, this year's Miss Texas Pageant will still have it.
“Not just Miss Texas – but all of the state competitions that are having their state competitions right now are still enjoying the swimsuit part of the program,” says Valerie Bell, spokeswoman for the Miss Texas Competition.
Although the pageant started as strictly a swimsuit contest --- Bell says swimsuit hasn’t been a big part of the scoring in later decades anyway. She says swimsuit is more about the show part than the competition part anyway. “It doesn’t affect the scoring that much, anyway. It was always a small part of the judge’s scoring.”
The competition weighs community service and relatability much higher in the judging. She says it is, after all, a scholarship program.
“Miss Texas gives away about $100,000 in scholarships every year. Our latest Miss Texas just graduated from the University of Texas debt free, and has been accepted into a Master’s Program in England. That program will be totally paid for by the competition. “
To see how beautiful and smart and appealing this sampling of Texas women look in their swimsuits for the last time --- tune in on June 30th for the crowning.