Cosplay Competition Rules

Cosplay contest rules

Article 01 : Generalities

1.a) The following rules determine the course of the cosplay contest held by Cosplayers for Cosplayers. The rules may be supplemented and amended without prior notice. 1.b) Participation in the cosplay contest, organized by Cosplayers for Cosplayers, demands unconditional approval and respect for these rules.

Article 02 : Definitions

2.a) Each Cosplay contest consists of a show of an individual and/or group of people in costume.

2.b) The staff of the festival and the Cosplay competitions work to have a good conduct and proper organization of the contest, hereinafter referred to as « Cosplay organization ».
Article 03 : Themes and Categories

3.a) For the shows, participants are allowed to parade as characters from cartoons, video games, movies, series, comics, manga, anime , licensed characters, official licensed music videos. Custom designs and fan arts are allowed within the boundaries of the competition and will be judged as a different category.

3.b) The group participants may have a maximum of 4 members per group. Crossovers (characters from different series) are accepted.

3.c) Participants must be 18 years or older on the day of the contest. If this is not the case, the participant must have a parental permission (available at our booth or on request through cosplayersforcosplayers@gmail.com).

3.d) Bought costumes are not allowed, at least 70% needs to be made by the participant. A friend or family member can help but only for minor work, and it needs to be confirmed if they did. Commissioned pieces are not allowed under any circumstances.

3.e) A playbook with pictures of your work comes in handy for the judges. This way they can see your inside sewing work and/or detailing work. This is not mandatory but highly recommended.

3.f) Since the shows are open to a public of all ages, acts must be suitable for everyone. No insults or sexist or homophobic comments, no nudity allowed.

3.g) Participants aren’t allowed to alter their skin tone with the intention of portraying or matching a character from an ethnicity, existing or similar to an existing one, other than their own. This aspect of portrayal doesn’t have any incidence on the scoring regarding accuracy to the original source material.

Article 04: Date and Number of Participants

4.a) The timetable for the individual and group contest will be announced via email. (confirmation email)

4.b) The selections are limited to 10 groups OR 20 individuals based on the time assigned by the organizer of the contest.

4.c) The inscriptions are done according to the principle “first come first served”. 4.d) This limit may be changed without prior notice by the Cosplay organization in terms of the overall planning of the festival.

Article 05: Registration for the Contest

5.a) Participation in one of the shows means that a registration has been executed according to the instructions found on the partner website of Cosplayers for Cosplayers. 5.b) The people whose registration on the website has been validated must confirm their presence at the Cosplay booth according to the timetable announced by the Cosplay organization.

5.c) In the absence of such confirmation on the day of the event, the participant shall not be able to enter the contest and may be subject to a ban for the next contest subscription. 5.d) All nationalities may participate.

5.e) Only the catwalk registrations will be done on the day of the contest, depending on the available time assigned for the contest.

5.f) Registration for both days is accepted on the condition of registering with 2 different costumes each day. Even if you participate in both group and solo (not group AND solo the same day).

5.g) Changing your participation after your registration has been validated, will put you at the bottom of the list.

Article 06: Registration Groups Contest

6.a) The term “Registration Groups” includes all entries in which multiple participants are entering the stage.

6.b) Each group should appoint a representative who will deliver all necessary documents for each member of the group to the Cosplay organization.

6.c) The representative commits themself to respect the rules and to make the group respect it as well, and will communicate the Cosplay organization’s instructions to the group. 6.d) Each member of the group needs to be present at the same time to confirm their presence at the Cosplay booth according to the timetable announced by the Cosplay organization.

6.e) Registration for both days is accepted on the condition of registering with different costumes each day.

Article 07: Award for Contest

7.a) Individual and group winners are entitled to various prizes, these are pre-determined by the convention.

Article 08: Duration of the Act

8.a) For solo acts, the duration is limited to 1 minute and 30 seconds. For groups, the duration is limited to 3 minutes.

8.b) In case the duration exceeds the limit, your registration will not be validated.

8.c) The duration of the act can be modified at any time, and will depend on the regulations specific to each contest. It is important to turn to the relevant section.

Article 09: Sound Equipment in Acts

9.a) Microphones are not available to participants.

9.b) Audio files should be in mp3, if allowed by the convention video files should be in mp4.

9.c) The files must be named accordingly: name, first name, series and character. 9.d) The Cosplay organization will not do any audio editing before or during the acts.

9.e) In case you want to change your audiofile, you will need to make a new subscription. Your first subscription will then be cancelled.

9.f) If your audio quality is insufficient we can ask you to change it , this will not place you back at the bottom of the list.

Article 10: Required Elements

10.a) A reference picture should be sent to the cosplay organization, this is a picture of the character you portray. There is a limit of 2 files per character , we encourage you to make a good collage.

10.b) The files must be named accordingly: name, first name, series and character. 10.c) The absence of this picture makes the registration invalid. The images cannot be looked up on the spot.

Article 11: Evaluation

11.a) The assessment of the jury is about following elements:

Costume 50 %
- Accuracy: 15 points
- techniques: 15 points
- materials: 10 points
- Cleanliness: 10 points
Act/performance: 50%
- Video/audio: 10 points
- Comprehension ability: 15 points
- Acting/performance: 25 points

Article 12: Jury and Scoring

12.a) The official Jury consists of 3 to 5 persons for each contest.

12.b) The members of the jury may not participate in the competition.

12.c) The winners of the contests are chosen by a collective decision of the jury.

12.d) The number of members of the jury may be modified at any time by the Cosplay organization without prior notice.

Article 13: Limitations to Entry

13.a) Each participant commits to participate with the costume he or she submitted during registration.

13.b) The members of the Cosplay organization that work the day of the contest, as well as the members of the jury are not allowed to participate in the contest.

13.c) A participant cannot participate in the same contest with two different costumes/acts (except if these costumes are part of the same act).

13.d) You are NOT allowed to enter the competition with a costume that won you frist place in any other contest. If we find out you did this, you will be disqualified and/or banned from future competitions organized by Cosplayers for Cosplayers.

Article 14: Security

14.a) For security reasons, pyrotechnics (fireworks, lighters, firecrackers, candles, burning objects…) are prohibited.

14.b) Liquids in any form (water gun, filled bottles,…) are forbidden on the stage.

14.c) Weapon replicas (swords, etc.) are prohibited, with the exception of weapons made by the participants, and provided that these replicas are not a danger to the environment.

14.d) Glitter, confetti, small flowers, flour or anything that will make the stage dirty etc. are forbidden on stage.

14.e) The organization reserves the right to stop an act if they consider that the safety of the participants or people present is compromised.

14.f) For their own safety, participants must remain at 1 meter from the edge of the stage. 14.g) Breakable and sharp objects as stage props are not allowed; glass, porcelain, etcetera.

14.h) Every prop and accessory needs to be checked during validation , failure to comply will result in disqualification.

14.i) If you wear body paint, you are not allowed to touch the stage.

14.j) Dangerous gasses are not allowed on stage, or in the dressing rooms (bugspray, hairspray, deodorant etcetera).

14.k) Exceptions: Balloons with helium, small air tanks for pneumatics, vape machine only if the liquid does not exceed 4ml.

14.l) Stage props may not exceed a weight of 20 kg and must be able to be carried by no more than 2 people each.

14.m) The maximum allowed stage props are 6 of which 3 may be big stage props. The maximum dimensions are, 200cm length 200cm wide and 200cm high.

Article 15: Disqualification

15.a) Any participant who does not comply with one of the articles from these rules or with the regulations belonging to this category will be automatically disqualified. 15.b) Each participant that fails to comply with the guidelines of the Cosplay organization can be immediately disqualified.

15.c) Any contestant found guilty of vandalism, theft, verbal or physical aggression, shocking behavior or any other crime during the festival will be immediately and irrevocably disqualified. Legal procedure will be initiated against those who misbehave.

15.d) Being caught lying to the jury will result in disqualification. Being caught after the day of the contest may result in a ban.

Article 16: Pictorial rights

16.a) By accepting these rules, participants allow pictures and videos taken of themselves during the event, to be used within the context of communication or promotion. 16.b) The organization commits to ensure that the images used are conform to morality and the law.

Each image that dishonors human value, promotes pornography and violence are strictly forbidden.

Costume contest Rules

Article 01 : Generalities

Article 02 : Definitions

2.a) Each Cosplay contest consists of a show of an individual and/or group of people in costume.

2.b) The staff of the festival and the Cosplay competitions work to have a good conduct and proper organization of the contest, hereinafter referred to as « Cosplay organization ».

Article 03 : Themes and Categories

3.b) The group participants may have a maximum of 4 members per group. Crossovers (characters from different series) are accepted.

3.e) A playbook with pictures of your work comes in handy for the judges. This way they can see your inside sewing work and/or detailing work. This is not mandatory but highly recommended.

3.f) Since the shows are open to a public of all ages, acts must be suitable for everyone. No insults or sexist or homophobic comments, no nudity allowed.

Article 04: Date and Number of Participants

4.a) The timetable for the individual and group contest will be announced via email. (confirmation email)

4.b) The selections are limited to 10 groups OR 20 individuals based on the time assigned by the organizer of the contest.

4.c) The inscriptions are done according to the principle “first come first served”.

4.d) This limit may be changed without prior notice by the Cosplay organization in terms of the overall planning of the festival.

Article 05: Registration for the Contest

5.e) Only the catwalk registrations will be done on the day of the contest, depending on the available time assigned for the contest.

5.f) Registration for both days is accepted on the condition of registering with 2 different costumes each day. Even if you participate in both group and solo (not group AND solo the same day).

5.g) Changing your participation after your registration has been validated, will put you at the bottom of the list.

Article 06: Registration Groups Contest

6.a) The term “Registration Groups” includes all entries in which multiple participants are entering the stage.

6.b) Each group should appoint a representative who will deliver all necessary documents for each member of the group to the Cosplay organization.

6.e) Registration for both days is accepted on the condition of registering with different costumes each day.

Article 07: Award for Contest

7.a) Individual and group winners are entitled to various prizes, these are pre-determined by the convention.

Article 08: Stage time

8.a) First you will enter the stage and showcase your costume, after that the host may/will ask you a few questions about your costume. This will always be done after talking with the contestant before the show starts.

Article 09: Sound Equipment in Acts

9.a) Microphones are not available to participants.

9.b) You are allowed to attach an audio file with your subscription online, however this is not a requirement. All files should be mp3 format.

9.c) The files must be named accordingly: name, first name, series and character. 9.d) The Cosplay organization will not do any audio editing before or during the acts. 9.e) In case you want to change your audiofile, you will need to make a new subscription. Your first subscription will then be cancelled.

9.f) If your audio quality is insufficient we can ask you to change it , this will not place you back at the bottom of the list.

9.g) Please note your audio file will only serve as background music.

Article 10: Required Elements

10.a) A reference picture should be sent to the cosplay organisation, this is a picture of the character you portray. There is a limit of 2 files per character, we encourage you to make a good collage.

10.b) The files must be named accordingly: name, first name, series and character. Cosplay contest Rules

10.c) The absence of this picture makes the registration invalid. The images cannot be looked up on the spot.

10.d) Playbook with pictures of your work, inside details, .. is MANDATORY.

Article 11: Evaluation

11.a) The assessment of the jury is about 4 elements.

The assessment of the jury will be done based on 2 subjects.

Costume: design, quality, chosen techniques , complexity , similarity. This will be 80% of your final score
Stage presence: This will be 20% of your final score.

Article 12: Jury and Scoring

12.a) The official Jury consists of 3 to 5 people for each contest.

12.b) The members of the Jury officially may not participate in the competition. 12.c) The winners of the contests are chosen by a collective decision of the jury. 12.d) The number of members of the jury may be modified at any time by the Cosplay organization without prior notice.