As an expert pageant coach, I help contestants identify their strengths and choose pageants that match those qualities. A couple months ago, I highlighted the Miss America organization system. This week we'll turn our attention to the MISS UNIVERSE system.

The titleholders of these three pageants tend to gravitate towards the modeling, TV and movie industry. Once they are crowned, they move immediately into their New York City apartment and spend the year traveling, making appearances at numerous fund raising events and attending fashion galas for a year.

The MISS USA®, MISS UNIVERSE® and MISS TEEN USA® are all owned by the same organization. To find your state website and pageant, use the search engines and type in Miss Teen Ohio USA or Miss Ohio USA, for example. Each state pageant is independently owned and produced by different directors. The state preliminary pageants start as early as September and go until January. In most states, the Teen and Miss pageants are held the same weekend.
Contestants are judged in three equal categories consisting of Personal Interview, Swimsuit, and Evening Wear. Performing a talent is not a requirement.

The national website for all three is http://www.missuniverse.com. The below information was taken from the official website for informational purposes only. For the most up-to-date information and more specific details, please contact and speak with the state director of the state in which you reside.

HOW OLD ARE THE COMPETITIONS?
The Miss Universe and Miss USA competitions began as concurrent events in 1952 in Long Beach, California. Miss Teen USA made its debut in 1983 in Lakeland, Florida.

ARE THESE COMPETITIONS SEPARATE FROM THE MISS AMERICA PAGEANT?
Yes. In 1952, Catalina Swimsuits, formerly a Miss America sponsor, founded Miss Universe and Miss USA in Long Beach, California as product promotion. Although some women compete in both Miss USA and Miss America, the two systems are completely separate. Miss USA goes on to represent her country at the Miss Universe competition.

ARE THE PAGEANTS HELD IN A DIFFERENT PLACE EACH YEAR?
Now they are. When they were initiated, the Miss Universe and Miss USA competitions were held in Long Beach, California. Eight years later in 1960, the two competitions moved to Miami Beach, Florida, where they remained until 1971. Since 1972, they have been separate live television specials that are telecast from different locations around the country and the globe.

HOW ARE THE SITES CHOSEN?
The Miss Universe Organization works throughout the year with private enterprise, State and City government officials and, in the case of the Miss Universe competition, with foreign governments to establish the Host Site for each production. The city or country offering the optimal venue and support to the organization is chosen.

HOW MANY WOMEN COMPETE?
In the case of Miss Universe, between 75 and 85 countries send a candidate to compete. For Miss USA and Miss Teen USA, 51 contestants participate in the competition.

ARE THERE AGE REQUIREMENTS?
Yes. Miss Universe and Miss USA contestants must be at least 18 years of age and under 27 years of age by February 1st in the year they compete in the national competition. Miss Teen USA candidates must be at least 14 and under 19 years of age by February 1st in the year they compete in the national competition.

CAN A DELEGATE COMPETE MORE THAN ONCE?
Contestants may compete more than once in the preliminary (state) competition but may only compete in Miss Universe and Miss USA once. Miss Teen USA may compete in Miss USA but only after her reign has ended and after she has reclaimed her state title.

ARE CONTESTANTS REQUIRED TO HAVE A COACH?
No. While some feel more prepared when they work with an experienced person who can give them tips on competition, many women have won titles without any outside training. Candidates also turn to their state and national directors for assistance as the directors are experienced in providing effective counsel about the competition. Generally, state and national directors provide contestants with the confidence and experience needed to compete.

CAN CONTESTANTS BE MARRIED?
No. contestants may not be married or pregnant. They must not have ever been married, not had a marriage annulled nor given birth to a child. The titleholders are also required to remain single throughout their reign.

HOW DO CONTESTANTS GET TO THE NATIONAL COMPETITION?
For Miss USA and Miss Teen USA some cities and all states have preliminary competitions, which are produced by local and state directors. The winner of the city competition goes on to compete in the state event for her home city; state winners go on to the national competition. However, a delegate may enter a state competition without having won a city title. Miss Universe contestants must win their respective competitions to compete in the contest. In the case of the United States, Miss USA goes on to represent the United States at the Miss Universe pageant.

WHEN ARE THE COMPETITIONS HELD?
Miss USA is always the first event of the year and is generally held in February or March. Miss Universe follows in the Spring, with Miss Teen USA held at the end of Summer.

WHO TELEVISES THE COMPETITIONS?
NBC Universal broadcasts the Miss USA and Miss Universe competitions live during prime time in the United States. NBC Universal distributes the shows to international markets (approximately 170 countries). The three events are packaged together for international distribution.

WHO PRODUCES THE LIVE TELEVISED EVENTS?
The MISS UNIVERSE®, MISS USA® and MISS TEEN USA® specials are produced by the Miss Universe Organization, a Donald J. Trump and NBC Universal joint venture.

Have every weekly article I write delivered directly to your email. Sign up for my free weekly newsletter. Just click the GET YOUR FREE REPORT button at the top of this page. Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach and an iPEC trained personal development life coach. She created Winning Through Pageantry™, to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation and achieve winning results in life through pageantry. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 21 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website . For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

Have every weekly article I write delivered directly to your email. Sign up for my free weekly newsletter. Just click the GET YOUR FREE REPORT button at the top of this page. Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.

You have your dream dress and you’re physically ready for the pageant. You’re feeling confident and excited, and then it happens. You arrive at the pageant and you see her, Patty, the national queen from the age division below you. Patty has aged up and is now in your division. Quick, what are you thinking?
If thoughts like "I’m not as good as her, why bother" or "she has this in the bag" start running through your head, STOP thinking them immediately.

Assuming that because a contestant won a prior pageant guarantees her the crown this time, is the mindset that could eliminate you from the pageant before it begins.

This thought process happens more often than you think. If you’ve ever felt like this, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. However, if these thoughts continue to occupy your mind during the pageant, your self-doubt and lack of confidence will come through in everything you say and do. The judges and the audience will pick up on this negative energy and the crown will go to someone else.

So what can you do if you find yourself in this trap? Start speaking the truth to yourself.
Just because it happened in the past doesn’t mean it’s going to happen again.Why you may ask?

• Each pageant is different. The pageant may have a new director, or it may be held at a different time of year or location. The field of contestants will be different each year, too. Each pageant is a clean slate.

• Different set of judges look for different things. The judging panel will be different every year which means the results will vary. Judging is subjective so everyone’s opinion will be different.

• People peak at different times in their lives. No one stays the same. Everyone goes through growth and changes physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. Directors, judges and contestants alike. This is just a fact of life. The only life we have any say so about is our own so focus on you.

Positive statements such as "I possess everything needed to be Miss___" and "I know exactly what I will do with this opportunity when given the chance" will keep you in a positive mindset. This will only work however, if you really believe the statement. That’s why the inner game is really where the pageant is won or lost. If you spend all of your preparation time on the outer game of hair, wardrobe, and makeup, you’re underestimating the power of your mind.

As an expert pageant coach, I make sure the contestants I work with personally have looked at their mindset because it is the most important component between feeling like a winner or feeling like a loser.

Perhaps the reason that Patty has won several titles is because she has mastered her inner game and is no longer controlled by assumptions, comparisons and negative self-talk that held her back at one time. Then again, you don’t know what is going on in Patty’s life at this moment.

Every pageant is a fresh start. Make no assumptions about the final outcome.

This week when you’re confronted with one of your assumptions, stop for a moment and ask yourself, just because this happened before, what makes me think that it has to happen again? What in your life is different now that will lead to a different end result?

Congratulations Ms. Ohio Plus America 2010- Ocipare McKinley!

Photo courtesy of Studio RM - Rick Martinez and make-up by Ryan Harris.

Key McKinley's entry for 2010 Ohio Plus America Cover Girl Competition. Photo sponsored by Studio RM - Rick Martinez and make-up by Ryan Harris.

Ocipare’s platform and passion is Autism Speaks: Awareness, Education and Action! With a daughter, niece and nephew who are all autistic, she knows firsthand the effects autism has on the family. I am so proud of Key and look forward to being a team member that’s getting her ready for the national pageant in Monroe, LA July 13-17, 2010.

Question: I don't generally get nervous before pageants, but this year I'm in a pageant with a girl who has won before and I'm scared I won't do as well. What can I do to calm my nerves?

Answer: It’s common for there to be at least one former titleholder competing in the pageant with you. For some contestants, this can be very intimidating; but it doesn’t have to be. Recognize that this is an assumption that you are making, and we all know what happens when you assume, right? Assumptions are seldom truth, so just because it happened in the past, doesn’t mean it has to happen now. There are no guarantees in pageantry, and there’s no guarantee that the former queen will win this crown. Focus on you and enjoy the experience.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach and an iPEC trained personal development life coach. She created Winning Through Pageantry™, to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation and achieve winning results in life through pageantry. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 21 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website. For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.

What would the Miss USA pageant be without a scandal. The latest controversy is over the series of sexy lingerie photos the 51 contestants display from their photo shoot with high fashion photographer Fadil Berisha to promote the upcoming Miss USA 2010 pageant this Sunday night.

I was disappointed that I missed the call yesterday from a reporter with the CBS News Early Show to give my opinion on the subject (as a former Mrs. Ohio, expert pageant coach and mother of three daughters, I would have loved to chime in regarding this topic) but I’ll do so here on my blog. I love America and our freedom of speech.

Because one of my clients is among the 51 contestants, I have been following the Miss USA website very closely. I was very curious to see what theme the organization would use this year in their fashion shoot to introduce the ladies to the public.

Honestly, when I pulled up the screen, my first reaction was “Oh my!” and I looked over my shoulder to see if my teenage daughters were around me.

There’s no denying that the photos are beautiful photos and,true, the ladies don’t reveal any more skin than if they were wearing bathing suits. In fact, Victoria’s Secret could save a ton of money for their next catalogue. They should just buy these photos from the Trump organization. All 51 ladies are stunning and Fadil did a magnificent job in capturing the sensual side of these women.

However, there is a difference between swimwear and lingerie. Lingerie infers an entirely different mental environment and feel. There’s all this talk within the pageant world about bringing pageants into the 21^st century. So why do organizers continue to dip back into the pot of “sex sells everything”? This is neither a creative nor a progressive thought and does nothing to empower men nor women. Instead what it says to men is “this is what’s sexy in a woman”, and to women it says “ I have to look like that in order to be worthy of anyone’s love.”

I love fashion and glamour. I appreciate and admire an artistic photographer who can capture the external beauty in anything; but only a genius photographer can capture the essence of a person’s inner qualities. Displaying the inner qualities in a tangible form…that would be progress. I feel God’s most beautiful creation is the human being, both body and soul, and I support appropriate celebration of such.

But by choosing the stereotypical genre of sexy lingerie, I feel it furthers the opinion some people hold that pageants exploit the external beauty of women. The photos certainly do not capture the total package of a woman being beautiful, spiritual, intellectual,  articulate, involved in her community and a positive role model for young girls. There are other ways to test a woman’s self confidence than seeing how she reacts to the amount of skin she exposes.

These photos show one side of these ladies, and I’m sorry, I have to giggle.  The title of the photo shoot was “Waking Up in Vegas”.  No one wakes up in the morning looking like that.

I know the depth that some of the women in this pageant possess and it’s a shame that a portion of the public will never open their minds to seeing the remarkable things these women are doing in their home states and communities. After all,  a picture is worth a thousand words and opinions are being made based on the photographs. I feel the organization could have chosen a more appropriate theme to showcase these beautiful women and took a step backwards not forward in advancing women.

Perhaps next year, they’ll really test the photographers creative abilities to capture the beauty of the “total package” because, in my opinion, they blew it this time around. What do you think?

Have every article I write delivered directly to your email. Sign up for my free weekly newsletter. Just click the GET YOUR FREE REPORT button at the top of this page. Then fill out your name and email address in the boxes.

In the game of darts, it's important to locate the target before you start throwing. In darts, your goal is to hit the bull's-eye for maximum points. The more skilled you are at aiming the darts, the more rewarding the game will be.

The same is true in pageantry. The first step you need to take is figuring out what your real target is. Only you can decide this. Maybe it is to capture the title; but for some, it is to come from the interview feeling confident that you clearly shared your message with the judges and it was received. Perhaps, some want to make it through the pageant without their nerves controlling them. But, you need to decide.

Once you identify the target, you'll want to perfect your aim so you can hit the bull's-eye as many times as possible. So let's say you get the question, "why do you want to be Miss Fabulous?" and your answer is "I would like to be Miss Fabulous because I want to be a positive role model for the women of this country." That answer would land you on the board; but on the outer edge worth 20 point-not the 100 you need. Why only 20? Because any contestant can say this and it tells me very little about who you are.

To move closer to the bull's-eye, you're going to need to go deeper. Try these three tips to help you with your aim.

• Schedule daily time for personal exploration and growth. Even 10 minutes of daily reading from an inspirational book will get you thinking about what you value and what motivates you.

• Journal. Use a question or two to start your thought process, set the timer and start writing. You'll be amazed at what comes out.

• Work one-on-one with a pageant coach. You can acquire all kinds of knowledge through reading, but if you don't know how it pertains to you, you're not going to take action. No action means no results. It's normal to have some blind spots about ourselves. A coach can help you sort through your choices, develop a focused plan and help you to take action to move closer to your target.

If you want some help in this area, consider my A.I.M. session next Tuesday evening. In this session, I will go into depth on creating your application (or judge's bio), interview skills and message so you can hit your target with greater ease.

Go ahead and get your planner-I'll wait :). Now take a look at this week and set aside some time each day for yourself. Even if it's only 5 minutes, write it down and commit to it. Next decide what you're going to do during your ALONE time. Maybe you want to pray, read or meditate; but choose what you want to focus on this week.

Rhonda Shappert is an expert pageant coach and an iPEC trained personal development life coach. She created Winning Through Pageantry™, to partner with pageant contestants and their support people to provide complete pageant preparation and achieve winning results in life through pageantry. In the pageant world she has held multiple local, state and national titles. Rhonda graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelors degree in Musical Theater from The Ohio State University and has performed on stage in 15 countries on the Asian, European and American continents. This mother of three home educates their children and has been married 21 years to her husband Stephen, is the former mayor of her community, and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Virtual Academy. She and her husband perform original contemporary Christian music. Their music CD entitled Cana is available through www.cdbaby.com/cd/shappert or on her website . For more information on Rhonda, visit www.WinningThroughPageantry.com.