User:Zadidoll/Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen

History
The Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen Pageant began in 1994 as part of the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Pageant. It is the "sister" pageant to Miss Washington and Miss America pageants.

All contestants must be between the ages of 13 and 17 and may not be eligible for participation in the Miss Washington pageant. To participate in the Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen Pageant, a contestant may either win a local competition or enter as an "At Large" participant if a local Teen pageant is not available. The competition takes place at the same time as the Miss Washington pageant in early July in Burien, Washington.

As with the Miss Washington winner, Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen becomes a representative of her state and must promote her platform by either establishing community-based initiatives and mentoring programs or working with established programs such as DARE, the Special Olympics, etc, etc.

The current Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen is Reina Almon, a 17-year-old West Valley High School senior and the former (2009) Apple County's Outstanding Teen and (2008) Yakima County’s Outstanding Teen.

Judging
Judging is similar to the Miss America format however the teens do not compete in a swimsuit and must wear athletic wear of her choice.

1) Private Interview In the Private Interview portion of the competition each contestant converses with the judges on a variety of topics, from frivolous trivia to serious political and social issues. The contestant is awarded points for being well spoken, polite, articulate, and confident. This competition is less known by the general public than other aspects of the pageant, since unlike the other three, it does not take place on a theater stage, nor is it televised. The Private Interview counts for 30% of the contestant's overall score.

2) Talent In the Talent portion of the competition the contestant performs on stage before the judges and an audience. The most common talents are singing or dancing, but a variety of other talents may be exhibited at the contestant's choosing; some have demonstrated juggling or playing musical instruments. The Talent portion of the competition counts for 35% of the contestant's overall score.

3) Lifestyle & Fitness in Sportswear In the Sportwear portion of the competition contestants walk on the stage in athletic clothes and tennis shoes. Judging for this portion of the competition focuses on overall physical fitness, poise and posture. The Sportswear competition counts for 10% of the contestant's overall score.

4) Evening Wear In the Evening Wear portion of the competition, the contestants are judged on poise and bearing as they walk across the stage in evening gowns that are age appropriate. The Evening Wear portion of the competition counts for 15% of the contestant's overall score.

5) On-stage Question At a local level On-stage Questions may take place right after the opening number or maybe asked during the Evening Wear portion. Contestants are asked a random question from a pre-determined list that they must then answer onstage with no preparation. Questions are topical and usually involve current events. The questions require the contestant to have knowledge of the event and provide an opinion. The On-stage Question counts for 5% of the contestant's total score.

6) Scholastic Achievement The Teen contestants have an extra category that they compete in. All contestants must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA. Their grades are factored in the overall scoring and accounts for 5% of their total score.

Winners
* Succeeded to the crown after Miss Washington's Outstanding Teen won Miss America's Outstanding Teen.