Dress Code- All attendees must wear the following articles of clothing at all times while at OMGcon inside the convention center.

Clothing-This is a family friendly event. No costume is considered No Costume. Absolutely no nudity. Please ensure that all costumes are properly secured at all times and are not prone to “indecent accidents”.

Clothing should at least cover what a 2-piece bikini (for females) or swim shorts (for males) would cover. Remember to wear what you would wear at a Public Pool setting.

Signs that are held or messages/words written on shirts or your body are permitted but they must stay tasteful.

Shirts, clothing, costumes, or signs promoting pedophilia are strictly prohibited. Please do not wear clothing with distasteful messages or words.

Short skirts, kilts, etc must be accompanied by proper underwear. Ineffective underwear or a lack thereof constitutes indecent exposure. Offenders may be turned over to law enforcement

Footwear- To ensure your safety, we ask that you wear footwear at all times. You should consider wearing a minimum of sandals (ie, flip flops) at all times even if your character is barefoot. Skates and rollerblades are prohibited in the hallways.

Sneaker-skates may only be worn as a sneaker at all times inside the convention area. OMGcon will not be held accountable for any damages or injuries that occurs due to inadequate or improper footwear.

Weapons Policy- Please refer to our weapons policy.

Mock or Play-fighting is not allowed in the hallways and convention area. Wielding or handling weapons or props in a way that could potentially cause harm to others is prohibited, whether there was intent to harm others or not. Mock-fighting is allowed on stage during cosplay but must be carefully rehearsed, reviewed and approved by cosplay staff.

Large Costumes-Please be sure to keep all large costumes contained as much as possible. We recommend the use of handlers to help manage your costume if it is large costume. Large costumes or large parts of costumes are not allowed inside the dealer’s room due to blocking the flow of traffic and other hazards.

Picture taking- Do not stop for pictures in smaller, crowded hallways. Please go outside, to a less crowded area, or to the designated picture taking areas. Do not block doors, ramps, exits, corridors, and aisles while taking pictures.

We reserve the right to remove you from the convention and/or cosplay events at any time. If for any reason we feel that your actions pose a threat or hazard to others while at the convention, we will ask you to stop or you will be removed from the cosplay events. We simply ask you to be courteous towards others at all times.

All Weapons/oversized props at OMGcon must be peacebonded. Please go to the Cosplay table at the convention center to receive the peacebond. By having your prop/weapon peacebond means you agree to our rules of handling the weapons.

Weapons NOT Permitted:

NO LIVE STEEL at all will be permitted on the premises. Live steel is defined as swords, knives, bayonets, cane-swords, and/or other objects made of metal, which can take an edge. This holds true regardless of whether the object is actually sharp.

This includes star knives/shurikens.

Real Swords will be allowed on stage for the masquerade/cosplay contest only, but they are not to be swung.
GUNS: The following types of guns are NOT PERMITTED.
- Real guns
- Stun guns

Water guns are permitted as long as they are not loaded. Airsoft guns are allowed as well, as long as you keep the orange tip on and they are not loaded. Please keep any water guns or airsoft guns within the convention space, and away from the public resort areas, as there are resort guests who may feel threatened.

There are to be no explosives or chemicals of any kind, including but not limited to smoke powder, sparklers and fireworks.

Weapons and Props Permitted:

Bokens, wooden swords, walking sticks.

Fake or made-up prop weaponry (for example, made of wood, foam, bondo, resin, plaster, cardboard, etc) are permitted if they are safe and not dangerous to the other con-goers around you. For example, dangerous conditions include but are not limited to wires sticking out, items that trip passersby, clothes lining a member, etc.

Please limit the size of the weapons to less than 8 feet in height and weighing less than 50 pounds. If you do happen to make something heavy, make sure you are able to carry it without a problem.

Behavior of Weapons:

Misuse of any weapon, such as swinging it in a public area or causing hazards to passerby, will get your privilege revoked immediately.

If we deem a weapon to be unsafe for the con, we will ask you to store the unsafe weapon in your private quarters (i.e.: your room or car). If there is a repeat offense, we will escort you out of the convention and off of convention grounds so that you can place the weapon in your private quarters; if the weapon is illegal, we will turn it in to the appropriate authorities.

Any weapon purchased in the dealers’ room that is boxed, should remain boxed and stored in your private quarters. Weapons are not to be taken out of their packaging or wrappings while at the convention: After purchasing a weapon that normally violates our weapons policy, it must remain in its packaging and be taken immediately to your room or car for storage.

All questionable items will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Anything deemed illegal outside the convention is deemed illegal inside the convention premises. All OMGCon staff decisions on weapons are final.

Selling of items:

Unless you are part of the artist alley or dealers room you cannot sell anything.

Want to show off your costume or awesome skit on stage? Why not participate in our Saturday night cosplay? We recommend registering at Cosplay Table Friday (all day) til Saturday (noon) Everyone entering the cosplay contest will need to check-in with cosplay staff to sign up for scheduled time slots, first come first serve. You do not have to be in costume during this time.

Judging will take place on Saturday.
Information on the times and locations of cosplay registration and judging will be available as the convention date draws near.

ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST HAVE A BADGE: OMGcon requires that all participants have a valid badge prior to cosplay registration or check-in.


Getting on stage?
For those of you who have never competed in a cosplay contest before, you may be wondering how this is done. You will be going on stage to show off your costume, or going on stage to perform a skit for the audience. You are not required to perform a skit, but you are required to go on stage!

Walk On: You will be going on stage for a few brief seconds, posing, and showing off your costume to the judges and audience. It’s a low-stress and fun way to participate in a cosplay contest. Think of it like a fashion runway show!

Performance (skits): Here, you will be going up to do some sort of performance for the audience, whether you are acting or doing a choreographed dance. These take some time and planning to do, but they are a great experience! For more specifics on skits and performance rules, please check the skit rules!

When you register for the cosplay, you will be given a chance to choose how you will be going on stage!

About Divisions
Everyone entering the cosplay contest is required to choose a division. A division is simply your placement and competition level. Here’s what each division entails:

For Juniors (Ages 12 and under): For those who are 12 and under, you may choose which division you would like to enter (either Exhibition, Novice, Journeyman, or Master) depending on your experience level. We ask that any Juniors with costumes made by a parent or friend enter as Exhibition.

Non-Competition Division

Exhibition: This division is intended only for people who wish to show off their costume on stage for fun but is not interested in competing for awards.

• Costumes that you did not make yourself. These include commissioned, store bought (such as Ebay), rented, borrowed costumes or closet cosplay (costumes made up of entirely existing/found parts with little to no modification).

• Costumes that have already won at least one major award, and/or two minor awards in the past.
In the Exhibition division, you will not be receiving any awards. Nor will your costume be judged for craftsmanship.

Competition Divisions

The following divisions are for those who want to compete for awards with their costumes and/or performances. In order to compete here, your costumes must adhere to the following criteria:

• All costumes must have been made from scratch or by heavily modified existing parts at least 70% or more by the costume creator.

• Commissioned costumes cannot be entered in the competition divisions; however if designer chooses to use a model for their cosplay the designer will get the award not the model.

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

Criteria for Novice Division
• No more than 1 major award won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger for their costumes or performances.
• No more than 3 minor awards won previously for their costumes or performances.
• No more than 2 years of experience creating costumes or performing on stage.

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

Criteria for Journeyman Division
• No more than 2 major award won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger for their costumes or performances.
• No more than 3 minor awards won previously for their costumes or performances.
• No more than 3 years of experience creating costumes or performing on stage.

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

Criteria for Master Division
• More than 3 major awards won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger for their costumes or performances.
• More than 3 minor awards won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger for their costumes or performances.
• at least 3 years or more of experience creating costumes or performing on stage.

Awards:
Novice: Best Novice Runner-Up and Best Novice will be awarded for craftsmanship and performance. Best Novice is considered a major award.

Journeyman: Best Journeyman Runner-Up and Best Journeyman will be awarded for craftsmanship and performance. Best Journeyman is considered a major award.

Master: Best Master Runner-Up and Best Master will be awarded for craftsmanship and performance. Best Master is considered a major award.

Best Overall Craftsmanship: This award will be given to the entrant(s) with the best craftsmanship. Best Overall Craftsmanship is considered to be a major award.

Best Overall Performance: This award will be given to the entrant(s) with the best performance. Best Overall Performance is considered to be a major award.

Judges Awards: All of the judges will be giving awards away to whomever they would like based on their own personal criteria. This is considered a minor award.

Best Makeup: Can be awarded to any division as the judges see fit.

Best in Show: This is a major award and can be awarded to any division as the judges see fit.

All About Costume Judging

Remember that in order to have your costume judged for craftsmanship, you must enter for one of the competition divisions, Novice, Journeyman, or Master! It also must meet the criteria listed above!

When you register/check-in for the cosplay contest, you will be able to schedule an appointment to have your costume judged for craftsmanship. Here are some things that you need to know about the judging process!

• Bring reference!:A reference is a picture of the character that you are cosplaying. Without a reference, we cannot accurately judge your costume for craftsmanship. 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.

• 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!: Make sure that your hems and seams are finished properly! Your costume may look great from 5 feet away, but if it looks sloppy up close or on the inside, you won’t score as high! Take time now to make sure that your costume is as neat as possible. Also, don’t forget to iron!

Judging Appointments: There will be 100 judging appointments available. They will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis! 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.

Skit/Performance

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 event.

• Costumes and skits must be PG-13 Cursing, sexual or explicit content, and obscene gestures are not permitted.

• Skits must be no longer than 3 minutes in length. Skits that run on longer than 4 minutes (within reason) will be disqualified from any awards. For this reason, we encourage you to pre-record your skits unless it absolutely must be performed live (such as playing an instrument). You will be given 30 seconds in which to enter and set up, as well as 30 seconds to clean up and leave the stage.

• No surprises! What you present to us during your pre-screening session is what we will see when you go on stage during the event.

• Objects and activities not permitted on stage: No live steel and firearms, incendiary devices (such as sparklers, firecrackers or smoke bombs), messy substances (including glitter, petals, confetti etc). No throwing of objects will be permitted. If you hit the equipment or judges with thrown objects (ie, Pokeballs) you will be disqualified. No acrobatics or jumping off stage. All staged fighting must be reviewed and approved by the cosplay staff.

• Reckless Behavior resulting in falling off stage, or breaking/damaging equipment (or nearly doing so) will result in disqualification. If you break something, you buy it. So please keep this in mind.

• Member Limit: Your group can be as large as you’d like it to be, but no more than 5 people should be on stage at a time. If your group involves staged fighting, no more than 3 people should be on stage at any given time.

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

• Direct Interaction is Forbidden! You may not interact with the emcee or judges. You may not ask audience members to come up on stage. However, you may interact or attempt to get response out of the audience members from the stage (such as holding up an “applause” sign).

Mandatory Pre-Screening Sessions

Pre-screening will occur a couple of hours before the event is set to begin where a run-through will be given to all skit performances to allow tech crew a chance to learn your cues and to allow cosplay staff to evaluate you skit content, subject matter, and general length. Information on the time for pre-screening will be given as the convention date draws near. The performers with skits are required to bring their form of media to work with to practice with the tech crew. Times will be available come closer to convention time.