Hall Cosplay Contest

Download Hall Cosplay Contest Application Here.

Introduction:

Cosplay is a unique and beautiful part of anime fandom, and the New York Anime Festival celebrates the world of cosplay through two events -- the Masquerade and Hall Cosplay Contest. The Hall Cosplay Contest is a closed-door judging of costumes only for cosplayers who prefer not to perform on stage. No performances are required.

Contest Participation:

There is no pre-registration for the Hall Cosplay Contest. To participate, cosplayers need only to visit the Ginger Room (1B05) between 4 PM and 6:30 PM on Friday, September 25. To enter, a cosplayer must fill out an Hall Cosplay Contest Registration Form either online or inside the Ginger Room. He or she will then be interviewed by the contest judges. Judges will rate cosplayers purely on the accuracy of their costumes.

Please note that as the Hall Cosplay Contest is a very popular event, and we ask that cosplayers arrive early to participate. The first 30 participants in line will be guaranteed a place in the contest, with as many additional cosplayers in line allowed entry as time permits.

Divisions:

The Hall Cosplay Contest's judging will be divided into the following divisions:

Youth: Any entrant under 13 years of age.
Novice: Any entrant who has won no major awards in costume competitions.
Journeyman: Any entrant who has won one to three major awards in costume competitions.
Craftsman: Any entrant who has won four or more major awards in costume competitions.

Prizes:

All Youth entrants will receive a prize for participation. Novice, Journeyman, and Craftsman entrants will all be judged based on their costumes. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners from the Novice, Journeyman, and Craftsman categories will be announced and awarded prizes following the Cosplay Variety Show at 9-10 PM on Friday, September 25 (1A08). Prizes will be mailed to winners not in attendance at the Cosplay Variety Show.

Submission Guidelines:

There are a few basic rules we ask all Hall Cosplay Contest entrants follow.

All participants must have a valid New York Anime Festival badge (this includes Exhibitor, Press, or Professional badges).
Participants must bring in reference material to familiarize judges with their characters.
Participants must wear costumes. Naked isn't a costume.
Costumes must not have won any major awards at any conventions prior to the New York Anime Festival.
Costumes must not be store-bought.
Participants may not wear the same costume in the Costume Contest and Masquerade.
The Hall Cosplay Contest is not open to the public. Only participants, parents of participants, and children of participants will be allowed inside the judging room.

Weapon Policy:

Please read this entire policy before attending the New York Anime Festival. Failure to follow this policy may result in your removal from the convention without refund. The following items are forbidden at the New York Anime Festival:

Functional firearms (including air soft guns, BB guns, cap guns, paintball guns, and pellet guns)
Functional projectile weapons (including blow guns, crossbows, long bows, silly string, slingshots, water balloons, and water guns)
Metal-bladed weapons (including axes, daggers, hatchets, knives, kunai, shuriken, swords, sword canes, and switch blades)
Explosives (including firecrackers and fireworks)
Chemical weapons (including mace and pepper spray)
Blunt weapons (including brass knuckles, clubs, and nunchaku)
Hard prop weapons (including props made of metal, fiberglass, and glass)

Prop weapons will be allowed providing they are composed of cardboard, foam, wood, or other light materials. Prop firearms are allowed only if they cannot be mistaken for real weapons. The barrel of all prop firearms must be covered with a brightly-colored cap. Prop bows will be allowed providing all arrows have soft tips

Basically, don't be an idiot. If you bring a prop that could maim, damage, or cause serious bodily harm, we're going to take issue.

Costume Origin:

The New York Anime Festival celebrates everything connected with anime culture -- with manga, J-Pop, and MMORPGs just the start. Costumes must be connected to anime but they need not directly be from an anime or be Japanese in origin. Understand, though, that if you are cosplaying as a character from a Korean online game or J-Rock band, the judges may not know your costume.

Reference Material:

Regardless of who or what you're dressed as, it is essential you bring reference material, as while our judges are veteran cosplayers, they haven't seen everything. To familiarize them and to better your chance at a high score, you must bring references.

Get To Work:

We've given you the ground rules. Now, astonish us. Put together the biggest, baddest costume we've ever seen and swing on by the New York Anime Festival's Hall Cosplay Contest! Good luck!

Download Hall Cosplay Contest Application Here.

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