Co-ed contests for girls and women aged 3-22 focus on natural inner beauty and offer scholarships. Makeup is discouraged, and contestants are divided by age group. Academic excellence and diverse body types are encouraged. The name “co-ed” is a misnomer, as only females can compete.
A coed contest is a contest for girls and women typically between the ages of 3 and 22. While many contests have swimsuit scores that tend to focus on physical appearance, co-ed contests eliminate this category to focus more on the contestants’ natural inner beauty. Some parents prefer their daughters to participate in this type of contest, because it doesn’t require the contestants to wear a lot of makeup. Among the incentives of a coed competition is the ability for participants to win scholarships to help pay for their college education.
Contests are held at both the state and national levels. Contestants are typically divided by age group to compete. The youngest division allows girls 6 years of age and younger to compete and is often known as the princess division. There are different levels of competition for older children and teenage competitors. The older age division, made up of college-age women, is known as the co-ed division.
Student competition youth participants aged 12 and under are not permitted to wear makeup to compete. Older girls are encouraged to use only a small amount of makeup. Mixed pageant contestants typically do not enhance their looks by using false eyelashes, hair extensions, or veneers.
The co-ed competition world strives to help young women excel academically. Many mixed competition contestants have high Academic Averages in school and are in the Hall of Fame. Competitors with slightly lower grades usually excel in other areas, such as volunteering, sports, or music. Girls of all shapes and sizes are encouraged to compete in coeded pageantry, and coeded pageant entrants of various heights, weights, and nationalities all stand an equal chance of receiving a crown.
Girls entering a student competition must provide their own dress and business attire. Young women in pageants are judged on evening dresses and interviews. There is also an optional talent contest for girls to enter.
The term “coed pageant” can be confusing to some people who expect young men to be in the competition as well. The contest’s name dates back to the early 1980s, when only college-age girls could enter the contest, hence the word “coed.” Over the years, the natural beauty pageant circuit began to allow teen and younger girls to enter, but the original name stuck. As of 2011, this type of contest is still strictly for female contestants.
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