Miss Division

Miss Rapid City Candidate Guide 2024 

Official Contestant Information

Welcome to the Miss Rapid City Pageant page! We invite you to experience the Miss America program through our local competition and discover the opportunities provided by the world’s largest scholarship organization for young women.

The Miss Rapid City Pageant will be held Saturday, February 7, 2024, and serves as a preliminary competition qualifying titleholders to compete at the 79th Annual Miss South Dakota Pageant, taking place May 28-30, 2026, in Brookings, South Dakota. The Miss South Dakota winner advances to compete at the Miss America Pageant.

More information: www.misssd.org

The Miss America Organization has updated its age eligibility requirements. Eligibility is now determined by a contestant’s age as of the national competition in September 2026, rather than the date of the local or state competition.

If a contestant qualifies for both divisions (for example, she turns 18 during September 2026), she must choose either the Miss or Teen division and remain in that division for the entire competition year.

Miss America (Ages 18–28)

• Must be at least 18 years old on September 1, 2026
• Must be no older than 28 years old on September 30, 2026
   

Miss America’s Teen (Ages 14–18)

• Must be at least 14 years old on September 1, 2026
   
• Must be no older than 18 years old on September 30, 2026
   

These updated rules establish fixed calendar dates for age eligibility and eliminate prior references to the date of a contestant’s local or state competition.

You must meet one of the following requirements for at least six months:

• Be a resident of South Dakota 
• Attend school in South Dakota
• Be employed in South Dakota
   

If you attend school out of state but your parents’ permanent address is in South Dakota, you qualify as a South Dakota resident.

All Miss Rapid City titles are unrestricted. Any contestant statewide who meets South Dakota residency requirements is eligible to win any title awarded.

The number of titles awarded is determined by the number of contestants. Titles are assigned based on overall score, not geography.

Examples of possible titles include:

• Miss Rapid City
• Miss Central States Fair
• Miss Rushmore
• Miss Badlands
• Miss BHSU
• Miss SDSMT

All titles awarded qualify the recipient to compete at the Miss South Dakota Pageant.

As a titleholder, you are expected to:

• Represent the Miss Rapid City Pageant at the Miss South Dakota Pageant
• Serve as a spokesperson for your social impact initiative
• Attend events when available
• Uphold the values and image of the Miss America Organization while representing South Dakota

Executive Director:
Sara Frankenstein
Email: smfranken@hotmail.com

A contestant is officially entered only after all required paperwork has been completed and received.
Phone calls or emails alone do not constitute official entry.

Required paperwork:

• Contestant Fact Sheet
• Contestant Contract

Please email the following to Sara Frankenstein as soon as possible:

• Color headshot (head and shoulders)
• Contestant Fact Sheet / Resume
• Parents’ names (as you would like them listed)
• Age
• Talent type (general description only)
• Social impact initiative title or general topic
• Hometown
• School, university, homeschool, or employer
   

Date: February 7, 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: Performing Arts Center
610 Columbus Street, Rapid City, SD

Tickets available at the door.  CASH OR CHECK ONLY.

Visit www.missrapidcity.org for schedules and updates.

All public social media content is viewable by others, including judges and potential employers. Content should reflect the image and standards outlined in the contestant contract. Consider privacy settings carefully and ensure all public-facing content aligns with the Miss America Organization’s values.

The Miss America judging system promotes diversity, individuality, and overall achievement. Judges score contestants independently on a 1–10 point scale in each phase.

• Private Interview: 30%
   
• Fitness: 20% (REBEL athletic wear)
   
• Talent: 20%
   
• Evening Wear & Social Impact Statement: 20%
   
• On-Stage Interview: 10%
   

• Total time: 10 minutes
   
  • 9 minutes, 30 seconds interview
     
  • 30-second closing statement
     
• Attire: Professional interview wear
   

Questions may include topics from your fact sheet, social impact initiative, current events, career goals, and issues relevant to women.

Preparation Tips:

• Stay informed on current events
   
• Know your social impact initiative thoroughly
   
• Practice interviews and receive feedback
   
• Be confident and articulate in your opinions
   

• Attire: REBEL athletic wear
   

• Maximum length: 90 seconds
   
• No live accompaniment
   
• Music must be emailed or provided on a thumb drive
   
• Bring labeled backup thumb drives
   
• Aerial silks are not permitted

Judges evaluate skill level, stage presence, personality, and entertainment value.

• Gown should showcase you, not the dress
   
• Practice will be conducted during rehearsal (in your evening-wear shoes, preferably)
   

• Two questions drawn from interview or fact sheet
   
• Judges assess confidence, composure, and communication under pressure
   

For opening numbers:

• Black leggings
   
• Black shoes (low to medium heel)
   
• Nude or tan tank/camisole
   

Additional items to bring:

• Clothing rack (if needed)
   
• Robe
   
• Steamer
   
• Hair tools
   
• Any personal items needed for competition day
   

1. Visit https://www.club.missamerica.org/ma-membership
    

Fees:

• $35 Miss America system fee (one-time)
   
• $100 Miss Rapid City local competition fee
   

• Personal resume (maximum two pages)
   
• Headshot (simple photo acceptable; plain background recommended)
   
• Miss America Delegate Contract (provided after registration)
   

Judges review resumes and headshots prior to interviews, so present yourself professionally.

We hope this information helps you prepare for competition. We look forward to welcoming you.

Sincerely,
The Miss Rapid City Scholarship Program Board

Sara Frankenstein
Executive Director
4470 Rimrock Drive
Rapid City, SD 57702
Email: smfranken@hotmail.com
Cell: (605) 381-1693
Work: (605) 342-1078

For age eligibility in the Teen & Miss divisions, here are the details: 

• 2024-2025 "Miss Teen" cycle:  born during the years 2006 - 2010 
• 2024-2025 "Miss" Cycle:  born during the years 1996 through 2006 

You must also be a resident of South Dakota, or a student attending school in South Dakota, or employed in South Dakota, for six months to qualify for participation (see details in the contract).  If you attend school out of state but your parents’ address in South Dakota is your permanent home address, you qualify as a resident of South Dakota.  Some local pageants may have more restrictive geographical residency requirements, but ALL titles the Miss Rapid City Pageant will give out are unrestricted – anyone throughout the state meeting the state residency requirement may win any of the titles.   

The more contestants we have, the more titles we can give. The top-scoring contestants receive these titles, regardless of where they live, but the name of the title will be determined the night of the pageant. For instance, if we have enough contestants to give two titles at the pageant, and the highest-scoring contestant is from east river and the second-highest scoring contestant is from Rapid City, the first will be given the Miss Central States Fair title, and the second will be given the Miss Rapid City title. If a top-scorer goes to BHSU, she may get the Miss BHSU title.  We hope to have enough contestants to give a Miss Rushmore, Miss Badlands, and Miss SDSMT titles as well.  All titles qualify the recipients to compete at the Miss South Dakota Pageant in Brookings.    

As a titleholder, please keep in mind that you will represent this local pageant at the Miss South Dakota Pageant, be a spokeswoman for your social impact initiative, attend various functions when you can, and be a positive voice for the entire state of South Dakota as well as the Miss America Organization.   

Sara Frankenstein will be your contact person whose email address is smfranken@hotmail.com.  When your official contestant paperwork is fully completed and received, you will be placed as a contestant in this local pageant.  Phone calls, e-mails requests, etc., WILL NOT be considered as official entries.  Official paperwork includes the fact sheet and the contestant’s contract. Return this paperwork to smfranken@hotmail.com.   

It takes some time for us to put together the program book we sell at the door.  Please email Sara Frankenstein the following as soon as possible: 

• A color headshot or head and shoulder photo 
• Your Contestant Fact Sheet / Resume (downloadable at the bottom of this page)
• Your parents’ names (how you would like them listed in the program book) 
• Your age 
• Your talent type (“flute”, “lyrical dance”, “cheer dance”, “classical piano”, “comedic monologue”, “speed painting”, etc. - your exact talent song/name is not needed) 
• Your social impact initiative title or general topic (e.g. “Buckle Up for Safety” or “importance of wearing seatbelts” - catchy titles are fine but not necessary) 
• Hometown 
• Your school, university, homeschool, or place of employment 

The Miss Rapid City Pageant will be held on February 24, 2024 at 6pm at the Performing Arts Center (610 Columbus Street) in downtown Rapid City, SD.  Check with your Executive Director (Sara Frankenstein) or www.missrapidcity.org for schedules and other information.   

CAUTION TO ALL CONTESTANTS THAT USE SOCIAL MEDIA.   

Many people use social media as a means to communicate with their friends.  The Miss South Dakota Board would like to remind you that items posted on these sites can easily be viewed by others.  Other viewers may include pageant judges and potential employers.  Some postings may not portray the image you would like to have of yourself as you strive to become Miss South Dakota and Miss America.  If you do choose to have a site, you may wish to password-protect it to only close friends, or if you choose for it to be open, please remember that everything contained on the page (photographs, quotations, and friend comments) is a reflection of you as a Miss South Dakota candidate.  Please make sure all public content adheres to the image Miss South Dakota should uphold, as detailed in the contestant contract.   

THE JUDGING PROCESS:   

The Miss America competition judging system is designed to promote diversity, individuality and overall achievement among all contestants.  Judges score the individual contestants immediately following each phase of competition.  Contestants are scored on a 1-10 point scale, in whole numbers, within each category (more than one contestant may receive the same score.)  All five judges have been educated about the Miss America judging system and represent a variety of professional sectors within their communities.   

WEIGHTING OF SCORES, SUGGESTIONS FOR COMPETITION ATTIRE, AND HELPFUL HINTS FOR SUCCESSFUL COMPETITION:  

Private Interview is 30% of your score.  

Wear a suit or dress of choice – something you would wear for a job interview.  Your personal taste should dictate all your clothing choices, but avoid extreme styles.  Typically, contestants choose suits or dresses with above-the-knee skirts, but you may choose a longer skirt or pants suit.  Busy patterns, styles, or excessive jewelry and scarves may distract the judges’ attention from what you are saying, so keep them minimal.   

Criteria considered in interview include whether the contestant has qualities and attributes of a Miss America, first impression, personality, intelligence, opinions, articulation, confidence, style, and charisma. Questions may come from your fact sheet, current events, controversial issues, issues relevant to women, career goals, and your social impact initiative.   

The interview time will be a total of ten minutes.  There will be nine minutes and thirty seconds of interview by the judges and then a thirty-second closing statement by the contestant.  The contestant will enter the room and the judge designated to ask the contestant her first question will begin the interview.  Be prepared with some thoughts for your closing statement, which cannot go over 30 seconds.  A podium may be used.   

Ways to prepare for interview:  Read the newspaper or a news magazine regularly. Compile statistics relating to your social impact initiative.  Become an expert in your specific area of concern with your social impact initiative.  Learn facts, trends, differing methods, etc. that exist in our state or nation and know which methods persuade you most.  Ask yourself every possible question you can think of and formulate responses in your head.  Know your opinion on controversial subjects in the news or related to your platform.  Practice with someone acting as a judge.  Get constructive criticism and use it to your benefit.  Watch yourself speak in front of a mirror or on video.  Remember judges do not want to hear a wishy-washy response.  Know your opinions and why you believe the way you do.   

Fitness -- 20% of your score.  Wearing REBEL athletic wear

Talent -- 20% of your score.  Your talent routine may not exceed 90 seconds, but can be less. 

If you need special props other than microphones, please let Sara Frankenstein know.  We no longer allow aerial silks for the talent competition.  Your attire should complement the performance you are delivering.  Judges are looking for your personality, interpretive ability, skill level, stage presence, and entertainment value.   

No live accompaniment is allowed.  All background music must be on thumb drive or emailed only.  You must bring a thumb drive of your background music with you to rehearsal if you do not email it prior to.  Backup voices are allowed only if there is no melody being sung on the accompaniment CD.  Your talent must be demonstrated on stage as a live performance.  It should be memorized if possible.  Talent accompaniment on anything other than thumb drives or emailed will NOT be allowed.  You can find 90-second accompaniment tracks at www.musicalcreations.com, or create your own.  Bring your back-up thumb drives to rehearsal with your name and cell phone number.

HERStory Option:   HER Story™ – Miss America Opportunity   

Evening Wear/Social Impact Statement is 20% of your score.   

Your choice of gown should show YOU off, not the gown.  Cost is not the factor here.  Scoring areas are qualities and attributes of a Miss America, first impression, sense of confidence, stage presence, posture, sense of style, and attractiveness.   

In your gown, you will give a 30-45 second pitch about your social impact statement.  Prepare what you want to say ahead of time.  We will practice this several times on stage with the mic. 

On-Stage Interview is 10% of your score.  

Two questions are generally taken from your interview or fact sheets.  Judges are looking for how you handle the pressure of speaking on stage in front of an audience consisting of your family, friends, and strangers.  They want to hear your answers to the questions in the context in which they were asked.   

Production Attire for the Miss Rapid City Pageant:  

Other than your competition outfits, you will need black leggings, black shoes, and a tan/nude tank top or camisole for the opening numbers.  We will hand out sparkly tops at rehearsal, but some are sheer and need a nude tank top underneath.  Make sure you can do choreography in your outfit and shoes (keep the heels low to medium).   

Please bring along things such as a portable hanging rod to hang up your dresses (otherwise there is limited place to hang up your gowns at the Performing Arts Center) robe, steamer, curling iron, or whatever else you think you’ll need.  We will not have any such items there other than what you bring.     

HOW TO SIGN UP: 

1. Click this link: www.missamerica.org/signup/  
2. Click "START HERE: Register" and then click on South Dakota to go to the dropdown for the local competition that you wish to enter.
3. There is a $35 fee to enter the Miss America System, and then there is a $100 entrance fee for the Miss Rapid City local competition. (NOTE: There is a separate fee for each local competition that you enter, but the initial Miss America fee is a one-time fee).
4. Contact Sara Frankenstein for any questions.  smfranken@hotmail.com 

You will need to create a personal resume not exceeding two pages. This can be filled with whatever you feel best represents you and your background.   The resume can look any way you would like (whatever font, colors, format you like is fine), but this is something that the judges will see, so keep that in mind as you prepare your resume, as it is a factor in the judging process/interview.  

You will also need a headshot and will need to fill out the Miss America Delegate contract (to be provided to you when your registration is received).  The headshot does not need to be anything fancy. You can even take a quick photo on your phone to submit. Just be sure to have a plain background.  The judges will also see this, and it is your first impression you make on them since they see your headshot and resume before they have an opportunity to meet you, so make sure you represent yourself well.

We hope this information helps prepare you for competition.  We hope to see you soon! 

Sincerely,   

The Miss Rapid City Scholarship Program Board

If you have questions, please contact:

Executive Director
Sara Frankenstein
4470 Rimrock Drive
Rapid City, SD 57702
Email: smfranken@hotmail.com
Cell: (605) 381-1693
Work: (605) 342-1078