Cosplay

1. Costumes must adhere to the cosplay, costume, and dress policy. If your costume does not meet this criteria, you may be asked to change or not permitted to walk the sage. 

2. Entrants with mobility impairments are welcome to provide their own handler or request assistance from our cosplay staff for any stage of the cosplay contest process. If you think you may need assistance, we encourage you to contact us in advance or request assistance during the pre-judging process.

3. 70% of the cosplay must be constructed or altered by the entrant. If you are modeling a cosplay that someone else made, they MUST be with you at pre-judging for you to be eligible for an award.

4. Please be sure to bring at least one color reference picture with you. While the judges are highly skilled, it is unfair to ask them to know what every character is. Bringing a reference picture will ensure that they can accurately judge you. If you are entering with an original design, a drawing is fine. 

5. Purchased or commissioned cosplays are NOT eligible for any awards and cannot be entered into the contest. We will have an opportunity for these costumes to be on stage during the halftime show. Please note that you must sign-up for this prior to the show and show up for dress rehearsal to be part of the halftime show.

6. Participation in the Cosplay Contest Rehearsal is required. Arriving after the rehearsal will result in being removed from the contest.

7. Be respectful to other cosplay entrants and the judges. Unruly or disruptive behavior during pre-judging, backstage, or during the contest is not permitted and entrants associated with this behavior will be disqualified. 

8. Entrants will not be notified if they have been disqualified, and judges are not permitted to discuss the judging process or the results. This is to protect entrants, judges and staff as well as to maintain the professionalism of the contest.

9. All props must be approved by weapons check. If your cosplay has parts that extend beyond arm’s length (e.g. wings), cause trouble walking up and down stairs, or vision impairment, be sure to bring a handler(s) or address your concerns with cosplay staff.

10. Sandbagging (i.e., entering a costume that has already won a major award at another convention such as “Best in” categories) is grounds for disqualification and possible bans from competing in the future.

11. Please come to the line-up fed and hydrated, as you may not be able to leave the pre-meeting before the show.

12. The cosplay director(s) reserve the right to refuse or revoke entry to any entrant for any reason.

• We are a family convention and all entries must maintain a PG-13 rating. No excessive violence, sexual content, ect. This rule also applies to the costume itself. We reserve the right to turn away any entry deemed inappropriate. Not sure if you make the cut? Please ask in advance and we will let you know if it is appropriate and if not how you can make it so. 

• Nothing is to be left on the stage. Any props you bring on stage with you must exit with you. You will also not be permitted to throw anything you cannot easily take with you on stage or at the audience. Examples include: props, glitter, petals, confetti, etc.

• For safety, any “battle” sequences or stunts are to be performed at 3/4 speed. You MUST keep one foot on the stage at all times. Absolutely no jumping or leaping from the stage. Anything breaking this rule must have prior approval from the Cosplay Director and the convention.

• A maximum of 8 (eight) people will be permitted on stage at a time. Competing in multiple groups is NOT allowed.

• Competitors may not touch or involve cosplay staff as a prop or part of the skit/walk-on. All competitors are barred from interacting with the emcee when on stage. Breaking this rule will be an automatic disqualification.

• We are not accepting music tracks for walk-ons this year. 

• Walk-on entries will be limited to 30 seconds and may include up to 8 people. 

• Walk-on entries are required to attend craftsmanship judging. If you skip this, you will not be eligible to receive awards or participate in the contest.

• All costumes must be made by the entrant(s) or credited to the creator(s) on the entrant’s entry form. Creators not entering in costume must be present to receive awards. Purchased costumes will not be allowed for craftsmanship judging. 

• All walk-on entries must be at least 70% made or significantly modified from original garments.

• When filling out the application, you must choose a one-hour block during which your group will come in for judging. If your first choice is full, you will be asked to choose another time slot. 

• Each entry will be allowed 3 minutes to present their costume to the judges; groups of 2+ people will be allowed one minute for each additional group member (up to a maximum of 6 minutes). Entries that go over their time limit may be disqualified. Please be courteous to your fellow cosplayers and to your judges by keeping your presentation brief! 

• Pre-judging is NOT open to the public. Only participants, handlers, and parents/guardians are allowed.

• Craftsmanship judging will take place in Cosplay HQ. Please arrive a few minutes early to check in as entries for each block will be judged in the order they arrive. If you arrive late, you may not have the chance to be rescheduled. If you find out in advance that you will not be able to make your timeslot, please contact us. Entries that do not show up for judging will be disqualified. 

• There will be Saturday judging ONLY. You may check in to the contest either Friday during open table hours or Saturday before your judging time.

• Reference images and progress binders used as part of craftsmanship presentations must be picked up after the contest or they will be destroyed.

• Competitors have 3 minutes of stage time beginning when their audio starts. 

• All skits must submit scripts to be screened by staff on content, coherence, originality, and entertainment value. All dance skits must be originally choreographed by the entrant. 

• Skits are required to submit pre-recorded audio, as microphones will not be available. Skit entrants may be contacted if their audio is too low-quality for the stage. 

• Skits are not required to be the full 3 minutes in length. There is no minimum length to a skit.

• Craftsmanship requirements may be waived for skit entries only. If a skit entry opts out of craftsmanship judging, they will only be eligible for performance awards. 

• Skit entries must adhere to all listed Stage Rules.

We are offering some amazing prizes which we will be updating closer to the convention!

• Best in Show - Best in Show is for the individual or group that has overall the most outstanding craftsmanship and presence.

• Best Adult - Awarded to the best overall adult (13+ entry)

• Best Youth - Awarded to the best overall youth (under 13) entry

• Best Group - Awarded to the best group of 2 or more

• Best Performance - Awarded to the best overall performance

• Judge’s Awards - Awarded at the individual judge’s discretion.
  

Note: Awards may be changed at the discretion of the judges and staff.

NOTE: Only trophies will be handed out on stage. Any other prizes must be picked up by the winners immediately following the cosplay contest.

Pre-judging will take place on SATURDAY ONLY. Each block will be broken up into 1 hour slots. Entries will request the hourly slot of their choice. Please arrive at the start of your time slot and wait to be called into the judging room.

If you do not show up for prejudging by the time your slot is over we will assume you no longer wish to participate and you will be dropped from the show. If you are unable to make your slot for some reason please check in with us BEFOREHAND. If we are able, we will move you to a different slot. If you are unable to make it to any prejudging slot but still wish to walk the stage, you may walk during the halftime show.

Each entry will be given a maximum of 3 minutes with the judges. Groups over 2 will be given an additional 1 minute per person up to six minutes.  In order to ensure everyone gets a chance to be judged fairly, we will be timing entries so please make sure to prepare what you want to talk about in advance.

Lineup will start 90 minutes before the show. You are required to be present in the lineup room one hour before the start time of the show. This time will be reserved for going over rules and getting everyone in order. Failure to show up will result in removal from the contest.

We will be capping the show at 50 entries. Five spots will be reserved for skit entries.

If you do not make one of our entry slots, we encourage you to apply to our waitlist. Waitlisted entries can check in on site to see if a space has opened up during the prejudging time slots.

Signing up in advance will allow you to request your preferred prejudging slot; however it will not guarantee you a specific time slot. We will do our best to accommodate everyone. However, we can only fit so many people in any given time frame. 

Once you sign up you will receive an email confirming your entrance and the day you will be pre-judged, as well as an hourly time slot. You must check in at the cosplay table to receive and confirm your pre-judging slot. If you have not checked in with us by the time your slot is over we will assume you no longer wish to participate and you will be dropped from the show.

As long as slots are available you may also sign up for the show on site at the cosplay table. On site sign-ups will be open Friday and Saturday, pending slot availability. Full hours to be announced closer to the show.