“...she’s just stealing a spot from a younger girl that should be competing.”
So should she if she falls within the equirements.
According to the site needs she must:
Must be a citizen of the United States and will remain a citizen of the United States through the state pageant and, if you win the state pageant, through the national Pageant.
Must comply with the age requirement for either Miss or Teen division.
Must represent and warrant that she is a female (recognized medically and legally as a female in the United States).
Must never have been married or had a marriage annulled.
(Applies to Miss Texas Teen USA contestants only. This rule does not apply to Miss Texas USA contestants)
Must never have given birth to a child, cannot be a parent or guardian of any other adult or minor person, and cannot currently be pregnant. (Applies to Miss Texas Teen USA contestants only. This rule does not apply to Miss Texas USA contestants)
Must live in your state permanently and will have lived there for at least three (3) months prior to the date of the pageant – OR – Must be a full time student in your state and will have completed one entire semester or session by December 31st.
May only compete in one state pageant (including the District of Columbia) per pageant year.
Must comply with all eligibility requirements outlined in the official contestant entry form.
https://www.misstexasusa.com/apply/
The only age requirement is the separation of the teen catagory which this year is, must be born prior to 2006.
Determining what these competitions are for has been a mystery for many years as the definition has been very elusive. “Miss” can constitute just not being married at the time and not using the term “MS”. And women, unlike men, don’t reach their physical peak until around age 32 on the average. So whether the contestant is 17 or 117, if they meet the requirments they can compete and most likely will have the approval of many from an older crowd, and some younger crowd also, for beauty purposes if the work is done. Lord knows how much “work” has been done on the younger competitors anyway.
wy69
Nobody wants to see a 70 year old parading around on stage in a bikini.