Cosplay Competitor FAQ

About this page

Please note that this page is meant to answer commonly asked questions and that the rules and competitor guidelines are the main source of truth for competition rules and competitor behavior expectations.

General Costume Questions

Costumes spanning the worlds of anime, manga, video games, musicals, books, and even comics and movies are all eligible for entry (original characters, too), but please note that costumes must comply with our show’s cosplay and weapons policies.

When applying, you should consider both your entry type and your competition level. In short, your entry type is how you will compete and your competition level is how you will be graded.

Entry Types

There are three ways to compete at our Masquerades (Anime NYC and Anime Frontier) listed below. At our Cosplay Contests (Awesome Con and Rose City Comic Con), you can only compete in the Craftsmanship Only entry type.

• Craftsmanship Only: You make 75%+ of your cosplay and do ~3 poses on the stage to our pre-selected music. You attend required Craftsmanship judging and are eligible for judges awards, craftsmanship awards, and Best in Show. This is the only category available at Awesome Con and Rose City Comic Con.

• Performance Only: You make 0%+ of your cosplay and do a performance to your own music and/or video. You do not attend Craftsmanship judging and are eligible for judges awards, performance awards, and Best in Show. The performance only category is only available at Anime NYC and Anime Frontier.

• Craftsmanship & Performance: You make 75%+ of your cosplay and do a performance to your own music and/or video. You attend required Craftsmanship judging and are eligible for judges awards, craftsmanship awards, performance awards, and Best in Show. The craftsmanship & performance category is only available at Anime NYC and Anime Frontier.

75% Rule

Any costume is eligible to compete on-stage in the Performance only category, but only costumes that are at least 75% created by the competitor or competitor group are eligible to compete for Craftsmanship awards – with Craftsmanship prejudging taking place prior to the Masquerade. If you are taking part in Craftsmanship Judging, you will be given a time to check in up to eight hours before the contest begins during which time our judges will meet with you to review your costume. During this time, they will ask you questions about how you made your cosplay. They reserve the right to exclude parts of your cosplay you did not make yourself.

Think about it this way: if the judges exclude all the parts you didn’t make, is there enough left for them to judge and give you an award for?

We know it’s hard to gauge 75% so here are some guardrails that might help you figure it out:

• You can compete if you…
  • Made all a complex set of armor but purchased your sword.
  • Made your entire cosplay but commissioned your wig.
  • Bought a basic bodysuit but made considerable alterations and additions to it.

• You should not compete if you…
  • Purchased your entire cosplay in a store or commissioned your cosplay.
  • Purchased the majority of your cosplay but made a prop for it.
  • Made the majority of your cosplay, but it’s not even close to finished by the time of the competition.

At the end of the day, if you’re not sure just email us! We are happy to help figure out if your cosplay meets this requirement.

Walk-Ons (Without Competing)

We don’t accept walk-ons who aren’t competing in the craftsmanship contest. While we know how fun it is to strut your stuff on stage in a store-bought cosplay, this is a competition! We are working to build a contest environment that’s fun while challenging makers to be ambitious and performers to up their game. We also want to make sure the Masquerade is a spectacle for our attendees who come to cheer on and support our competitors every year. If you want to get up on stage in a store bought or commissioned cosplay, that’s fine, but you’ll need to enter the Performance category and prepare a skit, dance, poem, or other performance type for at least 90 seconds.

Can I Wear Someone Else’s Costume? / Can I Use a Model?

If you are competing in only the Performance category at one of our anime shows (Anime NYC or Anime Frontier), you may wear a store-bought or commissioned cosplay. You may, of course, also wear a cosplay you’ve made yourself.

If you are competing in the Craftsmanship contest, you are required to have made 75% of your cosplay. In our craftsmanship competition, the maker is the person being judged and awarded. While it’s customary for the maker to also be the wearer, if you don’t feel comfortable or are physically unable to wear your cosplay on stage, you are free to use a model. The maker must be present for prejudging and the stage competition in order to receive their award should they win one.

I have a disability and need accommodations in order to compete.

We strive to ensure all our competitors are supported so they can focus on doing their best in the competition. In the past, we have been able to provide a ramp or lift up to the stage depending on the convention center, an ASL Interpreter, and ADA seating to competitors who need it. In your application, you’ll be asked to share any accommodations you may need. If you are accepted to compete, we’ll be in touch to confirm your needs will be met to the best of our ability.

Competition Timeline

• ~3 months before competition: Applications go live.
• ~1 month before competition: Once final decisions are made by the team, competitors will hear back about their application status.
• ~2 weeks before competition: Competitors are asked to provide materials in advance such as a build book for craftsmanship competitors and mp3s for performance competitors. Craftsmanship competitors are also asked to sign up for prejudging time slots, which can be changed up until the Friday before the convention.
• ~1 week before competition: Competitors receive final information about the day of the contest including rehearsal time/location and point-of-contact at the con.
• Day of the competition: Craftsmanship competitors will attend prejudging, which takes place throughout the day starting in the morning and ending in the late afternoon. Rehearsal time is dependent on the availability of the Main Stage and will vary by convention.

Understanding Competition Levels

• The categories for our craftsmanship contest are:
  • Kids – Anyone between 11 and 15 years of age.
  • Beginner – Anyone who has won none or one major costume contest award.
  • Intermediate – Anyone who has won between two to four major awards.
  • Advanced – Anyone who has won five or more major awards or anyone who works professionally in costuming such as in theater, film, etc

  The number of awards listed above is more of a guideline to help you place yourself than a hard requirement. Entering your competition level should be determined by where you feel the most comfortable competing. That’s not to say where you think you stand the best chance of winning, but where you feel your cosplay would be healthy competition with other entrants. However, please enter the appropriate category for your skill level. If you are a very experienced cosplayer and enter the beginner category, that’s just bad sportsmanship. Judges are also empowered to upgrade or downgrade your competition level during prejudging.

  For example, if this is your first time competing, you’ve been leatherworking for 10 years and your cosplay is majority leatherwork, you might want to consider going up a level.

  Please use the below to consider how you’re choosing your competition level. 

  • Beginner – You are new to cosplay creation or performance and have won none or one major costume contest award.
    • Craftsmanship – You primarily rely on unaltered commercial sewing patterns, purchased 3D models, altered clothing, only somewhat altered wigs, or having someone else style them for you.
    • Performance – You’ve never performed live on stage before, whether at a convention or elsewhere.
  • Intermediate – You already have quite a few contests under your belt OR you’ve won 2-4 major awards. If you have competed in Intermediate or a similar level at other contests, you should be in Intermediate at this contest.
    • Craftsmanship – You are self-drafting or seriously editing commercial sewing patterns, you are making your own 3D models for 3D printing, and you are self-styling your wigs
    • Performance – You are editing your own music tracks, not just playing one song through and/or starting to experiment with video content. You are using props where necessary in your skits.
  • Advanced – You are a seasoned cosplayer. You’ve competed many times OR you’ve won 5+ major awards. If you have competed in Advanced or a similar level at other contests, you should be in Advanced at this contest.
    • Craftsmanship – You are being held to the highest standard. If you work professionally in the medium you are entering into the cosplay contest, you should also enter the Advanced category.
    • Performance – You are heavily editing music content and making custom/bespoke video content. You are using props on stage to enhance your skit work.
  • Kids – Competitors must be 11-15 years of age to compete in this category. We do not accept competitors younger than 11 years of age.  If you are in this age group, you are allowed to compete in the skill-based categories, but you will be held to the same standards as those applicants and competitors, regardless of your age.

  Competition Level vs. Technique/Medium-Based Awards

  There are many ways for contests to give out awards such as competition level, technique-based, etc some of which you may have already seen at other contests. There’s ultimately no “right way” to do it and each style has its ups and downs, but we have elected to use a skill level based award structure. Here are a few reasons why:

  • Cosplay is a mixed-media art form: cosplayers use multiple disciplines to bring something 2D to life. Ultimately, what judges are looking for is a costume that shows a combination of appropriate fabrication techniques used competently in order to achieve one cohesive look whether that’s sewing, 3D printing, foam smithing, etc.
  • Making room for beginners: Giving beginners the opportunity to compete and have a chance to win something is important for our community to grow. Plus getting feedback from judges and competing alongside more seasoned competitors gives beginners the opportunity to learn and gather inspiration for their next build.
  • It makes it challenging in a fun way: Competing against cosplayers with the same level of experience means you are constantly challenged to bring your A-game, explore new techniques, and challenge your mastery of old ones. This is a competition, after all.

Walk-Ons (Without Competing)

We don’t accept walk-ons who aren’t competing in the craftsmanship contest. While we know how fun it is to strut your stuff on stage in a store-bought cosplay, this is a competition! We are working to build a contest environment that’s fun while challenging makers to be ambitious and performers to up their game. We also want to make sure the Masquerade/Competition is a spectacle for our attendees who come to cheer on and support our competitors every year. If you want to get up on stage in a store-boughtstore bought or commissioned cosplay, that’s fine, but you’ll need to enter the Performance category at one of our anime show Masquerades and prepare a skit, dance, poem, or other performance type for at least 90 seconds.

I have a disability and need accommodations in order to compete.

We strive to ensure all our competitors are supported so they can focus on doing their best in the competition. In the past, we have been able to provide a ramp or lift up to the stage, depending on the convention center, an ASL Interpreter, and ADA seating to competitors who need it. In your application, you’ll be asked to share any accommodations you may need. If you are accepted to compete, we’ll be in touch to confirm that your needs will be met to the best of our ability.

About Craftsmanship Entries

75% Rule

Any costume is eligible to compete on-stage in the Performance only category (Anime NYC & Anime Frontier), but only costumes that are at least 75% created by the competitor or competitor group are eligible to compete for Craftsmanship awards, – with Craftsmanship prejudging taking place prior to the Masquerade. If you are taking part in Craftsmanship Judging, you will be given a time to check in up to eight hours before the contest begins, during which time our judges will meet with you to review your costume. During this time, they will ask you questions about how you made your cosplay. They reserve the right to exclude parts of your cosplay that you did not make yourself.

Think about it this way: if the judges exclude all the parts you didn’t make, is there enough left for them to judge and give you an award for?

We know it’s hard to gauge 75%, so here are some guardrails that might help you figure it out:

• You can compete in the craftsmanship contest if you…
  • Entirely made a complex set of armor, but purchased your sword.
  • Made your entire cosplay, but commissioned your wig.
  • Bought a basic bodysuit, but made considerable alterations and additions to and on top of it.
  • Altered/made most of your cosplay, and removing the purchased pieces still leaves you clothed appropriately.

• You should not compete in the craftsmanship contest if you…
  • Purchased your entire cosplay in a store or commissioned your cosplay.
  • Purchased the majority of your cosplay but made a prop for it.
  • Made the majority of your cosplay, but it’s not even close to finished by the time of the competition.
  • Removing the purchased pieces would result in you being mostly unclothed or violating our Cosplay policy.

At the end of the day, if you’re not sure, just email us! We are happy to help figure out if your cosplay meets this requirement.

Can I Wear Someone Else’s Costume? / Can I Use a Model?

If you are competing in only the Performance category at one of our anime shows (Anime NYC or Anime Frontier), you may wear a store-bought or commissioned cosplay. You may, of course, also wear a cosplay you’ve made yourself.

If you are competing in the Craftsmanship contest, you are required to have made 75% of your cosplay. In our craftsmanship competition, the maker is the person being judged and awarded. While it’s customary for the maker to also be the wearer, if you don’t feel comfortable or are physically unable to wear your cosplay on stage, you are free to use a model. The maker must be present for prejudging and the stage competition in order to receive their award, should they win one.

All About Prejudging

The Purpose of Prejudging

Prejudging is a great opportunity to show the contest judges your hard work up close and in detail. Think of it as a sales pitch for your cosplay and your artistry. You typically have 3 full minutes one-on-one with a panel of judges to talk about your cosplay and answer questions they may have. Because they have your build book in advance, they will have in-depth questions to ask you, ready to go. Use your 3 minutes wisely and think about how you want to highlight the best parts of your cosplay.

Think about the following when creating your pitch:

• What are you most proud of?
• What techniques did you use?
• What did you learn in the process?

If you can’t think of anything else, just explain how you made your cosplay top to bottom, starting with your wig and ending with your shoes.

Remember, the judges likely won’t notice small details that didn’t come out quite how you wanted them to, so don’t highlight parts of your cosplay that you don’t like!

Moving Categories

Judges may take a look at your cosplay and realize that you might be competing in the wrong category. It’s not uncommon for judges to bump up your competition level if they feel your skill is incredibly competitive. An example of this may be someone who applied to compete at the beginner level but produced a cosplay at the intermediate level. In this instance, the judges may move you up. But don’t worry, they’ll only do this if it means you’re going to win an award in your new level.

Cosplay & Consent

In prejudging, it’s not uncommon for cosplay judges to ask to touch your cosplay. This is because they are also cosplayers who are interested in craftsmanship and want to understand your cosplay inside and out. Please know that we take consent very seriously and never want you to feel uncomfortable. Our judges will always ask for your consent to touch your cosplay. They will never touch you—only your costume—and they will never ask to look at parts of your cosplay that cause you to reveal more of your body than you are comfortable with.

We fully recognize that not everyone is comfortable with having their clothing touched, so if you don’t want the judges to touch your cosplay, they will ask you to flip your seams over yourself or hold up a part of your costume for them to look at up close, but without touching.

If there are any parts of your costume you don’t want the judges to investigate at all, they reserve the right to remove that portion of the costume from your score. We want to be fair to you and all of our contestants, so if you don’t want to demonstrate how part of your cosplay was made, it’s difficult for them to assign it a fair score.

Why Cosplay Prejudging is 3-4 Minutes

We know that 3-4 minutes is a pretty tough time limit to describe a cosplay that may have taken you months, if not years, to create. The main reason the time slots are 3-4 minutes long is simply time. There’s a lot happening behind the scenes outside of judges spending direct time with our competitors. Prejudging for 30+ competitors can take up to 5-6 hours, including time between each judging session for the judges to discuss your cosplay in detail and take notes, time between sessions for judges to pre-review your build book, and breaks for the judges so that they have the energy to approach every competitor with the same excitement and eye for detail.

To combat this, we print out pictures of all our competitors and take a long time reviewing build books after prejudging has ended, so that our judges fully remember and give fair consideration to everyone they’ve met.

All About Build Books

If you’re not familiar with a build book, or this may be your first time competing in craftsmanship, a build book is a tool for demonstrating your process for key elements of your cosplay. Think about what you would like the judges to remember after your brief prejudging session. In determining a contest winner, judges will often flip back through your build book to remember what they thought you did well.

You might think about including the following:

• High-resolution reference photos — Don’t assume that the judges are familiar with the character you’re cosplaying. Reference photos can help them determine how well you’ve interpreted the source material.
• Pictures of the creation process — This can be crucial in the judging process. Judges really want to understand how you made something from A to Z. They are often impressed with how you problem-solved something drawn or animated into a physical object, not just the end result.
• Short written bullet points about your process that are easy to read quickly.— It’s great to share what you feel you learned, as well as what techniques you think you really mastered.
• Swatches or off-cuts from the creation of your costume are required as a part of our judging process.

Questions about this documentation can be directed to: [email protected]

About Performance Entries

We accept all kinds of performances, including but not limited to idol dances, skits, slam poetry, songs, classic dance performances, ribbon twirling, flag spinning, etc. The sky’s the limit in terms of what you’d like to perform. Please note that performances are only available at Anime NYC and Anime Frontier. If you are attending Rose City Comic Con or Awesome Con, we only have a craftsmanship contest.

A performance must have some kind of choreography or narrative structure, meaning we will not accept entries planning to walk on stage in a store-bought cosplay, strike a few poses, and leave the stage. This does not qualify as a performance in this contest and will not be selected to compete.

We ask you to keep to the following guidelines for performance length. If you have any questions or concerns, please email us so we can discuss your performance plan:

• 1-2 people – Up to 90 seconds
• 3-5 people – Up to 2 minutes and 30 seconds
• 6+ people – Up to 3 minutes

Performance AV Requirements

Music Requirements

If you are performing using an MP3, you MUST have it clipped to your actual end time, as we cannot give the AV team directions to cut it off at a certain timestamp. In short,: we will play your whole MP3 from beginning to end. We may ask you to shorten your performance pending time limits for our stage time. Please ensure the file is high quality, meaning no direct rips from YouTube that sound tinny or crackly. Live mics are not an option at our shows, so all audio for your performance must be submitted in advance.  

Video Requirements

You may submit a video to play on either the screens that flank the stage or are behind you on the stage. This is not required. Please note that a screen on the stage is not guaranteed and varies by convention center. We will update individual competitors with the setup on a per-show basis.

• All videos submitted must be a minimum of 1080p and 4k video is recommended – keep in mind that your video must look good on a very large screen.
• The screen setup is 16:9 aspect / 1920 x1080 resolution

Rehearsal

The stage size varies by convention center, we will share information about stage size on a per-show basis. A full dress rehearsal is required at Anime NYC and Anime Frontier for performance competitors, and you may be removed from the competition if you do not attend rehearsal. If you have a scheduling conflict, please email us so that we can find a way to accommodate you.

About the Application Process

Applications are required for all of our contests. You can learn more about the process in the section below.

Juried Selection Process

All of our shows (Awesome Con, Anime NYC, Rose City Comic Con, Anime Frontier) are juried contests. This means that we accept applications to compete during an open application period that begins about 2-3 months before the contest and close applications 1-1.5 months before the contest. We communicate about the contests entirely over email.

We won’t review any applications until after the open application deadline has passed, and there’s no advantage to applying early. Likewise, there’s no disadvantage to applying on the day of the deadline. Take your time to submit as complete an application as possible, with as many pictures/videos and details as you can share. Applications considered incomplete will not be selected.

When the open application period closes, the contest showrunners review every application to determine which applicants will be competitors. 1-2 weeks later, applicants will be informed if they have been selected to compete, waitlisted, or not selected to compete for that year.

Application Questions

While subject to change, we have asked for the following information on our applications in the past, which we hope will help you prepare for your upcoming application. We base our entire decision on the application you submit to us, so please ensure it’s as complete as possible before submitting.

• Costume description or brief synopsis of your performance
• Images of your cosplay (even if you are performance only)
• Recordings or a script of your performance plan
• Proof of work for craftsmanship competitors

Because we base our entire decision on the application you submit to us, the more details you submit via written information and, most importantly, visuals, the more likely you are to be selected to compete. Consider a few things when submitting your application:

1. A picture is worth 1000 words: visuals are the best key to helping us make a decision.:
   1. Craftsmanship: Show us as much of your cosplay as you have made so far. The photos don’t need to be professional, and the cosplay doesn’t need to be 100% finished. However, the truth of the matter is that the closer you are to finishing, the more likely you are to be selected to compete. We are mainly seeking to understand the general quality of your work and if you will be done with your cosplay in time to compete with it. You must be 50% done when applying to be accepted.
   2. Performance: We are looking to see how exciting your performance will be for the audience and how well you hit your cues, whether verbal or audio. If you’re not totally ready and polished with this year’s performance, still show us what you’ve got so far, but maybe also show us something you’ve done in the past. Showing us previous performances or even a quick 30-second cell phone video of you doing your planned routine is incredibly helpful. Without some kind of video, it’s hard for us to determine how successful you’ll be on stage.
2. There’s a lot of content out there: We might not be totally familiar with what your cosplay is from, there’s a lot of great anime, manga, and games out there that we might not have gotten to yet so reference photos are always helpful to understand how well you’ve recreated the character IRL.

• Give us something to work with: If you only submit a few pictures of piles of fabrics, pictures of the pattern you plan to use, or a costume that’s not just incomplete but totally unstarted, you will not be chosen to compete. 

Overall, no matter when you apply during the open application period, you will be evaluated equally: We don’t review a single application or make any decisions on who is accepted until after applications close. We then take the time to review every single application in detail, so applying early will make no difference in being accepted, and likewise, applying right before applications close does not hurt your chances of competing. Apply when you feel ready to do so (up until applications close).

Application Timeline

• ~3 months before competition: Applications go live.
• ~1 month before competition: Once final decisions are made by the team, competitors will hear back about their application status.
• ~2 weeks before competition: Competitors are asked to provide materials in advance, such as a build book for craftsmanship competitors and MP3s for performance competitors. Craftsmanship competitors are also asked to sign up for prejudging time slots, which can be changed up until the Friday before the convention.
• ~1 week before competition: Competitors receive final information about the day of the contest, including rehearsal time/location and point-of-contact at the con.
• Day of the competition: Craftsmanship competitors will attend prejudging, which takes place throughout the day, starting in the morning and ending in the late afternoon. Rehearsal time is dependent on the availability of the Main Stage and will vary by convention.

Why Didn’t I Get Selected to Compete?

• We know it’s always disappointing to apply to a contest and not get in, especially after months of hard work and dedication to your cosplay. There are many reasons why you may not have been selected to compete this year, and while we can’t specifically get back to every applicant as to why, we hope this section will be useful to you.  Please also note that we get about 4-5 times the number of applications as we have spots in our contests, so we can’t pick everyone! The main things to consider are:
  • How complete was your application?
    • Did you include really detailed creation photos? What about a complete shot of your cosplay?
  • Did you provide enough photos/videos for someone who doesn’t know anything about your cosplay to base their decision on?
  • Did you apply in the category appropriate to your skill level?
  • How close were you to finishing when you applied?
  • If you imagine other competitors in the category, is your costume competitive enough to win an award?
  • For craftsmanship competitors, if you take away the items you didn’t make, are you still clothed?
  • For performance competitors, did you provide enough information about your performance for us to determine that it’s going to be competitive?

If we feel we didn’t get enough information from you, we’ll sometimes reach out before decisions are made to ask you for additional photos or video content. However, we’ll only do that if we don’t feel we have enough competitors to make a category feel and look competitive, so you’re better off providing as much as you can upfront. If you’re eager to get your application in early, consider linking us to a Google Drive or a Dropbox folder that you can continue to add more photos or videos to up until the application deadline. We won’t review applications until after the deadline, and there’s no advantage to applying early. Likewise, there’s no disadvantage to applying on the day of the deadline.

Another thing to note: competing with us in the past doesn’t guarantee you a spot in future contests. Consider your application a blank slate every year.

I Missed the Deadline, Can I Still Compete?

• In order to be fair to everyone who applied in time, we do not accept applications once the online form has closed. We know this is tough to hear, especially if you only found out about our competition after that date. That said, we highly encourage you to apply for next year! The form for the contest typically goes live a few months before the convention, so please check back periodically. We’ll also post on our social media channels, so following us there may also be helpful.
• At some of our shows, we do day-of applications on a first-come, first-served basis, which we will announce on social media and on the Cosplay Competition/Masquerade landing site.

Sandbagging

• Sandbagging is against our Competitor Guidelines. This is a term you may have heard discussed in the cosplay community. Sandbagging is when someone re-enters a cosplay that has already won a major award, such as Best in Show or a Runner Up award, at a comparably sized or larger event OR when someone knowingly competes in a category below their actual skill level.
  • If your cosplay has previously won an award at a smaller event (such as a small local convention) or won a minor award (such as a category or judges award) at a comparably sized or larger event, you can absolutely enter our competition without worry.
  • If you personally have won a major award, but you are entering a different cosplay from the one you won with, that is completely fine, just make sure you are entering at an appropriate skill level
• If you want to check about a specific cosplay, email us!
  Not every convention enforces this rule, but we think it’s important to make space for new creations and new creators to have a spotlight and a chance to win. We want to encourage people to continue to make things. You are very welcome to wear an award-winning costume to the convention, and other attendees will definitely enjoy seeing it, but please don’t enter it into the cosplay competition.

How We Choose Judges

In an effort to be as transparent as possible, these are the guidelines we try to hold ourselves accountable to when choosing a judge panel.

1. Diversity of skill: We should seek to have a large number of skills present. Sewing, wig styling, foam work, pattern drafting, leatherwork, 3d modelling, 3d printing, performing, etc. Judges shouldn’t just look good on social media, they should be able to ask comprehensive questions in prejudging and understand comprehensive answers from competitors and know what they’re looking for when judging performances.
2. Diversity of human: Our judge panel should represent the diversity present in the cosplay community.
3. Is a force for good: We should always work with judges who bring positivity, joy, and creativity to the community.

How Judging Works

Judges are expected to adhere to the below rubrics for assessing a competitor. Judging occurs after craftsmanship prejudging and also during the halftime intermission between the stage show and award ceremony.

Craftsmanship Rubric

Interpretation of Source Material

This score may be considered the “accuracy” score; however, rather than only direct 1 to 1 accuracy, we’d like you to focus on how the competitor translated a 2D design into a 3D wearable on a human body. Accuracy should not come at the expense of wearability or appropriate conduct.

• The competitor should demonstrate intentionality around design, color, material, fastenings, and fit as it relates to the original design.
• The competitor has translated details from the original design despite the fact that some characters or designs are more detailed than others – think about the choices they made to fill in the blanks where necessary.

Choice of Materials

This score relates to how intentionally the competitor has chosen to use various materials in the fabrication of their cosplay to create a resulting cohesive look.

• The competitor has created pieces that demonstrate the appropriate weight, texture, and color.
• The competitor has used various disparate materials in tandem or like-materials that achieve wearability and movement.

Techniques Used

This score relates to the intentionality of fabrication techniques the competitor used to create and finish their costume, even if they ultimately make personal changes to what is considered “conventional” fabrication techniques. Think of this as “breaking the rules while knowing the rules” – if they used a technique with a great result, even if it’s unconventional, this should be rewarded.

• The competitor has used appropriate techniques in appropriate locations and on appropriate materials.
• The competitor has demonstrated an element of research into or knowledge of fabrication techniques through the techniques they chose, or in the event they have created or re-created a technique that they have shown intentionality in the development of that technique.
• The competitor has been thoughtful and intentional about how the costume is attached to their body.

Quality of Execution

This score relates to how successful the competitor was in their plan to complete their cosplay from head to toe, with a focus on quality.

• The competitor’s costume fits the wearer appropriately based on the design – the shapes of the resulting costume are proportionate to the character and the body wearing it.
• The costume is well polished for the design they are trying to achieve – this doesn’t mean that it’s perfectly clean, as not all designs call for this, you can also consider if it is appropriately distressed, but should still be well constructed.

Stage Presence

This score relates to how the competitor approaches their own stage time, regardless of the audience response.

• The competitor’s behavior on stage is representative or interpretive of the character they are cosplaying.
• The competitor executes a number of poses across the stage that allows the entire audience to see their whole costume and intentionally highlights special parts of it.
• The competitor is able to navigate across the stage unhindered by their costume – please note this relates to the wearability and comfort of the costume and not to any disabilities that may impede their ability to navigate the stage in a way that is perceived as “smoothly”.
• If their stage description is woven into the movements they are making. For example, if the host says “they made their petticoats” and they give a flounce to show off the underlayers, this should be rewarded.

Audience Impact

This part of the score is considered a bonus set of points and relates to how the audience responds to elements of the competitor’s stage presence. A lack of audience impact should not be considered detrimental to the competitor.

• The competitor executes a pose or action on the stage that the audience responds positively particularly well by cheering, gasping, crying, etc.
• We are not looking for audience excitement or engagement around seeing popular or well loved characters, which is generally apparent when the character is announced as the competitor is entering the stage, but more so an excitement around the stage presence elements.

Performance Rubric

Character Portrayal & Interpretation

This score relates to how the performer interprets the character from the source material in their own unique way.

• The competitor’s facial, body, and voice acting are in-character, engaging, and believable.
• Perfect like-to-like is not required; the competitor’s own interpretation of the character as it relates to their performance is key.

Command of Stage

This score relates to choreography, blocking, and how they use the stage.

• The performer makes appropriate use of the stage as it relates to their performance.
• The performer has a strong choreography plan and is clearly following it, hitting marks with accurate timing (the cosplayer can be stationary and still have good blocking).
• The performer has a commanding stage presence and is not minimized by the size of the stage.
• Choreography and blocking enhances the storytelling.

Immersion & Enhancements

This score relates to the atmosphere of the performance and use of enhancements such as video, music, props, set pieces, spoken word, and other enhancements used.

• An idol performance should feel like you’re at an idol show, with appropriate energy for the song being used.
• Narrative performances, even comedic ones, should feel deeply immersive and in character.
• Props, set, music, sound, & video are not required, but if used, should naturally enhance the performance rather than distract from it.
• If used, audio/video enhancements are high quality and make sense for the performance.

Content and Narrative

This score relates to originality, scene setting, and storytelling. 

• The performance should be unique, enhancing the source material in the performer’s own view. Even if the performance is a recreation of a scene from the source material, it should endeavor to reinterpret the contents for a stage setting or be completely original material
• Regardless of content, the performance should offer a narrative, set a scene, or tell a story
• The performance should be widely understood, even if the source material is not well known

Execution & Audience Reaction

This score relates to how well the performance is executed and gives extra points for audience engagement.

• Extra points should be awarded if the audience enthusiastically engages with a performance.
• If a dance cover, the choreography is accurately hitting marks, and the performers are all synchronized where appropriate.
• The performance is engaging from beginning to end and feels like it’s an appropriate length.
• We are not looking for audience excitement or engagement around seeing popular or well-loved characters, which is generally apparent when the character is announced as the competitor is entering the stage, but more so an excitement around the performance elements.