What Judges Look For in Swimsuit

The Pageant Swimsuit Competition

The swimsuit competition is the oldest event in pageantry, with Margaret Gorman crowned the “Most Beautiful Bathing Beauty in America” in 1921. The tradition has changed a lot since that era when contestants paraded down the beach in swim-dresses, bloomers, and knee socks. Today’s swimsuit competitions reflect the fitness mania and figure-flattering fashions of the ’90s.

The event differs from pageant to pageant in judging, swimsuit styles, and image. In pageants that emphasize beauty, like Miss USA, Miss Teen USA, Miss World, GuyRex’s Miss United States, and Mrs. America, swimsuit is a major category usually worth one-third of judging. Contestants often wear identical swimwear or bikinis provided by a sponsor, and the modeling style is casual.

In the more conservative scholarship/talent pageants, swimsuit is the least-important phase. Miss America’s swimwear segment counts for a mere 15 percent of scoring (talent and interview are worth twice that), contestants wear modest one-piece suits, and the modeling style is conservative.

The most recent trend in this competition is an increasing emphasis on fitness and athletics. The Miss America program has renamed the phase “Physical Fitness in Swimsuit” and now includes “statement of physical fitness” as a judging criterion. In some cases the swimsuit competition has evolved into an actual physical fitness event. In the Mrs. U.S. International and GuyRex’s teen pageants contestants model in aerobic wear and sneakers, rather than swimwear, while America’s Junior Miss entrants perform an onstage aerobic fitness routine worth 15 percent of scoring. “The athletic look is in,” affirms pageant fitness specialist Sharon Turrentine, “and I don’t think it’s going to change.”

Swimsuit Judging Criteria – What Judges Look For

While swimsuit competitions differ significantly, judges usually consider some of the following qualities:

  • first impressions
  • beauty of face and figure
  • well-proportioned body
  • good muscle tone
  • proper level of body fat
  • statement of physical fitness and health
  • poise, posture, and carriage
  • graceful walk and modeling
  • confidence
  • proper fit of the swimsuit
  • overall presentation
  • energy and charisma

Regardless of the individual format and judging emphasis of a given pageant’s swimsuit competition, there is no question about what it takes to win. Judging instructions may use vague terms like “pleasing proportions” – but judges award their highest scores to women who are in top physical condition: “the . . . contestant who gives you that quick positive picture when you see her coming toward you,” observes Jeanne Swanner Robertson, a renowned humorist and national pageant judge. “You don’t have time to say, ‘Triceps look good, biceps are doing okay.’ But the overall quick picture is the one that says, ‘This is a physically fit young woman.”’ In the swimsuit competition, a beautiful, healthy body in prime physical condition is a sure winner.

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Swimsuit Competition