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Hall Cosplay Contest Rules

  1. The Hall Costume Contest takes place on Friday and Saturday of the convention, with the awards announced at the Masquerade.
  2. Entrants are limited to one entry per day per person for the contest.
  3. If you are entering a costume in the Masquerade (i.e. the on-stage Cosplay), do not enter the SAME costume in the Hall Costume Contest.
  4. You may not enter the same costume both days of the contest. If you would like to enter Friday and Saturday you must have two different costumes.
  5. Reference material for your costume is strongly recommended. While the Contest Coordinator and the judges would like to know every character of every series, they don’t. References are not required but they are helpful.
  6. As this is an anime convention, we require all costumes entered into the contest to be of characters pertaining to anime, video games, or other aspects of Asian culture (such as J-Rock and J-Pop). Original characters are not allowed.
  7. All convention rules will be enforced for the Hall Costume Contest, so make sure to get those props checked out with Con Safety before you come to get judged. Our Weapons and Props policy
  8. AnimeNEXT’s Hall Costume Contest will continue to institute the International Costuming Guild’s level system. Please make sure to read the general Craftsmanship Rules & Guidelines for any information you may need. These rules apply to both the Masquerade and the Hall Costume Contest.
  9. The Hall Costume Contest is a craftsmanship contest. The judges will look at your costume based on how well it is constructed, creativity and accuracy. If you would like a list of items the judges will be looking at feel free to email the contest coordinator.
  10. Judging is on a first come, first served basis. The contest coordinator reserves the right to cap entries based on contest times and the number of entries, so come early!
  11. You may be judged as an individual or a group. If you choose to be judged as a group, please fill out only one form. If you have a group of 8 people or more, you must email the contest coordinator to plan a time for your judging either prior to the convention or see the coordinator at the convention during contest hours. If you do not plan for a time you will be asked to break your group into separate entries. All large groups must plan times prior to 4:00pm on Saturday, as that is when all judging ends.
  12. Likewise, if your costume is large and you think it will be a problem to bring into the judging room, please contact the coordinator. In most situations, she will be able to work out something with you to get your costume judged.