Young women who meet the following requirements may enter the pageant:

• Resident of the City of Santa Clara OR attend a school in Santa Clara Unified School District

• All contestants must commit to at least 10 hours of community service in the City of Santa Clara (a minimum of five of which must be volunteered with the Miss Santa Clara Auxiiliary) to receive scholarship award

• No younger than 13 years old by state competition

• May not graduate from high school before the MAOT National Finals, if 17

• May not turn (18) years of age on or before August 31th

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• U.S. Citizen

• Must be of good moral character

• Must have never been married

• Must have never been pregnant

Each contestant briefly appears on-stage (up to 30 seconds) in the workout attire of her own choosing.  The Executive Director of the competition must approve workout attire prior to competition.  Workout attire must be age-appropriate, and typical of what a teenager would wear to workout at the gym.  An example of workout attire includes sweats, leggings or shorts with a tank top or half top and tennis shoes.  Swimsuits and clothing specifically for dance, such as a leotard are not permitted. Scoring is based on overall first impression, statement of strong physical fitness and health, sense of attractiveness and presence, display of energy, charisma and expression, sense of confidence and composure. 

Evening Wear & On-Stage Question (20% of total score)

Each contestant appears on-stage in an outfit of her own choosing, representative of what she would wear to a prom or other formal event/  Although contestants typically wear ball or evening gowns, pantsuits, tea-length dresses and cocktail dresses are all appropriate for this phase of the competition. Scoring is based on overall first impression, sense of confidence, personality and stage presence, walk, posture, carriage and grace, appropriateness of attire and sense of style, sense of attractiveness, beauty and charm.

Each contestant will also be asked a question that will be of a general nature and will be neither platform-related nor something taken directly from the private interview.  The objective is to evaluate the contestant's ability to think on her feet and answer a question of general interest to people her age, including, but not limited to, local, state, and national current events. Scoring is based on overall first impression and extemporaneous response to an on-stage question, contestant's ability to answer the question in the context in which it was asked, contestant's ability to handle the pressure of speaking on stage in front of an audience, and if young people see her as a role model who is reflective of today's generation.

Top Five - Final Ballot

From the above 100%, the Top Five Finalists will be selected. The Top Five Finalists enter the final round of competition with zero points. The judges will then rank the contestants in the order they individually believe the contestants should finish on a Final Ballot. When ranking the top five contestants, the judges criteria will include, but not be limited to, each contestant's overall performance, academic achievement and ability to handle the responsibilities of Miss Santa Clara's Outstanding Teen, including competing in the Miss California's Outstanding Teen Competition.

Each judge will rank the Top Five contestants on a Final Ballot. A first place vote is worth ten points, a second place vote is worth five points, a third place vote is worth three points, a fourth place vote is worth two points and a fifth place vote is worth one point . The total of the Final Ballots alone will determine the outcome of the pageant. The high and low scores on the Final Ballot will NOT be dropped. All judges’ votes count on the Final Ballot.