Creating a Competition

This page shows you how to create a new competition and how to edit one you've already started. Every detail — dates, eligibility, contact info, and how Delegates pay — lives on one form, and this page walks through every field. If you're brand new, start with Director Getting Started first.

Open the Form

You create and edit competitions from the My Competitions page. Creating or editing a competition opens its own page rather than a sliding panel.

Open My Competitions from the menu.
To start a brand-new competition, click Create New Competition near the top-right of the page.
To change one you already have, click that competition in the list, or choose Edit Competition from its actions menu. You land on the same page, filled in with its details, ready to edit.

Each competition in the list also has an actions menu with Share Registration Link (copies the public application link to your clipboard) and Preview Application, which opens the public signup form for that competition in a new tab so you can see exactly what applicants see without leaving the list.

You need at least one Title before you can create a competition — if you don't have one yet, Pageant Pass prompts you to create one first.

Status: Make Your Competition Live

The top of the form has two toggles that control whether Delegates can see and apply to your competition.

Turn on Active Competition to make your competition appear in search so Delegates can find it.
Turn on Accepting Applications to let Delegates actually submit applications.
To publish your competition, turn on both toggles. A competition can be active (visible in search) without yet accepting applications, so you can let people preview it before opening entries.

Competition Information

This section covers the basic facts about your event.

In Title, select the Title you're building this competition under — for example, "Miss Springfield." Every competition belongs to exactly one Title, and a Title can only carry one competition per calendar year, so a Title that's already used for the year you pick won't let you save a second one.
In Season Year, choose the calendar year this competition's season belongs to.
Local Title and Competition Name are no longer typed in — they're derived automatically from the Title and Season Year you chose (Title "Miss Springfield" plus Season Year 2027 gives you the competition name "Miss Springfield 2027"). Once you save a brand-new competition, its Title and Season Year are locked and can't be changed on that competition afterward.
In Competition Date, choose the date the competition is held.
In Submission Deadline, choose the date by which all applications and documents must be in.
In Location/Address, type where the competition takes place.

Pageant System is no longer a field on this form — it's inherited automatically from the Title you selected.

Contact Information

This section is how applicants reach you. Each contact field has its own visibility toggle that controls whether the information shows publicly.

In Directors' Names, type the name or names of the people running the competition.
In Contact Email, type the email address you want applicants to use. Use its visibility toggle to choose whether the email shows on public search results.
In Contact Phone, type a phone number. Use its own visibility toggle to choose whether the phone number shows publicly.

Eligibility & Requirements

This section sets who is allowed to enter. See Eligibility for what the categories mean.

Choose Open to all if anyone who meets the basic rules may enter.
If your competition is limited, instead choose the categories that apply: Collegiate, Festival, Regional, Open Teen Division, or Offers Teen Title.
In the Requirements box, describe exactly who may compete (age, experience, location, and so on). This box is required unless you chose Open to all.

Dual Titles (Optional)

If your event awards more than one title — for example, one Open and one Closed — you can link additional Titles you own to this competition. Applicants will then choose which title or titles they qualify for when they apply.

In the Dual Title section, turn on This competition awards more than one title.
Select each additional Title from the ones you own, then choose its classification. For the full walkthrough, including how to add Titles and how applicants pick theirs, see Dual Title Competitions.
Leave the toggle off if your event awards a single title.

Payment Methods

This section sets the ways Delegates can pay their entry fee. Turn on each method you want to accept.

Turn on Cash to accept cash payments.
Turn on Check to accept payment by check.
Turn on Digital (Venmo, PayPal, etc.) to accept payment through services like Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp. When you turn this on, you can add one or more payment links — click Add Payment Link for each service you accept, choose its type, and paste the web link where Delegates should send payment. You can optionally give a link a custom label, and add a verification or promo code the Delegate must reference (for example, the last 4 digits of your phone number for Venmo). If you add a code, choose whether to label it a Verification Code or a Promo Code — this is what Delegates will see next to the code.
Turn on Square Invoicing to collect entry fees online through Square. You must connect your Square account first — see Accepting Payments with Square.

⭐ Plus feature — Square payments are available on the Plus plan. See Plans & Upgrading.

When Square Invoicing is on, you can also turn on Require payment for submission to force Delegates to pay online before their application counts as submitted.

Year of Service Agreement (Miss America Only)

If your competition is part of the Miss America system, you can require applicants to sign and return a Year of Service Agreement as part of their application.

Turn on Require applicants to return a completed agreement if applicants must upload a signed copy before their application is complete. Leave it off to make the upload optional.
Under Blank Agreement PDF, upload the blank agreement document. Applicants will see a download link for this exact file on their registration form, alongside an upload slot to return their signed copy.
To replace the file, remove it and upload a new one in its place.

Early Registration (Optional)

You can offer a reduced entry fee for Delegates who apply before an earlier cutoff. This is optional — but if you use it, you must set both fields together.

In Early Registration Fee, type the lower fee for early applicants.
In Early Registration Deadline, choose the date the lower fee ends.
Leave both blank if you don't want early registration. Setting only one of the two won't work — fill in both or neither.

Save or Close the Form

When you're done, click Create Competition (on a brand-new competition) or Update Competition (when editing an existing one) to keep your changes.
To leave without saving, click Back to Competitions, which returns you to My Competitions.

Delete a Competition

If you need to remove a competition entirely, Pageant Pass asks you to confirm first so you don't delete one by accident.

Open the competition you want to remove.
Choose the delete option.
Confirm when Pageant Pass asks whether you're sure. Once confirmed, the competition is removed.

Page	Description
Director Getting Started	The quick setup that creates your first competition
Titles	The billed entity every competition is built under
Dual Title Competitions	List multiple titles for one event and see who qualifies for each
Accepting Payments with Square	Connect Square so you can turn on online payments ⭐ Plus
Competition Dashboard	Your control center for managing a single competition
Managing Applications	Review applicants and set competition order once applications arrive
Plans & Upgrading	Compare the Core and Plus plans
Glossary	Plain-language definitions of pageant and Pageant Pass terms

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