Costume Contest Rules and Regulations

 

For those that have registered prior to the day of the event, there will be three tiers of competition for adult entries and a singular tier for youth entries.  These tiers will be governed by the International Costumers’ Guild Guidelines. Compressed instructions are provided here, but more comprehensive instructions and guidelines are provided at http://www.costume.org/documents/fairness.html.

 

The adult tiers (anyone at least eighteen), based upon experience, are Novice, Journeyman, and Master. The person competing does not have to be the person modeling the costume,but they must accompany the model through prejudging and the stage performance. The model can be any age, but the person competing is at least eighteen years of age. An individual may choose to compete in whichever category they feel best fits their individual skill level; however, the judging panel has the ability to move the contestant up tiers if they see fit. Information about requirements for each tier are listed below.

 

To be considered in any of these tiers, at least 80 percent of the costume MUST be constructed by the individual who is entering into the competition. Reference photos of the character being portrayed, as well as a “Build Book” (electronic versions are acceptable) chronicling  the construction of the costume, will be needed at the prejudging being held the day of the competition. Costumes that have previously won at Alamo City Comic Con may NOT be entered for consideration.

 

Due to pre-judging time constraints, there will be a limited number of slots available for each category. Slots will be filled first come, first served. Applicants will be notified of their status by email after the closing of online registration. If slots are filled, contestants may register for the Walk On Costume Category on the day of the contest at the Costume Contest table.

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Master:

• Any competitor may enter in the Master division.​

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Journeyman:

• Professional costumers may not enter in the Journeyman division.

• A contestant who has competed and won in the Master division at an international competition may not enter in the Journeyman division.

• A contestant who has won "Best in Show" or "Best Journeyman" at an international competition may not enter in the Journeyman division.

• A contestant who has won more than three major awards in the Journeyman division in international competition may not enter in the Journeyman division

• Awards won at regional competitions may be counted towards placement at the discretion of the costumer and the masquerade director.

• Minor awards may be counted towards placement at the discretion of the costumer.

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Novice:

• Professional costumers may not enter in the Novice division.

• A contestant who has competed and won in any division other than Novice at an international competition may not enter in the Novice division.

• A contestant who has won "Best in Show" or "Best Novice" at an international competition may not enter in the Novice division.

• A contestant who has won numerous major awards in the Novice division at international competitions is encouraged to enter in the Journeyman division

• Awards won at regional competitions may be counted towards division placement at the discretion of the costumer and the masquerade director.

• Minor awards may be counted towards placement at the discretion of the costumer.

 

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Information about the youth tier is provided below. This tier is for any contestant that is under the age of eighteen.

Junior/Youth:

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• A child who has made most of the costume themselves (80%) may enter in this category for competition and should pre-register at this level.

• A child wearing a costume designed and built mainly by an adult will be considered a model and the adult should be entered in the adult's appropriate skill division.

 

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Information about the group tier is provided below. This tier is for 2 or more contestants wishing to be judged together. Groups may consist of 2 - 6 members, however prejudging is still 4 minutes and stage presentation is still 30 seconds, so plan accordingly.

 

Group:

• All levels of craftsmanship may compete in this division, however note that groups will be in competition with each other.

 

Prejudging Process:

 

Each individual/group must complete the following procedure:

1. Complete the online registration form in its entirety by the due date.

2. Check in at the Costume Contest Table at the required time the day of the event.

3. Complete prejudging at the given time the day of the event.

 

Each individual/group will be given a maximum of 4 minutes to present their costume for the contest.  Remember, reference photos and a “Build Book” (may be electronic format) are required during prejuding. Costumes being considered for competition must be worn to prejudging and stage presentation. Also, please bring all parts of the costume and/or props that you are presenting to prejudging.  Anything not brought to prejudging will NOT be permitted during stage presentation.

 

Music you bring to help with overall stage presentation, can be used during your stage performance; however, it must be given on a USB drive clearly marked with your name on it during the check in process the day of the event.  Your music selection must be accompanied by proper copyright information stating legal purchase of said music being used. Failure to provide proper information will result in your music not being admitted into your stage performance. The music file must be in mp3 format, must be clearly marked as well, e.g. firstname_lastname_accc2018, and be no longer than 30 seconds.

 

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Information about Day of Registration for the Walk on Costume Category is listed below.

 

Walk on Costume Category

This is a transitional category designed to allow cosplayers who have not prepared a record of their costume build, ie “Build Book,” to participate. Contestants that would like to participate in the costume contest and have not pre-registered, can still sign up the day of the event for the Walk on category only.  If individuals would like to participate, they must come register prior to the event at the Costume Contest Official Table located at the venue during the designated hours. The number of Walk On participants will be limited to the first 30 entries and is on a first come, first serviced basis.  

 

There will be no prejudging; however, photos will be taken upon registration and given to the judging panel prior to the stage presentation later that day.  The competitor will have the same time limit and rules and regulations on stage, but will have no time to explain costumes to the judges nor any interactions to add to the consideration of ranking in the category.