International Beauty Pageants: The Home Field Advantage

So how does a home field advantage work? In sports, it is perceived as a phenomenon when a team wins in its own arena or stadium. And spectators will most probably go with the "home court advantage" rationale to justify the team's victory.

Remember Team China dominating the "Beijing 2008 Olympics?" This kind of occurrence happens in most cases and it has not really been such a major concern. That is in sports. But what happens in other competitions when this said phenomenon occurs?

This decade (2000s) has been the most controversial decade in international beauty contests. And when international pageants are the talk of the town, it usually refers to Miss Universe, Miss World or Miss Earth; the most notorious beauty pageants in the world with participants coming from a vast number of states and nations. This immensity of participation means that each country representative gets a very thin probability of bagging the crown.

But yes, it is inevitable, that at some point, the phenomenon "home field advantage" happens in this kind of competition.

2001 Miss Universe

Early this decade, Miss Universe has decided to take the competition to the Caribbean and North American plates - Bayamon, Puerto Rico - 2001. It was participated by 77 countries. In a not so surprising turnout of the event, the sought after crown was awarded to the highly favored Denise Quiñones; who happens to be Miss Puerto Rico. And who also, inadvertently, bagged most of the special awards in the same cornonation night.

2007 Miss World

In 2007, some 106 delegates from different countries took part of the Miss World pageant in Sanya, People's Republic of China. The event was further regarded with special attention as it has considered being a part of the commencement of events leading to Beijing Olympics the following year. Zhang Zilin won the title. Also, she happens to be the representative of the host country, China.

2008 Miss Earth

The Philippines has constantly hosted the Miss Earth beauty pageant since 2001. In fact its cause is a bit unusual, focusing on the environmental issues of the world. In year 2008, there were 85 delegates who participated in the environmental/beauty cause. Surprisingly, that year was also the first time the long time country-host got a hold of the crown. Philippine representative Karla Henry was crowned that year's Miss Earth title holder.

The Phenomenon

Certainly, a lot have questioned the credibility of the "home field advantage pageant winners." In fact this have been a predicament for many; a brow raising occurance in an international scale. Something more controversial than sports because of the fineness of chances contestants have just to win in these kinds of competition.

A lot would wonder how it happens. Is it the judges? But the judges are internationally diverse, and bias can never be a major concern. Or maybe it is the audience reception that boosts the confidence of the representative of a given country. Or probably it is both.

A study led by Ryan Boyko, a research assistant in the Department of Psychology of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, asserts that the crowd's support for a team can actually influence the officiating of the game. It argues that the size of the crowd can actually variably affect the home field advantage.

The study, of course, is not a direct justification to the case as sports is not parallel to a beauty pageant. However, this account contributes to further viable justification in the case of these very controversial pageant winnings.

Nevertheless, we can never discredit the possibility that some of these contestants may have taken possession of the title without any help from an advantage phenomenon. Yes, some may just have the rightful qualities that have made them stick out among the rest.

Home Field Advantage Winners History (Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss Earth)

2001 Miss Puerto Rico, Dayana Mendoza- Miss Universe

1997 Miss USA, Brook Mahealani Lee - Miss Universe

1967 Miss USA, Sylvia Hitchcock - Miss Universe

1960 Miss USA, Linda Bement - Miss Universe

1956 Miss USA, Carol Morris - Miss Universe

1954 Miss USA, Miriam Stevenson - Miss Universe

2007 Miss China, Zhang Zilin - Miss World

1983 Miss United Kingdom, Sarah-Jane Hutt - Miss World

1974 Miss United Kingdom, Helen Morgan - Miss World

1965 Miss United Kingdom, Lesley Langley - Miss World

1964 Miss United Kingdom, Ann Sydney - Miss World

1961 Miss United Kingdom, Rosemarie Frankland - Miss World

2008 Miss Philippines, Karla Henry - Miss Earth