Miss South Dakota is back — with some changes

Amber Hulse likely will be the longest-reigning Miss South Dakota in history.

She was crowned Miss South Dakota 2019; but her title extended a year because, of course, the pandemic impacted the pageant world too.

Hulse did what limited public appearances were available throughout the year because the 2020 state and national Miss America pageants were canceled.

They’re back this year, but the idea is not to call them pageants anymore. They’re competitions.

And the women involved aren’t contestants. They’re candidates.

They’re small changes that illustrate a bigger shift, those involved say.

For instance, when the candidates for Miss South Dakota take the stage this weekend, they won’t be wearing swimsuits. And they don’t have to wear evening gowns.

“It makes it more inclusive to women of all sizes and shapes,” said Kate Wismer, state executive director.

She was Miss South Dakota 2007 but stayed away from the organization “for a long time because there weren’t a lot of pros there for me to pitch to the girls,” she said.

“But, especially when the swimsuit was gone, I was like, I’m back in. It’s so much more focused on your social impact pitch and what you have done to demonstrate commitment to community service.”

It’s a “very data-driven” competition, she added.

“I judged Miss Arizona two years ago as well, and I couldn’t believe it. It felt like it had really become a competition of who has done the most with their platform.”

Another change in South Dakota: The competition moved to Brookings in 2019 after decades in Hot Springs. There’s a contract to be in Brookings at least three years, where candidates stay in the SDSU dorms and the competition is held at the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center.

“Leaving Hot Springs was sad, but Brookings has an incredible theater and community that really has the resources to create a big, substantial state competition that more adequately prepares our gals for being on the larger national stage,” Wismer said.

There will be 15 women competing for the Miss South Dakota title and the chance to compete at Miss America, and 16 girls competing for the teen title. Those who were age-eligible in 2020 can compete this year, meaning 18-year-olds can compete in the teen division and those up to age 26 could compete for Miss South Dakota.

While there is no swimsuit competition, the teen competition has a fitness portion.

In both divisions, the traditional evening gown competition has been replaced by a “red carpet” portion of the event where candidates wear their choice of red carpet-style apparel.

“You don’t have to wear a gown. You can present yourself in whatever makes you feel powerful and beautiful,” Wismer said. “No one in South Dakota has been brave enough to wear a pantsuit, but (a woman in Texas) wore a brilliant red pantsuit and heels, and it was awesome. I think as people get more comfortable and start seeing it, we’ll see a variety of choices as well.”

There is still a talent portion of the competition, which involves “anything you can do that is entertaining for a minute and a half,” Wismer said. That’s usually more than half vocalists, with some instrumentalists, dancers and a few creative monologues.

In the Miss America and Miss South Dakota competitions, the traditional on-stage interview question has been replaced by the social impact portion of the event.

“The women have always championed a community service issue that is personal to them, and there’s more of a focus on it now,” Wismer said. “The girls actually pitch their social impact initiative on stage. ‘If I’m Miss South Dakota, this is what I want to do.’ It’s like a community service ‘Shark Tank’ thing, and the hosts ask the judges’ questions following each pitch.”

All the changes have increased participation, Wismer said.

“That has made a huge difference in the women who come out and compete. Maybe we had four or five girls compete for a local pageant before 2019, and now that swimsuit is no longer a requirement, there are so many girls getting the experience and service of this organization who wouldn’t have thought this was something they could do, and it’s phenomenal.”

Also new this year – the competition will be livestreamed. Capacity in Brookings is limited to 50 percent, so for $20 anyone can log on and watch the show Saturday.

And it is a show. Performers will entertain between portions of the competition, creating “a big musical extravaganza,” Wismer said.

Between both divisions, the women will take away $40,000 in scholarships, which exceeds where Wismer thought it would come in given all the challenges of the past year.

“We can hardly believe it,” she said. “We thought we’d be way behind.”

For information on the competition, in-person and streaming tickets, click here.