Last year, the event was cancelled due to a lack of entries but Glenda Brown is hopeful there will be a large number this year with great prizes on offer.
Young women aged between 16 and 23 are eligible to enter and they will be judged on a number of criteria, including presentation, dress sense, personality, speech and a basic knowledge of the merino industry.
Contestants will be judged on Friday afternoon, October 3, and then will have dinner with the shearing judges.
Merino wool clothing must be worn during the afternoon at the interview with the judges, and on stage on Friday evening at the Merino Shears for the announcement of first, second and third place-winners.
The top three will be required to present prizes at the final of the Merino Shears on Saturday night.
The history of this event goes back a long way with Miss Wool of Otago, as it was officially known, first held in conjunction with the Fine Wool Shearing Championships in Alexandra in 1964.
That competition had come from a Fleece to Fashion contest held by the Central Otago Young farmers and Country Girls Clubs in 1959, after a shearing and wool handling contest held at Moutere Station.
It wasn't unusual to have up to 20 entrants in the early days, Mrs Brown said.
Contestants in the 1960s wore woollen garments with hats and gloves, but with the merino industry becoming a leading supplier of all types of clothing, the outfits now worn by contestants are much more varied.
The process is a lot less formal than it was in the early days although presentation, personality and a good dress sense were still major attributes looked for by the judges.
Entries for the Merino Wool Princess can be obtained at the Alexandra Information Centre or by phoning Glenda Brown, (03) 448 8458, and close on September 24.
