Cosplay CONTEST

Want to show off your costume and skit on stage? Come participate in our Saturday evening Cosplay Contest!

ALL COSTUMES WILL NEED TO MEET
DRESS CODE AND WEAPONS POLICIES!




(Exceptions made for larger props & accessories that will only be worn/carried during the contest.)

Exhibition and Competitive sign-ups are available during con hours at the Cosplay Booth.

Everyone entering the Cosplay Contest needs to first check-in with Cosplay Staff to sign up for scheduled time slots. These time slots are available at a first-come, first-serve basis. You do not have to be in costume to sign up.

Judging will take place on Saturday. If you don't arrive on time for your prejudging time slot, you will automatically be disqualified! No exceptions!

ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST HAVE A BADGE
‍OMG!con requires that all participants have a valid badge prior to cosplay registration or check-in.
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For those of you who've never competed in a cosplay contest before, you may be wondering what to expect. We have three sign-up options available:
Competitive, Exhibition, and Performance (Skits)!
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Exhibition
You'll be going on stage for a few 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!

‍Competitive
This is essentially the same as the Exhibition except you will be competing with other cosplayers for prizes! When you sign up, you'll be given a pre-judging slot. During this slotted time, the judges will talk one-on-one with you to learn more about your costume, how you made it, materials used, etc.

Performance (Skits)
This option allows you to perform for the audience while in cosplay, such as scripted acting or a choreographed dance. Performances take time and planning to achieve, but they are a ton of fun and a great experience for all!
Please see below for the rules and application.



DIVISIONS
A division is your placement and competition level.

‍Non-Competition Divisions‍

‍Chibi Division
For juniors 12 and under. This category is not judged, and the costumes do not have to be handmade.

Exhibition Division
This division is intended for those who wish to show off their cosplay on stage for fun but are not interested in competing for awards.

For those who did not make their costumes themselves. These include commissioned outfits, store-bought outfits (purchased from eBay, AliExpress, Mercari, etc.), rented cosplay, borrowed cosplay, or closet cosplay (costumes made up of entirely existing/found parts with little to no modification).
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- Fursuits will fall under the Exhibition Division, but cannot be judged due to lack of expertise.

Competition Division‍
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:
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All costumes must have been made from scratch, or by heavily modified existing parts at least 70% or more by the costume creator.
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Commissioned Costumes cannot be entered in the competition divisions; however if the designer chooses to use a model for their cosplay, the designer will get the award not the model.
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Group awards do not count to your individual experience

‍Novice Division
This division is intended for those new to making their own costumes or performing on stage who have not competed much, if at all.
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Criteria for Novice Division
No more than 1 major award won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger, for their costumes or performances.

Journeyman Division
This division is intended for those who have more experience with creating their own costumes or performing on stage.
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Criteria for Journeyman Division
• No more than 2 major awards won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger, for their costumes or performances.

Master Division
This division is intended for those who have adequate experience with creating their own costumes or performing on stage.
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Criteria for Master Division
• More than 3 major awards won previously at a comparable-sized convention or larger, for their costumes or performances.
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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!
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When you register/check-in for the Cosplay Contest, you'll 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 references!
A reference is a picture of the character that you are cosplaying. Both front and back reference photos are REQUIRED. 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. Some people have built entire books detailing their process from start to finish!
Those are heavily encouraged!

Please tell the judges your favorite flavor of ice cream to ensure that you have read the rules.

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 that 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 and judge on your craftsmanship.
Judging Appointments: Each prejudging time slot will be hourly! So if you sign up for a 3 o'clock appointment please be there at 3! We will give each entrant roughly 5 minutes for the judging process as a guideline.
Generally, the time is spent half discussing your costume, and half looking at your costume up close.


If you have any questions or concerns feel free to reach out to us at cosplay@omgcon.com.
Times will be available closer to convention time.

‍Remember to have fun!!