Applications are open for the 2026 Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia scholarship competitions, with a Monday, July 13 paperwork deadline and a Saturday, July 25 stage date at the Rome City Auditorium. The titles are open preliminaries into Miss Georgia, where the local program’s two reigning titleholders both reached the 2026 state finals. Reigning Miss Northwest Georgia Sophia Wooten won the 81st Miss Georgia crown on June 20.
Anna Kate Robinson, the reigning Miss Rome, finished second runner-up the same evening and won a $3,000 scholarship. Both Robinson and Wooten are 21-year-old University of Georgia students who came out of the same Rome competition that opens applications this week. Reigning Miss Rome’s Teen Kameron Griffith added a second runner-up finish in the parallel Teen field at the state pageant, taking home a $1,000 scholarship. The applications now arriving by mail are aiming at the same July stage, with the same paper trail to Miss America waiting at the end. Wooten’s prize package included a 2026 Kia Sorento, awarded the morning after her crowning at a Columbus dealership.
When and Where the 2026 Competition Happens
The Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia competition takes the Rome City Auditorium stage on Saturday, July 25, with dress rehearsal the night before on Friday, July 24. The local organization runs both divisions on the same stage.
Phases of competition follow the Miss America format: a 10-minute private interview carries 30% of the score, on-stage conversation 10%, health and fitness 20%, talent 20%, and evening gown the final 20%. Talent runs to 90 seconds, with a music track submitted in advance as part of the paperwork packet. The local executive director times every track to confirm the cutoff before competition weekend. All four local titles feed forward into the next Miss Georgia Scholarship Competition.
At the close of the night, the two highest scorers in the Miss division are named Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia in random order. The same rule applies to the top two teen scorers, who take the Miss Rome’s Teen and Miss Northwest Georgia’s Teen titles. The local rules page, with the Miss Rome competition rules and entry packet, lists every phase and its weighting. The same rules page notes that all Miss and Teen delegates must wear a red Rebel Athletic top and bottom during the Health and Fitness phase. A Rebel Athletics give-back code routes 7% of each purchase back to the Miss Georgia Competition. The local program covers all four titles on the same judging panel, with results announced at the end of the single competition night.
Who Qualifies and How the Titles Are Awarded
The local titles are open to any U.S. citizen who lives, works, or attends school in Georgia, with proof of residence, school enrollment, or both required at check-in. Miss division delegates must be 18 to 28, with Teen division delegates between 14 and 18. Both age ranges are tied to specific 2027 reference dates under Miss America’s most recent eligibility update. A minimum 120-day Georgia residency window applies to delegates qualifying by residence. Age and residency are verified by a copy of a birth certificate or driver’s license, plus a proof-of-residency document such as a utility bill or enrollment letter.
Beyond residency and age, every delegate must register for the 2028 Miss America Program Competition Season and complete a signed digital Delegate Agreement before taking the Rome stage. A separate $30 American Heart Association donation, run through the official Spotfund platform, is required for every local a delegate enters during the cycle. None of those three steps is optional, and the local director’s deadline for completing them is July 24, the day of dress rehearsal. All four new titleholders proceed to the next state-level competition.
The Costs and the Paperwork Behind Each Application
The local entry fee is $75, paid to the Miss Rome Scholarship Organization for both the Miss and Teen divisions. A separate $30 American Heart Association donation, run through the official Spotfund platform, is required for every local a delegate enters during the cycle.
Delegates also pay a one-time Miss America Program Registration fee for the 2028 cycle; the pageant website notes that the 2028 fee amount had not yet been posted at the time of the announcement. The paperwork trail that lands at the judges’ door is heavier than the fee schedule, with three Miss America registration steps on top of the local packet. The full list of paperwork items and deadlines sits in the table below.
| Requirement | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Paperwork packet (application, talent track, headshot, Interview Fact Sheet, CSI essay, ID, residency proof) | Monday, July 13, 2026 |
| Local entry fee ($75) | Monday, July 13, 2026 |
| Miss America Program registration (one-time fee for the 2028 cycle, amount TBD) | Friday, July 24, 2026 |
| Delegate Agreement (signed digital contract) | Friday, July 24, 2026 |
| American Heart Association donation ($30 via Spotfund) | Before competing |
The Interview Fact Sheet and CSI essay are each one page, and both are mailed to the judges in advance so the panel can prepare questions for the private interview phase. Delegates must also submit a high-resolution digital color JPEG headshot for newspaper, social media, and program book publicity. Proof of age and Georgia residency must accompany the application packet, with the birth certificate or driver’s license as the age document and a utility bill or enrollment letter as the residency document. The interview fact sheet and CSI essay guidelines are linked from the rules page as fillable PDFs. The Miss Rome Scholarship Organization reviews all paperwork the day after the July 13 deadline, ahead of the local newspaper publication schedule.
The Local Program’s Miss Georgia Weekend
The 81st Miss Georgia Scholarship Pageant ran June 17 through 20 at the Bill Heard Theatre inside the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts in uptown Columbus. Four titleholders from the Rome program reached the state stage, with the local contestant roster previewed before the pageant. Wooten took the $25,000 top scholarship and the crown, in the earlier profile of her Miss Georgia run. Robinson had taken the preliminary talent award earlier in the pageant week before her second runner-up finish, in the full Miss Georgia 2026 runner-up field.
Her competition centered on the Nothing Beats a Healthy Heart community service initiative and a tap dance. Wooten built her package around AccessAbility: Disability Advocacy in Education and a vocal performance. Both were 21-year-old University of Georgia students who earned their local titles through the same Rome competition.
The Teen division ran alongside the Miss division at the same RiverCenter stage. Kameron Griffith, the reigning Miss Rome’s Teen, finished second runner-up and earned a $1,000 scholarship. Melony Tidmore of Miss Capital City’s Teen took the Teen crown and the $5,000 top scholarship. Amelia Hussong, the reigning Miss Northwest Georgia’s Teen, also competed in the Teen field. The full Teen field of 47 contestants was narrowed through four competition nights to a single winner and four runners-up.
| Contestant | Local title | Miss Georgia placement | Scholarship |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sophia Wooten | Miss Northwest Georgia | Winner | $25,000 |
| Anna Kate Robinson | Miss Rome | Second runner-up | $3,000 |
| Kameron Griffith | Miss Rome’s Teen | Teen second runner-up | $1,000 |
It’s a cultivation of supporting women who are working towards their goals and their education. The Miss America opportunity does just that and Kia auto sport of Columbus is taking a part of that mission empowering women.
Wooten, Miss Georgia 2026, made the remark at Kia Autosport on Whittlesey Boulevard in Columbus. She spoke about the prize package in her post-crowning remarks at the Columbus Kia dealership, where she received the keys to a new 2026 Kia Sorento at Kia Autosport on Whittlesey Boulevard the morning after her crowning.
From the Rome City Auditorium to the Miss America Stage
The state pageant awarded more than $85,000 in scholarships across its two divisions in 2026, with payouts to all 15 finalists in the Miss field and the full Teen semifinalist roster. The pipeline that ran from the Rome stage to the RiverCenter stage in June now reaches forward to September at the national competition in West Palm Beach. Wooten, 21, of Peachtree City, will represent Georgia at Miss America.
Tidmore, 17, of Powder Springs, will represent the state at Miss America’s Teen. The two will compete at the same West Palm Beach venue in September. Wooten will continue her studies at the University of Georgia while serving as Miss Georgia. For the young women now filling out the application paperwork, the same local titles carry the same forward path to Miss Georgia and Miss America.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the deadline to apply for the 2026 Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia competition?
Paperwork, including the contestant application, talent track, headshot, Interview Fact Sheet, and Community Service Initiative essay, is due Monday, July 13, 2026. Miss America Program registration and the Delegate Agreement follow by July 24, 2026.
Who is eligible to compete?
Any U.S. citizen who lives, works, or attends school in Georgia can apply. Miss division applicants must fall between 18 and 28, and Teen division applicants between 14 and 18. Both ranges are anchored to September 2027 reference dates under the most recent Miss America eligibility update.
How much does it cost to enter?
The local entry fee is $75 to the Miss Rome Scholarship Organization. Delegates also pay a separate one-time Miss America Program Registration fee for the 2028 cycle and must raise a $30 American Heart Association donation through the official Spotfund platform before competing.
When and where is the 2026 competition?
The competition takes the Rome City Auditorium stage on Saturday, July 25, 2026. Dress rehearsal takes the same stage the night before on Friday, July 24.
What happens to the winners?
The two Miss delegates with the highest overall scores are crowned Miss Rome and Miss Northwest Georgia in random order. The top two Teen delegates take the Miss Rome’s Teen and Miss Northwest Georgia’s Teen titles the same way. All four new titleholders then head to the next state pageant, where the senior division feeds into Miss America and the teen division into Miss America’s Teen.
