Cosplay Contest INFO 

COSPLAY CONTEST INFO FOR ANIME TOWN UTAH! 

 

Hey Hey Anime Town Utah!

A lot of you missed our original post with costplay contest info, so here it is again!

Last year you all turned out in force the contestant gave us some great suggestions for some big improvements to the contest itself. We listened. This is a long post, so read it all.

So, what’s changed? Here we go..

 

We will have 2 different ways to show off your cosplays. A judged competition, and an exhibition where you aren’t judged, but an award for crowd reaction WILL be given.

 

We will have 45 judged slots and 30 non judged slots.

We will now have pre judging on Saturday from 2 till 5 for those that want to compete.

 

Awards will be given for the following: Best Kids (under 14), Best Group, Best Novice, Best Intermediate, Best Master, and Best in Show.

 

The Best in Show award Is something that you can wear like a badge of honor…. Actually more so like a Is belt of honor! 

 

The Rules

 

Everyone hates rules, but they’re here to make this a fun and fair event!

The Main Cosplay Contest is rated TEEN. Severely offensive language and overt sexual humor/costumes are not permitted. Be clever, not crass. Judgment on the appropriateness of material is left to the discretion of our cosplay staff.

75% 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.

 

Purchased or commissioned cosplays are NOT eligible for any awards and cannot be entered into the judged contest.

 

Skill divisions are strictly enforced. If an entrant is deemed above the skill level of the division they have entered by the judges, they will be moved up a division. 

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 asked to leave the contest.

Judges are not permitted to discuss the judging process or the results. No, really..don’t ask for your score or where you placed, etc. 

While we love skits, but we’re not able to do them just yet during the contest. Fast, 10-15 second stage presence performances are great. Minute long dance routines are not.

Entrants must be able to enter and exit the stage quickly on their own. If your costume/prop is cumbersome, you may bring a handler to assist you. Our cosplay staff will not be able to provide a handler for you.

Entrants with disabilities are welcome to provide their own handler or request handler 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.

To prevent sandbagging, entrants wishing to compete with costumes that have previously won a costume competition must declare this upon registration. In order to be accepted, at least 60% of the costume must be altered or remade since the costume last won an award and the costume must also be entered in a higher skill division if one exists. Failure to inform the judges and our cosplay staff of this will result in disqualification from this year’s contest, and a permanent ban from future contests. (We take this seriously. No one likes sandbaggers.)

 

Group entries of up to 8 people are allowed. Entrants may not participate in multiple categories. 

Costumes entered must be presented with reference images and recreate characters from anime, manga, animation, etc. At least one reference image must be in color. Reference images must be provided during pre-judging and may be provided on any viable medium including, but not limited to, paper, phone, tablet, etc.

Original characters will not be permitted; however, art book variations and reinterpretations of existing characters will be allowed with an accompanying reference.

Progress portfolios are HIGHLY encouraged as they include photo documentation of your work from start to finish.

 

Professional cosplayers ARE WELCOME to enter. A professional cosplayer is anyone who makes a significant portion of their income from costume design, construction or sales or feels they are a master of their craft. If you are a pro, you MUST enter in the MASTER division.

 

How do I enter?

 

That’s easy. Send an email to

 animetowncosplay@gmail.com

 

Slots will be filled on a first come basis. If there are any judged slots open, they will be filled by walk ups at the show. Exhibition sign ups will happen on site at the Cosplay by Lo booth.

Please include the following:

Name & Cosplay Name (if any)

Name of your cosplay

Category Entering

A photo of the costume (can be a progress photo)

 

You will receive a response email with your pre judging time approximately 2 weeks before the show. If you miss your time, you will not be judged.

Kids can sign up the day of the show ash we'll, as we don't put them through prejudging.

And that’s it. That’s all of it.

Now, get your glue guns and sewing machines out and going!