So your daughter was accepted at an Open Call or you received a recommendation to compete from a friend. Maybe you went to a NAM training session and signed up for your state pageant and paid a deposit on your sponsor fee. What next? How much is it really going to cost you? I know that many first-time NAM moms have these questions and so I wanted to take a moment to dispel a few myths and set your mind at ease…
As far as pageants go, National American Miss is by far one of the least expensive – for what you get in return. Keep this in mind as you raise your sponsor fees and decide what optional contests to participate in. We refer to it as the “gold standard of pageantry” because everything they do is so top notch. And top notch events cost money – lots of it – to produce.
Unlike so many other pageants out there who use lackluster hotels, have less than qualified judges, who don’t pay out their prize packages until your year is over (if at all) and so many more problems… NAM stands firmly at the top of our list simply because they are so on top of everything and do it all first class. That being said, what you spend is at your discretion. We’ve done it on the cheap and we’ve done it not-so-cheap.
Pageantry is not a cheap sport! However, in all the years we’ve been participating with NAM, we’ve never once felt like we didn’t receive everything and more for what we were expected to pay, regardless of the result at the end of pageant weekend.
That being said, National American Miss is a for-profit endeavor. So there will be ample opportunities for you to spend money during pageant weekend. Remember that nothing other than your sponsor fee, production number outfit and finale ticket(s) is required.
One thing I never regretted spending money on, despite its cost, was the video of the entire pageant including the finale. Yes, it was $175. Yes, it was financially a stretch. But it so worth it to have the record of competition and growth over the years. And if we are ever blessed to walk away from our state competition with a red sash, we will have plenty of things to go in her farewell video when her year of service is over!