OTAKUFEST 2024 COSTUME CONTEST

Go for the gold in one of the most competitive costuming events in South Florida! OVER $2,000 IN CASH & PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED AT THE SHOW! Watch the most talented cosplayers and costumers in South Florida as they show off their amazing costumes, or compete and let your talent shine through! The contest is open to ALL skill levels to ensure both novice and experienced costumers have a chance to shine with over $2,000 in cash and prizes, including $400 cash for Best In Show! The divisions for the Costume Contest include: Master, Journeyman, Novice and Junior/Youth.

PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED AS FOLLOWS:
• BEST IN SHOW: $400 CASH PRIZE & AWARD TROPHY
• Con Chair Spotlight: $200 cash prize & Award trophy
• Masters Award: $150 cash prize & Award trophy
• Craftsmanship Award: $75 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Individual, Journeyman: $75 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Individual, Novice: $50 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Individual, Junior/Youth: $50 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Prop: $50 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Group, Journeyman / Masters: $75 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Group, Novice: $75 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Individual, Uncertified: $50 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Group, Uncertified: $75 cash prize & Award trophy
• Best Original Character: $50 cash prize & Award trophy
• Judges’ Awards (3): Award trophy

Enter the OtakuFest 2024 Costume Contest prior to the advance registration deadline of APRIL 15, 2024. Any entries not received by APRIL 15, 2024 must be entered at the convention at the Cosplay Information Booth #TBD. All entries will be contacted back via email with a contestant # and pre-judging information.

COSTUME COMPETITION SKILL DIVISIONS
In the interest of fairness, and to allow for the best possible competition among peers, we have separate divisions for entrants based on skill and experience. This is to ensure that both novice and experienced costumers have a reasonably equal chance to win awards in the Costume Competition. The divisions include: Master, Journeyman, Novice, and Junior/Youth. A competitor may always choose to compete in a higher division than that in which the costume competition director has placed him or her in. He or she may not choose to compete in a lower division.

Commissioned costumes (paying a person to make your costume), or costumes that have been created by a person, not at the event with the entrant, may be classified as Uncertified, as long as the creator of the costume is available to speak with judges and go over the costume creation via Skype or Google Hangouts during pre-judging. Costumes entered as Uncertified are eligible for consideration in the following award categories: Best in Show, Con Chair Spotlight, Best Individual: Uncertified, and Best Group: Uncertified. If the creator of the costume in unavailable to speak with judges, the entrant will only be able to enter as an Exhibition Costume and therefore only eligible for a Judges’ award.

Master:
(a) Any competitor may enter the Master division.

Journeyman:
(a) Professional (Master) costumers may not enter as a Journeyman.
(b) A contestant who has competed and won in the Master division at another major competition in the past may not enter in the Journeyman division.
(c) A contestant who has won Best Journeyman at another major competition may not enter the
Journeyman division.
(d) A contestant who has won more than three major awards in the Journeyman division at other major competitions may not enter in the Journeyman division.
(e) Minor awards may be counted towards placement at the discretion of the costumer.

Novice:
(a) Professional (Journeyman or Master) costumers may not enter the Novice division.
(b) A contestant who has competed and won in any division other than novice at another major competition may not enter in the Novice division.
(c) A contestant who has won Best in Show or Best Novice at another major competition may not enter the Novice division.
(d) A contestant who has won more than three major awards at other major competitions (in either the novice division or a non-division event) may not enter in the Novice division.
(e) Minor awards may be counted towards placement at the discretion of the costumer.

Junior/Youth:
(a) The Junior/Youth division is for any child under the age of 13.
(b) A child wearing a costume designed and built entirely by an adult should be entered either in the adult’s appropriate skill division or entered as an Exhibition costume. We wish to encourage creativity among the junior division in an effort to help them grow into accomplished costumers.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR GROUPS: Each member of the group must note which skill division they belong to on the costume competition entry form. Group members may belong to any skill division. The judges will use their discretion to determine which skill division to judge the group as a whole.

AWARDS: All awards, with the exception of the Con Chair Spotlight and Judges’ Awards, will be chosen by majority vote of the Judging Committee. The Con Chair Spotlight will be chosen by the Convention Chairman at his discretion. Judges’ Awards will be chosen by the individual judges.

COSTUME COMPETITION RULES

1. One costume per person. No separate entries from the same person.

2. All costumes should come from an established cartoon, TV show, movie, comic book, anime, video game, manga, novel, movie or kpop/jpop artist. Please bring reference photos or drawings of the character. Non-established and fan-designed characters are allowed on a case by case basis. Please contact cosplay@otakufest.com if this is the case.

3. All costumes must be entered by their creator, with the exception of uncertified entries. Costumes may be worn by models, but prizes will be awarded to the person who created the costume, so both applicants must be present at the pre-judging and the contest. If you choose to use a model, be sure to include this information on your application. Uncertified entries (costumes created by a person or persons not in attendance) may be entered by the model, but are only eligible for consideration in the following award categories: Best in Show, Con Chair Spotlight, Best Individual: Uncertified, and Best Group: Uncertified. Creators of costumes entered in the uncertified category must be available during pre-judging to speak with judges via Skype or Google Hangouts. If the creator of the costume is unavailable to speak with judges, the entrant will only be able to enter as an Exhibition Costume and therefore will only be eligible for a Judges’ Award.

4. Store-bought costumes are not allowed. The following items are allowed to be store-bought: Wigs, Notions & Trims, Belts, Shoes, Jewelry, Most Accessories, and Props (which will make you ineligible for a prop award). Other items will be allowed at the discretion of the judges. Please email in advance if you have a question regarding a store-bought item. Remember: this is a competition that focuses on craftsmanship. The more you create, the more impressive the finished costume is. If you wish to wear a store-bought costume, you can enter as an Exhibition entry (non-judged).

5. Commissioned costumes may only be entered if the creator of the costume is in attendance. As well, commissioned costumes may be entered into the Uncertified category. See above rules for requirements for Uncertified entries.

6. NO PETS! Pets are not cosplay props. Anyone who enters the contest with a pet will be immediately disqualified.

7. All contestants must fill out the OtakuFest 2024 Costume Contest Entry Form. This is a pre-judged competition. Pre-judging will occur on the Saturday of the show in 2 separate sessions. There will be a morning session from 10:00am – 1:00pm open only to those who have pre-registered for the competition online or at the show on Friday (at the official Cosplay Info Booth). This session is done so that as few people as possible have to miss out on any other aspect of the show. Remember, we’re all there to have fun, and nobody really wants to have to wait in a long line when there’s cool stuff to do. The second session is for contestants who register at the show, or can’t make the morning session for some reason. The second session will occur from 3:00pm – 5:00pm (If there is a need for one).

8. All contestants (with the exception of Juniors) must submit reference photos at pre-judging. We need accurate reference photos or drawings of your character/costume. Remember: it may be your favorite character from one episode of your favorite anime that only showed once in Japan, or a costume worn by a character in one comic book issue, but to the judges, it may be something entirely new. We also need in-progress photos of you making your costume (at least 3 or 4). The higher the division, the more reference we expect. We want to see your costume from conception to creation. Show us how good you are… impress us!

9. THE RE-RUN RULE: If you have won an award (any award) for a costume at one of our previous event, you may NOT enter the costume again. It’s time to make a new winning costume. Minor changes to a costume do not constitute a new costume. If you are presenting a costume that has won an award at another major competition, the following rules apply:
(A) Any costume that has won an award at another major competition prior to 2024 is not allowed. It’s a new year, time for a new winning costume. You may present the winning costume as an exhibition entry if you’d like, but it will not be eligible for judging.
(B) Any costume that has won an award at another major competition in 2022/2023 is allowed.

10. No Nudity. This contest will contain younger contestants. All costumes must be PG-13, PG, G.

11. No bad behavior. You know what that means. No trash talking, sabotage, or poor sportsmanship. Improper behavior will get you removed from the competition and possibly the convention. Remember, we’re all here to have fun.

12. No harmful or potentially harmful materials will be allowed. This includes, but is not limited to: water, cigarettes, flames, fireworks, silly string, and any other substance that can be fired, launched, or dripped.

13. WEAPONS POLICY: You may pose with your weapon at the costume competition, however, there is to be no waving of weapons around so that there can be an accident. It’s never planned for someone to get hurt… that’s why they call them accidents.

14. If participants are seen using a weapon inappropriately (play fighting, waving it around, etc), they will be automatically disqualified and might potentially be removed from the con.

15. The number of entries will be capped at 100.

16. Please note that winners of cash prizes of $600 or over will be required to fill out a W9 on site. Anyone who cannot complete a W9 or have a parent complete a W9 on site may have to wait until one is able to be completed before receiving their prize.

What can I expect at the contest?
When you first arrive at the show, there will be a COSPLAY INFO BOOTH located at Booth #TBD in the Exhibition Hall. This is where all questions regarding the competition can be answered, and where you will need to go to sign up and/or check-in.

Who can enter?
All attendees who have an event badge or wristband for OtakuFest can enter this contest. Participants can enter as individuals or in groups (up to 10 per group).

How do I sign up for the contest?
There are two ways to register for the competition:

(1) Register Online before APRIL 15, 2024. This is the most preferred method. When you register online, you will receive an email confirmation with your contestant # and a time to arrive for pre-judging. When you get to the show, you will need to sign in at the COSPLAY BOOTH #TBD, where you will be given further instructions.

(2) Register at the convention. Participants will be able to sign up for the contest at the COSPLAY INFO BOOTH #TBD, located in the Exhibition Hall. Fill out and return the entry form to the registration table. You will be given a contestant # and a time to arrive for pre-judging. Everyone must be signed in and all forms must be handed in by 3:00pm on Saturday.

Roll Call: All entrants must show up 45 minutes prior to the competition for roll call in the Main Events room (TBD).

All contestants must fill out the Costume Contest Entry Form prior to the Advance Registration Deadline of APRIL 15, 2024. All entries sent by email will be contacted back via email with a contestant # and pre-judging information. Any entries not sent in advance by APRIL 15, 2024 must be entered at the convention at the COSPLAY INFO BOOTH located at Booth #TBD in the Exhibition Hall.

If you have any questions, please e-mail us at cosplay@otakufest.com