East Coast Starz "Pageant" is among the worst I have attended, not classy at all, faulty (if not rigged) scoring system Bel Aire Maryland

Two days ago, I attended a pageant in Bel Aire, MD in support of a friend's child who has been active in pageants for about a year now. In just one year, and after a bit of coaching, my friend's little one is phenomenal on stage, which is really something because I can barely force three words out of the girl otherwise, she is so shy and quiet. However, when on stage, she commands attention, and her Beauty walk is exceptionally captivating, something I didn't feel about any other contestant.

I could not imagine her disappointment at losing to a girl with less than half the talent, and that's speaking highly of her performance. Although my friend's child did win first runner up, her skill level was so far ahead of the rest, it was almost laughable when they called out the winners. To be fair, there was one other girl who seemed like real competition for my friend's girl, but she placed nowhere near the top. 

They also did categories for prettiest hair, eyes, dress, and so on. I get that they want all the girls to win something --not actually sure if that was the case-- but again, the title of prettiest dress should have gone to my friend's daughter, or to one of several other girls whose dresses were much better than the tacky, sequined-all-over contraption they chose. When I first saw that dress, before they started crowning, I had actually felt sorry for the girl wearing the dress because I just knew that if her lack of talent had not ruined her chance of placing, that tacky dress surely did. They clearly awarded for only "most sequins" in that category, where the respectable pageants judge for fit of the dress, how well it complements the girl, and the way the girl carries herself in it. Nothing a good seamstress and some coaching can't fix, and most of these girls had neither.

I have to add that it took a riculously long time to get to crowning, during which time, they had some kids dressed in sportswear "model." It was all very loud and not at all organized. Took around an hour and a half before they were done with all the "modeling" and group photos on stage of the "models." While a couple of the girls did have talent, and perhaps the others were learning, this segment clearly did not belong in the middle of a pageant.

Back to the matter at hand, when my friend's daughter went on stage for crowning, I just knew it would be her victory. Boy was I surprised, among several sitting around me. To keep things objective here, the girl in the next age group (I think) who also was the clear winner, also did not in fact win. There were only two of them in her age division, so I could not even give the judges the benefit of the possibility of mere confusion over names, numbers, and scoresheets. Again, this info was just to remain objective. I don't know the girl or her mother. I do know she should have won.

When I asked my friend afterward if she was going to put the details of this pageant on Yelp --she hates scammers and unfair treatment-- she said it would be in poor taste because her own daughter was involved. I didn't tell her I would write this, but I woke up way too early and decided to use my phone to Google them. Couldn't get it off my mind, maybe because she was the last person I spoke to before falling asleep, or maybe because I hate injustices too.

Instead of putting them out there on the Internet, my friend says she will simply not give them another dime, she will let those in her pageant circle know, and be more careful of the type of pageant she allows her daughter to enter. She said that another lady there told her that she thought her daughter must have been a NAM girl based on how well she did on stage, and that she will be sure to let her daughter try it this year, and she will also stick with the Miss United States system (that her daughter loves) and those like it. Kudos to her. I guess I'm just not that classy.

While the world of pageantry already has a hard time proving its worth in today's society, East Coast Starz does nothing to help the real pageants, the respectable ones that have a basis of charity and scholarship. They should not be called a pageant, but perhaps just "weekend entertainment for your child.  But please make sure your child has thick skin or no real modeling or pageant skills whatsoever in order for them to really enjoy the experience. If your child is serious about pageantry, this is not the place for them.