Miss SC competition postponed due to coronavirus

The annual Miss South Carolina competition has been postponed to August due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, organizers announced Tuesday.

The live telecast, originally scheduled for June 27, will now air on Aug. 1, a Saturday. The various phases of the competition will take place throughout the week of July 26.

“The health and well-being of our candidates, their families, our competition volunteers and production team are what matter most during this unprecedented time. Crowning a new Miss South Carolina and Miss South Carolina Teen are traditions we will continue, but only when it is safe to do so,” Erin Gambrell, head of the board for the Miss South Carolina Scholarship Organization, said in a statement.

Specific details about how the competition will proceed during the new dates will be announced “as soon as possible,” organizers said.

The winner of the Miss South Carolina competition competes for the title of Miss America and wins a $60,000 college scholarship. All told, more than $200,000 in scholarships are awarded in the South Carolina competition. The current titleholder is Morgan Nichols, a Clemson graduate.

““We are grateful to our major partners — The Township Auditorium, The City of Columbia, Richland County, WACH FOX Television, Columbia Hilton Center and the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center — for their support in moving to this new date. Their willingness to help demonstrates their commitment to recognizing the outstanding young women of our state,” Ashley Byrd, president and co-executive director of the board, said in a statement.

Miss South Carolina is just the latest in a long list of events that have been postponed or outright canceled by the spread of the coronavirus, including collegiate sporting events, concerts, parades and festivals. Schools across the state have been canceled through at least April, and Gov. Henry McMaster has issued a “Home or Work” order mandating residents not leave their homes except for work, visiting family, exercise or certain essential activities.

Projections of when the pandemic will reach its peak in South Carolina vary, but a leading model cited on the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s website puts it at around April 24. The University of South Carolina has already canceled all in-person classes through Aug. 1, with president Bob Caslen writing in a letter to students and staff that “the virus will continue to pose a threat even after the peak.”

This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 5:21 PM.