Saturday Cosplay Contest

Please read the rules before pre registering at the bottom of the page:

Want to show off your costume or awesome skit on stage? Why not compete in our Saturday night Cosplay Contest? To ensure your place, register online prior to your arrival at Colossalcon. At-con registration for Craftsmanship will only be allowed pending availability.

Because it is extremely difficult to contact us via e-mail at the convention, we advise that if you have any questions or concerns regarding registration or your entry once you’re at-con, to come see us at the cosplay registration desk or repair booth on-site.

General Information

The Colossalcon Cosplay Contest is split into two competitions – Craftsmanship and Performance. You can choose to compete in either, or both!

All competitors must have an official Colossalcon badge. This includes attendee, panelist and artists badges. Those with staff badges or guest badges are not allowed to enter the Cosplay Contest.

Commissioned costumes cannot be entered in the competition divisions.

Craftsmanship and Performance are separate competitions. Participants may enter in both Craftsmanship and Performance and if the judges see that a group has both excellent craftsmanship and an excellent performance, they are eligible to win awards in both competitions.

Craftsmanship Competition: You will be judged solely on the construction of your costume in a private, scheduled interview. All costumes must have been at least 75% made from scratch by the entrant. (Shoes and wigs do not need to be made from scratch, but we encourage modifying these items to fit your character!) You will walk onstage to show off your costume.

Performance Competition (skits): You will be going onstage to do some sort of cosplay performance for the audience. Acting, dancing, etc. These take some time and planning to do, but they are a great experience! You do not have to have made your own costume if you are only entering for Performance.

Exhibition (walk-ons): You will walk across the stage fashion-show style during the cosplay contest to show off your costume alongside the Craftsmanship entries. Fan art designs, original characters, and costumes you did not make are all welcome. Exhibition entries are non-judged and just for fun! We have a limited number of 10 slots for this category. 

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 novice, then both of you would have to compete at the Masters level. If you feel uncomfortable with this, we recommend you enter and be judged separately. But you both may walk and pose on stage together during the competition. 

Juniors: Must be 12 and under to compete. You can have family and friends help you make the costume and walk on stage with you!

Please email the cosplay staff directly at cosplay@colossalcon.com if you have questions.

Skill Divisions

A division is simply your placement and competition level. We advise all entrants to enter at the divisions/skill level they feel comfortable at within reason (see below).

Novice Division: This division is intended for those new to making their own costumes or performing on stage and have not competed much, if at all.

No more than 1 major awards won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger for their costumes or performances. These include “Best Of” awards (“Best Overall” or “Best in Class”) only. At your discretion, “Placed Award” (such as a 2nd or 3rd place award) and Honorable Mentions or Judges Awards, do not have to be considered.

Journeyman Division: This division is intended for those who are more experienced with creating their own costumes or performing on stage.

No more than 2 major awards won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger for their costumes or performances. These include “Best Of” awards (“Best Overall” or “Best in Class”) only. At your discretion, “Placed Award” (such as a 2nd or 3rd place award) and Honorable Mentions or Judges Awards, do not have to be considered.

Master Division: This division is intended for those who have advanced experience with creating their own costumes or performing on stage.

More than 3 major awards won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger for their costumes or performances. These include “Best Of” awards (“Best Overall” or “Best in Class”) only. At your discretion, “Placed Award” (such as a 2nd or 3rd place award) and Honorable Mentions or Judges Awards, do not have to be considered.

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

All About Craftsmanship Judging

We will give each entrant 5 minutes for the judging process as a guideline, but if you pass it, don’t worry. Generally, the time is spent half discussing your costume, and half looking at your costume up close.

Bring reference!: A reference is a picture of the character that you are cosplaying. Without a reference, we cannot judge your costume for accuracy. It would be beneficial to your score to bring as much reference as possible, preferably as a color printout, but bringing figures, tablets, manga, books, laptops, etc., will also be accepted.

No fanart costumes will be permitted in the Craftsmanship competition. All costumes must be derived from the original source material/artist/creator. For example, original designs by Japanese illustrator Sakizo are allowed as they are similar to the original characters you would find in manga and anime, and come from published works. Fan-made designs such as Pokemon gijinka or steampunk Sailor Moon are not permitted as they are classified as fan art. Original designs or “OC’s” created by the entrant are also not permitted.

Be prepared to talk about your costume: Come in knowing what you want to say. Tell the judges everything about how you made your costume. Things you should talk about include fabric, 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 want to hold your props, flip hems, look at all the fine detailing you put into every inch of your costume. If you feel at all uncomfortable at any time, please feel free to let the judges know!

Appointment scheduling will be done via email as the con draws nearer.

All About Performance/Skits

All performance entries are subject to the following rules. Disregarding these rules may result in disqualification and/or you could be asked to leave the convention.

Costumes and skits must be PG-13. If it’s appropriate for a PG-13 movie, it’s appropriate for the competition, but please keep in mind that there will be children in the audience. If you are unsure whether your skit is appropriate, please feel free to email the cosplay staff for feedback.

You do not have to have made your own costume to enter the Performance competition. Fanart costumes are also permitted in Performance. Cosplay is required, however. If your skit has original characters and/or non-cosplaying characters, they should make up the minority of characters your skit. (Stagehands are considered part of your group but not considered for the “cosplay required” rule.)

Skits must be no longer than 3 minutes (within reason) in length. In addition to the performance time, you will be given time to enter and leave the stage.

Pre-recorded audio is recommended and preferred. Microphones will be limited.

Audio must be already edited for length and content. You will be required to submit your audio before the convention. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

No surprises! What you present to us during practice on Saturday morning is what we should see when you go on stage during the event.

Objects and Activities not permitted on stage: No live steel and fire arms. No incendiary devices (such as sparklers, firecrackers, or smoke bombs). No GLITTER.

If it comes on stage with you, it must leave the stage with you. Nothing dangerous or messy. Throwing objects off the stage is prohibited. Reckless Behavior resulting in falling off stage, or breaking/damaging equipment (or nearly doing so) will result in disqualification. If you break stage equipment, you buy it. Extremely physical acts may need approval at rehearsal to ensure safety.

What goes on stage MUST come off stage as you leave.

Mandatory Performance Rehearsal

Rehearsal will take place bright and early on Saturday morning. A run-through will be given to all skit performances to allow the tech crew a chance to learn your cues and to allow cosplay staff to pre-screen your skit for content, subject matter, and length. If you miss rehearsal, you will be disqualified from the competition.

 Acceptances for both Performance and Craftsmanship will be sent out in late July.