--- title: Miss Teen USA Is Ditching the Swimsuit Competition description: This year, Miss Teen USA contestants will participate in an athletic wear competition instead of a swimsuit competition canonical: https://time.com/4387489/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit-competition/ author: Megan Lasher article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-29T21:02:01.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:02:50.737Z og:title: Miss Teen USA Is Ditching the Swimsuit Competition og:description: But will Miss USA follow suit? og:url: https://time.com/4387489/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit-competition/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3ba3bf3ff80e4d5/698899fb656a3f8ec9bcc18b/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4360 og:image:height: 2453 og:image:alt: 2016 Miss USA Competition - Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Miss Teen USA Is Ditching the Swimsuit Competition twitter:description: But will Miss USA follow suit? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3ba3bf3ff80e4d5/698899fb656a3f8ec9bcc18b/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Miss Teen USA Is Ditching the Swimsuit Competition > Sponsored content. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=0727236b-7dc8-4487-9ccd-6bfdd210a9dd&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Jun 29, 2016 9:02 PM UTC  Miss Connecticut USA 2016 Tiffany Teixeira, Miss Missouri USA 2016 Sydnee Stottlemyre and Miss California USA 2016 Nadia Mejia compete in the swimsuit competition during the 2016 Miss USA pageant at T-Mobile Arena on June 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Miss Connecticut USA 2016 Tiffany Teixeira, Miss Missouri USA 2016 Sydnee Stottlemyre and Miss California USA 2016 Nadia Mejia compete in the swimsuit competition during the 2016 Miss USA pageant at T-Mobile Arena on June 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ethan Miller—Getty Images by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Jun 29, 2016 9:02 PM UTC The portion of the Miss USA pageant that judges contestants by their looks in a swimsuit has long been faced with [criticism](http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/09/12/is-the-miss-america-pageant-bad-for-women/the-miss-america-pageant-stills-sends-the-wrong-message) for the way that it objectifies women’s bodies while undermining personality and talent, so the pageant owners, the Miss Universe team that runs Miss USA and Miss Teen USA—and is [no longer owned by Donald Trump](http://www.businessinsider.com/donald-trump-sells-miss-universe-img-2015-9)—decided to change things for the junior pageant. The younger contestants will ditch the swimsuits and instead compete in athletic wear. “This decision reflects an important cultural shift we’re all celebrating that empowers women who lead active, purposeful lives and encourage those in their communities to do the same,” Miss Universe President Paula Shugart wrote in a memo [obtained by USA TODAY](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/06/29/miss-teen-usa-to-eliminate-swimsuit-competition/86502942/). “Our hope is that this decision will help all of Miss Teen USA’s fans recognize these young women for the strong, inspiring individuals they are.” The shift is intended to highlight a more realistic version of women’s lives: Most contestants likely spend more time in athletic gear than they do in bikinis. Katherine Haik, the reigning Miss Teen USA, told USA TODAY, “I have been an athlete my entire life. As a member of a softball team and a competitive dance team, I spend a lot of time in athletic wear. This new direction for Miss Teen USA is a great way to celebrate the active lives that so many young women lead and set a strong example for our peers.” [**_Follow Motto on Facebook_**](https://www.facebook.com/mottoworkplaylive/) The [Miss USA pageant](http://time.com/4357949/miss-usa-2016-deshauna-barber/) also gained attention earlier this month when audiences noticed that[ judges were asking tougher questions](http://motto.time.com/4358844/miss-hawaii-miss-usa-tough-questions/) during the question-and-answer portion of the competition. Critics noted that it could be a sign of a shift toward valuing intelligence and political awareness over beauty. Earlier this month, host and creative producer Julianne Hough hinted to [USA TODAY](http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2016/06/03/julianne-hough-miss-usa-host-we-may-move-away-swimsuits-beauty-pageants/85323308/) that changes may come to the Miss USA pageant, after admitting she understands the “cringe-worthy negative” feelings towards the swimsuit competition. “There’s definitely some work I think still to be done, that’s where we’ve been talking with the producers,” she said. “In the next few years we may grow from that, but let’s see where this year goes.” Hough did not respond to Motto’s request for comment on Wednesday’s news. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4387489/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit-competition/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4387489/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit-competition/"},"headline":"Miss Teen USA Is Ditching the Swimsuit Competition","datePublished":"2016-06-29T21:02:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:02:50.737Z","description":"But will Miss USA follow suit?","url":"https://time.com/4387489/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit-competition/","keywords":["motto","News"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3ba3bf3ff80e4d5/698899fb656a3f8ec9bcc18b/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf3ba3bf3ff80e4d5/698899fb656a3f8ec9bcc18b/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"2016 Miss USA Competition - Show","caption":"Miss Connecticut USA 2016 Tiffany Teixeira, Miss Missouri USA 2016 Sydnee Stottlemyre and Miss California USA 2016 Nadia Mejia compete in the swimsuit competition during the 2016 Miss USA pageant at T-Mobile Arena on June 5, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada.","creditText":"Ethan Miller—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4387489/miss-teen-usa-swimsuit-competition/","name":"Miss Teen USA Is Ditching the Swimsuit Competition"}}]}] ```