Pageant fees?

Hey team! I recently got accepted to compete in a pageant and I was told there was a fee which I understood since I have watched some pageant shows on tlc. However, I just read an article that says if ’ they ask you to pay to compete in a pageant, don’t it’s a scam’ now I’m not too sure what to believe… specially since I would be attending the provincials which then would go to a national level and then a global level.
I’m confussed and hope I’m not part of any scam!
Here’s the website
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/101-beauty-pageant-tips.html

p.s I know someone who participated in this pageant before and got a title but now I’m just curious to see if maybe an entrance fee isn’t the norm.

Thank you thank you and if you have pageant experience and could give me some tips I would really appreciate it :)