Michael Phelps and Sugar Ray Leonard are among the eight judges for the Miss USA 2005 pageant.
Joining Phelps and Leonard in Baltimore on April 11 will be Molly Sims, Raj Bhakta from “The Apprentice” and Brody Hutzler from “Days of Our Lives.” Pamela Dennis, model Nicola Breytenbach and Frederic Fekkai make up the rest of the panel.
This year, the public is invited to weigh in on the contest’s preliminary round through a virtual judging component. From April 1 to April 6, fans can log onto http://www.CoverGirl.com to view photographs and interviews of the 51 contestants and vote for their favorites. The public’s vote counts for less than 10 percent of the preliminary vote.
A group of beauty industry experts will select the top 15 entrants before the competition. On the night of the pageant, to air live on NBC, the judges will assess those 15 finalists in the categories of swimsuit, evening gown and interview.
The winner will represent the United States in the Miss Universe pageant, to be held this year in Bangkok, Thailand.