Masquerade Contest

Note: The Cosplay Staff have the right to place a competitor in an appropriate division at their discretion.

In order to compete at Matsuricon, your costumes must meet the following requirements:

• Any costume can be entered, both official or fanart/original designs, as long as there is reference art of the character to be shown to the judges for the accuracy portion of the judging rubric.
• All costumes must have been at least 75% made from scratch by the costume creator. (Shoes and wigs do not count towards the overall costume, but you will impress the judges if you make these things!)
• We will be accepting first come, first served for each category. For example, we may accept 20 novices, once those 20 are filled the remaining novice applying will be automatically placed on the waitlist.
• We will be accepting a longer waitlist for craftsmanship. As judging takes place Friday and Saturday, you may opt for a specific day or both days, based on your availability.
• Commissioned costumes cannot be entered in the competition divisions. (You may enter in the Exhibition division instead).
• If you are competing as a group, you must compete in the same division. If you and your partner are competing together and are in different divisions, you both will be required to compete at the higher division level. Ex. You are in the masters division, but your partner is considered a journeyman. Both of you will be required to enter at the masters level. If you feel uncomfortable with this, we recommend you enter and be judged separately, but you can both walk and pose on stage together during the masquerade.

Exhibition: This division is for those who just want to walk across the stage to show off their costume. Costumes for the Exhibition division include commissioned, store bought, rented, and/or borrowed costumes. You will not be receiving any awards, nor will your costume be judged for craftsmanship. We have a limited number of TEN slots for exhibition.

Closet Cosplay: This division is for those who have heavily modified at least 50% of your costume. This is anything from modified clothes to partially made items! To qualify, modifications must be made to some or all of the pieces used. If you're unsure if your entry qualifies, please email [email protected] put together entirely of clothes found with no modifications ARE NOT acceptable. You will be immediately disqualified and entered into the Exhibition group.

Youth Cosplay: Intended for those under 16 years of age who are just starting out. Some help is acceptable, but all help MUST be explained thoroughly in judging.

Novice: Intended for those who are still in the beginning stages of learning to make your own cosplay. You cannot compete in this division with more than 1 Major award previously won, or 3 minor awards. (i.e. Honorable Mentions, Judges Awards, etc.)

Journeyman: Those with a solid comprehension of how to put together a costume and show some advanced skills and knowledge. You cannot compete in this division if you have won more than 2 Major awards or 4 minor awards, or have comparable experience.

Masters: Master of the cosplay arts; someone who knows the ropes. Must have won 3 or more major awards, or has comparable experience.

• Bring references!  A reference is a picture of the character that you are cosplaying. Without a reference, we cannot accurately judge your costume for craftsmanship. It would be beneficial to your score to bring as much reference material as possible, preferably as a color printout, but bringing figures, tablets, manga, books, laptops, etc., will also be accepted. Using your phone for your references will result in a deduction of points.
• Photos of your build process are required, most commonly put together into a build book, with your references. This allows the judges to see your work in progress as well as give them something to refer back to if needed. It would be beneficial to your score to include as many photos as possible, preferably as a color printout with your references.
• You will have five minutes total! This includes your explanation and questions from the judges. Come in knowing what you want to say, but leave some time for the judges. Things you should talk about include: fabric choices, construction methods, or any special methods you used to get around a problem in designing the costume. The judges will be there to help guide you in your costume judging.
• The judges will look at your costume up close!  Judges will be checking seams and details, so if you feel uncomfortable at any moment, please let the judges know!

• This year, we will be accepting a total of 15 skits. There will be 5 skits from each division (5 from novice, 5 from journeymen, and 5 from masters). We are trying to include a wide diversity of content, so we will not be going with first come, first served. Be as thorough as possible on your submission form! We encourage including any scripts or descriptions for what you are planning to present on stage.
• We will also be accepting additional skits per division as a waitlist. These skits will be the reserves if an entered skit drops out or does not complete the mandatory pre-screening. Additional information on this process will be communicated with those selected for the waitlist.
• All skits (accepted and waitlisted) will be required to attend the Skit Pre-screening held Saturday morning. This will allow you time on the stage prior to the event, as well as the content to be reviewed by staff and feedback given. This will not be judged. This is for you to get a feel for the stage and any pointers to remember that may help you during your actual skit performance.
• Costumes and skits must be PG-13. If it’s appropriate for a PG-13 movie, it’s appropriate for the competition. However, if it is something you would not say in front of your grandmother, don’t put it in your skit. If you are unsure whether your skit is appropriate, please feel free to email us.
• Skits must be no longer than 3 minutes in length. Skits that run on longer than 3 minutes (within reason) will not be accepted. For this reason, we encourage you to pre-record your skits unless it absolutely must be performed live (such as playing an instrument). All pre-recorded or background audios will be due by August 9th, 11:59pm in MP3 format.
• Objects and activities not permitted on stage: No live steel and firearms. No incendiary devices (such as sparklers, firecrackers or smoke bombs). No throwing of objects will be permitted. No glitter or confetti.
• Reckless Behavior resulting in falling off stage, or breaking/damaging equipment (or nearly doing so) will result in disqualification. If you damage equipment, we will hold you responsible for the cost to fix or replace it.
• What goes on stage with you MUST come off stage as you leave.

If you are interested in becoming a judge for the Masquerade, please fill out our application below! This will be open March 23rd and close May 1st, with determinations going out by May 15th at the latest. We’re looking for collaborative, positive, and experienced crafters, builders, and performers to round out our staff for the event.