Miss America will no longer feature a swimsuit competition or judge contestants based on their physical appearances. Gretchen Carlson, the 1989 Miss America winner and current chairwoman of the organization announced the news. "We are no longer a pageant," she said. "We are a competition. We will no longer judge our candidates on their outward physical appearance." Contestants will now partake in a "live interactive session with the judges" in lieu of the swimsuit portion.