We will begin our search for our Class of 2026 in late Spring 2025.  We are an official local preliminary for Miss Hawai’i and Miss America Organizations. Our competition is a signature event of our annual Kona Coffee Cultural Festival took place November 1st-10th this year.  Our title sponsor for our competition is Ueshima Coffee Company (UCC) Hawai’i. 

 

Competition - Saturday, November 8th, 2025 6-9 pm, location TBA.

 

Delegate Requirements:

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To become a local or state participant for the Competition Cycle 2026, (some states starting locals in March of 2024) competing as a State Titleholder at nationals in January 2026, you must meet the age criteria as shown below. Please be advised that the age criteria for Cycle 2026 is different from all previous cycles.

• Miss America 18-28 – must be 18 by state competition, and no older than 27 at state competition

• Miss America’s Teen 14-18 – must be 14 by state competition and no older than 18 at state competition.​

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Teen Age Criteria:

• Miss America HQ is reinstating the option for 18-year-old contestants to have a ‘pivot’ year to decide whether they would like to compete in the Teen or Miss divisions.

• A TEEN must not be more than 18 years old at the FIRST DAY of the State competition and must be at least 14 years of age. To clarify, the date of determining this age criterion remains the first day of the published State competition schedule.

• Additionally, once an 18-year-old decides on the division she may compete in, she may not change divisions until the next cycle. Please proceed to your applicable State online application.

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For All Ages you must ALSO meet criteria as shown below:

• Be a United States citizen

• Be a female

• Single

• No legal dependents

• Current or Former Hawai’i Island Resident for at least 2 years 

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Miss America has a formal registration process that will begin with registering as a member in the Miss America Organization (one-time fee) and a contract. 

 

For our local competition we do have an application process:

• Application form - located on our website

• Commitment form to compete in Miss Kona Coffee

• Application fee of $250 - funds will be used to purchase wardrobe for the health & fitness phase of competition - Per our contract with Miss America this must come from the Miss America line with sponsor Rebel Athletics

 

Why MKC? 

• Gain valuable experience and develop life skills (e.g. interview skills, public speaking, interpersonal communication, social interaction, etc.)

• Earn quality scholarship funds for college and graduate school, regardless of whether a title is won 

• Find new interests and discover new opportunities

• Learn to set goals, follow them through, and exceed your expectations

• Opportunity to get involved in your community

• A sisterhood of like-minded young women building memories to last a lifetime!

 

Commitment

• You are committing to competing for scholarships and an opportunity to be a brand ambassador as Miss Kona Coffee, Miss Aloha Hawai'i & Miss Kona Coffee's Teen.  Between now and November is the preparation phase to prepare you for your year of service.

  • Turning in requests for information in a timely fashion as represented on the timeline/calendar included in and discussed during our orientation and or requested by directors.

  • We will prepare days and times for trainings, rehearsal bonding opportunities, community service projects and or appearances. These are not mandatory however we ask that you communicate when you are unable to make a scheduled event.  

  • Delegates will be asked to:

    • Sell festival buttons (needed to get into all events - including the competition)

    • Program book advertisements

    • Tickets to the competition

    • Miss America Requirement - Raise $30 through Spot Fund to support partnership with American Heart Association

    • Promote our People's Choice Fundraiser Campaign for Photogenic - $1/vote. ​

We will discuss this process in the orientation in more detail.  The order in which delegates get to choose their spot in the competition line-up will be determined by these fundraising efforts. 

 

Phase of Competition

• Private Interview - includes 30-second Community Service Initiative Introduction - 30%

• On-Stage Conversation - extension of private interview - 10%

• Health & Fitness - outfit will be from the Miss America Rebel Athletics Line - 20%

• Talent - 20%

• Evening Gown/Red Carpet - 20%

**Community Service Initiative is the initiative you create and or advocate for in which you will work alongside the Miss Kona Coffee Organization during your Year of Service. Begin to think about what you are passionate about. We will help you to develop and expand your platform and also to prepare for this phase of the competition.