- Entrants to the Hall Costume Contest are limited to one entry per person per day (Friday and Saturday). Each costume must be different for each day. If you are entering a costume in the Masquerade, i.e. the on-stage cosplay, you may not enter the same costume in the Hall Costume Contest.
- Reference material for your costume is strongly recommended. References are not required but they are helpful for both the judges and entrants. Please come prepared to explain how you made your costume.
- Original costumes are not permitted in the contest. This includes fanart, ginjinka, and original characters. If you have an original costume, please enter those costumes into the Masquerade where all costume sources are permitted.
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The Hall Costume Contest breaks down the entrants by level based on the following criteria. A major award is defined as any award containing the words “Best of” or “1st Place”. Please note: if you are entering with more than one person, your division is based on the level of your highest-ranking entrant. If a single Craftsman enters with a Novice you will be considered a Craftsman.
- Youth – all entrants in the group are 14 years of age or younger.
- Novice – all contestants in the group have won fewer than three major awards for craftsmanship at any convention.
- Journeyman – any contestant in the group has won at least three major awards as a Novice but fewer than an additional three at the Journeyman level.
- Craftsman – any contestant in the group who has won three or more major prizes above the Novice level.
- The Hall Costume Contest is a craftsmanship contest. The judges will look at your costume based on how well it’s constructed and accuracy.
- If you are the model for a costume that was made by someone else, the person who constructed the costume must be present to explain its construction. Likewise, if you enter a costume that has been commissioned, the commissioner must be the individual who enters the contest. Entering a commissioned work will disqualify the entry. Having help on a costume is more than ok, having someone else construct it entirely and taking credit is not.
- No oversized costumes will be permitted in the contest. A good rule of thumb: if you can’t navigate the halls of the convention center safely, it will not be permitted to enter.
- You may participate in the Hall Walk On section of the masquerade if you choose. As this is a showcase of the costumes being entered in the contest you must be wearing a costume that you have entered into the contest.
- Group entries may not exceed 5 people.
- Entry into the contest is scheduled and there are a limited number of available judging times. Sign-ups will begin in May and will run through the beginning of June. After the initial sign-up period you may check in during the convention to see if any judging times are still available.
Please note: It is very likely that all entry times will fill up before the closing date of the contest entry. If you are interested in the contest, please be sure to get your entry form in early. If all available entry spaces are filled, there will be a waitlist that you can sign up for. If you are waitlisted, the contest coordinator will go through the list in the order entries were received to offer available judging times. If you are on the waitlist or if you miss the entry deadline you may come to Hall Cosplay during scheduled times to see if there are any available times.
- If you are confused about any of the contest rules please email the Contest Coordinator at hallcosplay@animenext.org for clarification.