In 1968, Miss America wore heels with a bathing suit

Before she was Miss America, Judi Ford had spent every summer in a bathing suit, working as a lifeguard in Belvidere, Illinois.

So when she competed in 1968, she was comfortable parading around Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City in a onepiece. The high heels were another story.

“That just seemed silly,” said Judi (now) Nash. She was at the Hilton Garden Inn in Scottsdale with her husband last week for a conference. “Who wears heels with a bathing suit?”

Miss America contestants won’t wear bathing suits come September. Instead, the women will interview with judges, and in place of evening gowns, they can wear whatever makes them feel confident.

It was time, Judi said. “I think just like anything else, Miss America is evolving,” she said.

A retired physical education teacher and coach, Judi would have liked the bathing suit category to be replaced with a physical fitness event.

Judi wore heels with a bathing suit, for the competition at least, even as the nation’s first major women’s liberation demonstration was going on outside the hall. She remembers sneaking out with a few of the other women to see what was happening.

“Back then, I really didn’t understand what the big deal was,” Judi said.

Judi was a world-class trampolinist recruited to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, where she was the first woman to earn a varsity letter in a sport.

For her talent, Judi did an acrobatic dance and trampoline act. She had entered in hopes of winning a scholarship. She hadn’t expected to win everything.

“Back then they didn’t think a woman could be athletic and still be feminine,” Judi said.

She proved them wrong and won the crown. And for good measure, she also won the bathing suit competition.