You’re too young to represent the entire state.
You’re too old to be Miss America.
You need more experience- they’ll never crown a senior in high school.
We’ve all heard the whispers. Somehow the age of the titleholder impacts their ability to serve. But is this true? As long as you fall within the age requirements set forth by the Miss America Organization, there are no stipulations that one age group will make a stronger titleholder than another. But this doesn’t mean that
As you can tell, during the past 25 years the age of Miss New York has been on the higher end. Even though contestants are eligible, and have won local titles as young as 17, this is not reflected in the state titleholders crowned since 1991.
The number of titleholders crowns at each age is more clearly shown in Exhibit B- shown to the left. Not only is it more likely that a titleholder is crowned during her later years of eligibility, but specifically she is more likely to be crowned if she is 23 or 24 years old. This can be for any number of reasons- previous competition experience on the state stage, maturity in interview, poise and confidence that comes with age, and even judge’s opinion during ranking. Coincidentally, the two (2) young ladies who were crowned at age 20, the youngest age represented, were crowned back to back in 1998 and 1999.
The number of titleholders crowned at each age can also be shown in a percentage, as seen in Exhibit C to the right. Nearly 1/3rd of the past 25 Miss New York titleholders have been 23 years old when crowned. This includes three of the state titleholders crowned in the past 4 years.
Note: Earlier data does include 18 and 19 year old winners, as well as 25 and 26 year olds- before the age restrictions changed. Maryalice Demler, former Miss Buffalo and Miss New York 1990, was the last Miss New York titleholder to be crowned outside of the current age requirements. She was 26 when she won the state crown.
This information does not explicitly state that a girl between the ages of 17 and 19 is unable to win (it has happened in years prior to the years included in this data), however it is less likely based on this trend. A local titleholder who is competing for the state crown should be award of this trending age when she competes, and use it to her advantage. Work it the interview room to market yourself as a fresh face that can bring new ideas and connect with children, model a wardrobe that balances your youth and maturity, and most importantly- show the judges that your age is not a limitation, but an advantage.
The PageantFile 