Cosplay Contest

Are you a cosplayer and want to show it off in a friendly competition? Then sign up for Cosplay Contest! The competition is split into two main categories of focus and judging: Craftsmanship and Skit/Performance. Each category has divisions for different types of cosplayers mainly on age/experience. Craftsmanship has a specific division named Walk-On with different rules than the rest (info is in a different section below).

Rules

These rules apply to all our categories of competition. The specific rules for each category are below this section.

By signing up for the contest, you hereby grant Animarathon the permission to use any photos taken from the contest that you may be in
Be truthful about your work. Do not claim to make something that you did not make, the judges will know if something is bought/not made by you upon inspection. Anyone found to have given falsified information will be disqualified and potentially banned from all future Animarathon contests.
Absolutely no sandbagging. Sandbagging is when you compete in a costume that has already won a major award at another convention. In order to keep things fair, we ask that you do not compete in a costume you've previously won in. This also applies to skits/performances that have previously won awards at other events.
Be respectful. Animarathon is a safe space for everyone to have a good time. We will not tolerate any bad sportsmanship or attitudes during or after this event. If you are not satisfied with the results of the competition, please contact the cosplay department email animarathon.cosplay@gmail.com for clarification and communication.
Cosplay is not consent. Ask before taking pictures or touching anyone or their property at the event. Absolutely no touching people or their things without their approval, no exceptions.
Reference images and/or Build Books are VERY helpful for our judges so we ask that you bring character references for prejudging. One of these is REQUIRED for craftsmanship judging. We want to see how you made your costume!
Please be on time for your prejudging time! This helps us keep from getting behind schedule. If you are late, there may not be an open later slot available so please be on time so you don't miss your chance. If you need to change your time, reach out to cosplay staff BEFORE your set judging time to adjust it.
All convention rules must be followed. No exceptions.
Absolutely NO steel or real weapons allowed. Any other props must be cleared with prop check before being allowed into the contest.
No throwing things while on stage. This is for safety purposes.
If you break it, you buy it. This goes for all equipment on and off stage.
What comes on stage must leave the stage. This means the cosplay must not shed, all body paint must be properly sealed, and no loose confetti, loose sparkles, fire, flash powder, lasers, explosives, or open flame of any kind will be allowed to be part of the skit.
No more than 5 people on stage at a time. This is for both Skit groups and Craftsmanship groups.
You do not need to have made your cosplay if you are only doing the Skit/Performance portion of the contest. But if you are doing both, you will not have time to change so only compete in both if you plan to wear the same costume for both portions of the contest.
Skit performance and Craftsmanship are different portions of the contest. You can enter each separate category at different levels. You could be master level in craftsmanship but novice in skit performance. This depends on your experience with each category.
You MUST show up before the competition at your report time to do a practice run. This allows you to get used to the size of the stage and gives us a chance to make sure your skit does not endanger you or anyone else. If there are any “surprises” to the cosplay staff, you could be disqualified, asked to leave the stage, or banned from future contests.
The cosplayer must be able to move freely in the cosplay and must be able to navigate stairs. A handler is allowed to accompany the cosplayer on stage if the cosplay requires one. Each entry/group is limited to 1 handler. An exception to this rule may be made for a medically-required, wheelchair bound person but arrangements must be made in advance and are NOT guaranteed.
One entry per person per category

Craftsmanship Category

In this competition, participants are judged on the Design, Detail, Craftsmanship, and Overall Presentation of their costume (or cosplay) that they personally constructed. Awards will be given out in this category. There will be several categories you can submit your cosplay under for craftsmanship! Those include:

Junior/Kid - For those 10 and under. Prejudging is applicable at contestants' choice (at least 45% made).
Walk-On - For those who have bought cosplays or simply just want to show off their costume. No prejudging slot is required for this category. Limited spots available. (info and rules specific for this are discuss below this section)
Novice - For those who have made at least 65% of their costume but have either never competed, never won an award, or have only won minor awards (judges choice). Relatively new to cosplay crafting.
Journeyman (previously advanced) - For those who have made at least 70% of their costume and have won several minor awards or one major award (best in category, best in show).
Master - For those who have made at least 75% of their costume and have won multiple major and minor awards.

Judges reserve the right to bump contestants up or down into another category if applicable at their discretion based on the competition present.

You will be given a prejudging time when you sign up (unless you're only doing a walk on). This is where the cosplay judges can look at your costume and ask important questions about its construction and ideas behind the cosplay. The slots will be roughly 5 minutes long.

Walk-On Category

In this category of the competition, participants will be given the opportunity to walk on stage and show off their wonderful cosplays without the hassle of going through the craftsmanship judging process. This category is ideal for those who are new to the Cosplay scene to get a chance to see what the process is like or for those who wish to display their cosplays that they could not make themselves or do not wish to have their craftsmanship scrutinized. A minor award may be given out in this category.

Skit Category

In this category of the competition, participants will be showing off their cosplays while performing a wonderful practiced skit or performance!

There will be three categories you can submit your act under for performance. Those include:

Novice - New to performing and/or have only won minor awards.
Journeyman - For those who have been performing for a little while, having won several minor awards or one major award.
Master - For those seasoned in performance, those who perform regularly, or have won several major awards.

To be qualified to enter this category, participants must abide by the following rules:

Skits/Performances will be limited to 15 skit slots, 5 for each category. Sign ups will NOT be first come first serve and will have a limited waitlist. Once 20 submissions are received (15 acts and 5 waitlists), submissions will be looked over by cosplay staff to make sure there is a variety of performance types in the show. You will be notified that your submission was received upon signing up. You will later receive an email regarding whether your performance was accepted at a later date. Signing up does NOT guarantee you a spot to perform.
If accepted, you will be given a deadline for your audio via email (roughly three weeks) to be submitted before the next person in line will be given the spot. This helps our team manage the audios and also helps keep you prepared! If you are unable to have your audio ready by the deadline given to you, please let cosplay staff know asap so we can work through it with you.
Skit length should be no longer than 2.5 minutes.
You will have an additional 30 seconds to set up and 30 seconds to tear down any props or set you need for your skit. Anything exceeding the 30 second set up time will be considered part of your skit time.
All performances must be PG-13. Anything overly explicit will not be allowed.

If you are unsure what category you should be in for either/both craftsmanship and skit/performance or just have general questions, ask the cosplay staff and they can help! Reaching out to us at animarathon.cosplay@gmail.com is the best way to contact us.