You have a costume you spent months making, but for whatever reason, you aren’t appearing in the Saturday Masquerade. If you want to have your costume judged, feel free to enter the Hall Costume Contest. Some things you will want to keep in mind:
PLEASE NOTE: any costume used in competition as a hall costume prior to the Masquerade cannot be entered in the Masquerade. Hall costumes are recommended for new fans and for those who suffer from stage fright. Please contact our Hall Cosplay Staff at [email protected] if you have any questions about the Hall Costume Contest. Hall Costumes DO NOT walk across the stage at the Saturday Masquerade. Awards for winners of the Hall Costume Contest are given out at the halftime show of the Saturday Cosplay Masquerade (please check the guidebook for the Masquerade’s start time.)
Hall Costume Rules
The Hall Costume Contest judging will take place in room MARYLAND 4 & 5 on Friday from 5pm to 10pm and Saturday from 10am to 2pm. Please check the convention map in the convention booklet at the con for the location of the room. You may only enter one costume a day in the Hall contest.
We are happy to judge costumes from all genres: anime, manga, comic, television/movie, etc. Costumes that are from Japanese, American, Korean, etc. pop cultures are allowed in the Hall Costume Contest. No original characters (e.g. characters from fan fictions and the not part of the canon from any actual anime) or Generic costumes (generic samurai, kimono, costuming as a Japanese Exclamation, etc.)
This contest is based on the accuracy in recreating specific characters costumes; therefore, no original costumes/characters are allowed as the judges have no basis for comparison. Please bring reference material for your character. Having a physical image of the original character helps. We will be judging your costume on workmanship and presentability. Staying in character is not necessary.
There is no pre-registration for the Hall Costume Contest. Show up during the times above in your costume. Depending on the number of entries we have, we may close registration at any time during the event so we can make sure we end on time and do not run over for the other events in the room after us.
Each contestant gets 5 minutes to be judged, groups have 10 minutes. These time limits are enforced due to the high volume of entries received. Decisions of the judges for each award are final.
The contest may stop taking entrants early due to the number of contestants that show up, so please show up early, and not right at the ending time if you want to get in! Absolutely no recording in the judging room.
Divisions
This year, we will be going to the traditional Division set up for judging:
Youth: This division is for contestants 12 and under.
Beginner: All contestants in the group have won zero awards.
Novice: All contestants in the group have won fewer than three (3) major prizes, but more than one (1) in a costume competition at any convention.
Journeyman: Any contestant in the group has won at least three (3) major prizes as a Novice, but less than Six (6) major prizes at the Journeyman level.
Craftsman: Any contestant in the group has won At least Six (6) major prizes at any previous conventions.
A major award starts with “Best” and includes awards such as “Best in Class”, “Best Craftsmanship”, etc., and was given out by an entire panel of judges. Honorable mentions do count as major awards. Judge’s Awards do not count as major prizes. A Novice entry may opt to register and compete at a higher level (Journeyman or Craftsman) if they wish. Likewise, Journeymen may opt to register and compete as Craftsmen. Craftsmen must register as such. Group entries will be judged according to the skill level of the most experienced member.
Awards: We will be presenting awards at Masquerade Halftime in the following categories:
Best of Weekend, Best in Craftsman, Best in Journeyman, Best in Novice, Best in Beginner, Youth Awards, Judges Awards, and Honorable Mentions which will be at the discretion of the individual judges.
And most importantly of all, have fun!
