This pageant system has to be one of the worst representations of an honest pageant system. There is obvious favoritism displayed when certain girls win the state Queen title repeatedly in different age divisions, by the same judges who are rotated on an infrequent basis, select the same girls. And then go on and do the same thing on the National level competition. But wait... it gets better. Starting in the 2017 competition, if you are not selected as a Queen on the state level, your name is not mentioned for any recognition. In other words, in previous years when you were selected to be in the Queen's court, or selected as one of the top 10 or 15, your name was documented on the NAM's website. Not anymore, only the Queen is documented. So the message that is translated is, if you aren't selected as Queen, you have not accomplished anything, you do not matter. The reason that this is so disturbing is because, NAM's always boast about promoting "confidence in young girls"....what is the rationalization for not recognizing, individuals who have accomplished winning a place in the Queens court, Top 10, or Optional contest winners. My advice is to avoid this pageant at all cost, however, if you are still interested in entering the pageant, don't bother entering the optional contests, prizes no longer include cash. Prizes consist of "entry fees to compete in Nationals". If that is not a Rip Off, please enlighten me on what that represents.