Miss Indiana Katie R. Stam competes in the swimsuit competition during the 2009 Miss America Pageant
Jennifer Lynn Hepner, Miss Montana, Elise Davis, Miss Idaho, Natalie C. Shaw, Miss New Hampshire, Emily Ann Cox, Miss Kentucky, and Karissa Renee’ Martin, Miss Ohio
Miss Indiana Katie R. Stam reacts as she is crowned Miss America 2009 by 2008 winner Kirsten Haglund during the Miss America Pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada
The Miss America pageant 2009 is set to be one of the fiercest fought events in history, contested almost exclusively by Amazonian gym buddies with seriously sculpted figures.
The swimsuit segment of the show in the heats at the Planet Hollywood resort in Las Vegas confirmed that a new breed of female athletes are going for glory, a far cry from the very natural looking girls-next-door who have competed down the 80 years of the competition’s history.
Indeed, Barbara Jo Walker, won top prize for Tennessee in 1947, was the very epitome of the average-looking American.
Miss Kentucky Emily Cox demonstrates her piano playing skills
As well as their sports bodies, entrants are expected to have other talents and they sang, danced, performed gymnastics, played the piano and violin with varying degrees of success.
Olivia Myers, Miss Iowa
Gretchen Bergquist, Miss Nebraska
Ashlen Batson, Miss Arkansas, introduces herself at the arrival ceremony for contestants in the 2009 Miss America Pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino
Julianna Erdesz, Miss Nevada, introduces herself at the arrival ceremony for contestants in the 2009 Miss America Pageant
Amanda Tapley, Miss Alabama
Galen Giaccone, Miss Delaware
Julianna Erdesz, Miss Nevada
The change is just the latest in the continuing search for a new audience for a venerable institution.
After years of sinking ratings, ABC dropped the pageant in 2005, forcing it to uproot from the Atlantic City Boardwalk in New Jersey to the Las Vegas Strip.
The pageant also moved to cable television, where only a fraction of the revenue and viewers were waiting.
Janet Harding, Miss Washington
Jennifer Lynn Hepner, Miss Montana
Emily Ann Cox, Miss Kentucky
Miss New York Leigh-Taylor Smith competes in a preliminary swimsuit competition for the 2009 Miss America Pageant January 22, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada
Kayla Lynam, Miss West Virginia
Ashley Fairfield, Miss New Jersey
Miss New York won the swimsuit portion of a preliminary competition
Without a network television contract, the amount of scholarship money awarded plummeted.
In 2007, the Miss America Organization distributed $445,000 in scholarships, less than half the total four years earlier, according to the nonprofit’s federal tax returns.
This year’s winner takes a $50,000 scholarship along with a year of travel and public appearances.
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