ELIGIBILITY

You must be a valid ticketholder to participate.

If you are under the age of 13, you must have your parent or guardian's permission to enter and you must also be accompanied by your parent or guardian during judging, the contest, and awards.

Day 1 vs. Day 2

There will be a cosplay contest for both Day 1 and Day 2 of the AV Anime Fest. While it is encouraged to have a different cosplay each day, you may use the same cosplay for both days as long as you did not win a Podium spot (1st, 2nd, or 3rd) or the Fan’s Choice Award

CODE OF CONDUCT

When you sign up for this contest you agree to read and abide by all rules as posted. Attendees must respect commonsense rules for public behavior, personal interaction, common courtesy, and respect for private property. Harassing or offensive behavior will not be tolerated. Event staff reserves the right to revoke, without refund, the ticket/wristband of any attendee not in compliance with this policy. Persons finding themselves in a situation where they feel their safety is at risk or who become aware of an attendee not in compliance with this policy should immediately locate the nearest member of security or staff member so that the matter can be handled in an expeditious manner. Our event staff, venue staff, or security reserve the right to refuse entry or participation to anyone that do not abide by these rules. We want to ensure we harbor a safe environment for everyone in attendance.

PROP POLICY

No functional props or weapons are allowed at Anime Fest. Simulated or costume weapons may be allowed as a part of your costume, subject to prior approval by event staff and compliance with the following:

• Props must be made of lightweight materials such as: plastic, foam, cardboard, etc.

• Metallic props are strictly prohibited.

• All costume props and prop weapons must be inspected at time of check-in. After your props have been checked, they will be tagged by security, and shall remain tagged for the duration of the event.

• All costume props and prop weapons must conform to state and federal law.

• Projectile costume props and prop weapons must be rendered inoperable.

• Functional (real) arrows must have their tips removed and be bundled and zip-tied to a quiver.

• Costumes featuring stilts are not allowed.

• If you do not want to have your costume props or weapons inspected or tagged, or if you are not willing to comply with these policies, please do not bring your costume props or weapons to Anime Fest.

CONTEST RULES & GUIDELINES

The Cosplay Contest is rated T for TEEN. Severely offensive language and overt sexual humor is not allowed. Judgment on the appropriateness of material is left to the discretion of our event staff and judges. All costumes entered must adhere to the cosplay, costume, and dress policy.

For group cosplay performances, a maximum of 5 persons per group can participate. Entrants may not participate in multiple groups.

You can cosplay anime, manga, comic, and video game characters as long as:

• You don’t use profanity

• You don’t show nudity

• You follow the strict prop policy as stated in the previous section.

Be respectful to other cosplay entrants and the judges. Unruly or disruptive behavior during live-judging, backstage, or during the contest is not permitted and entrants associated with this behavior will have their ticket/wristband revoked and be escorted out of the venue.

Judges will be commentating during the contest, but will not be discussing the internal judging criteria/process. Nobody likes to be harassed and your feeble attempts at bribery will not work here.

Entrants must be able to enter and exit the stage quickly on their own. If your cosplay hinders you from being able to get on and off the stage by yourself easily, you may bring a handler to assist you. Our venue staff will not provide a handler for you.

Entrants with disabilities are welcome to provide their own handler or request handler assistance from our venue staff for any stage of the cosplay contest process. If you think you may need assistance, we encourage you to contact us in advance or request assistance during the check process.

Please do not use cosplay that has previously won competitions in the past. Keep it fresh.

Costumes entered must be presented with reference images and should recreate characters from anime, manga, animation, etc. At least one reference image should be presented in color, especially if it’s a deep cut so that judges have a good frame of reference in the case that we do not recognize the character. Any reference images must be printed out and provided during check-in. Help us so we can best judge your cosplay.

Original characters are permitted; HOWEVER, you must provide a reference image or artwork.

All contestants must arrive at the staging area 15 minutes prior to the contest to check-in and pre-stage for the contest (as directed by staff).

HOW TO ENTER

Max entries for the Cosplay Contest is capped at 60.

Sign ups will be located on-site (in the venue’s “taproom”) on a first come, first served basis until all spaces are filled.

Sign ups will take place on the day of Anime Fest (for each event day). There will be two opportunities to sign up at the following times on the day of the event (May 3rd and 4th, 2024):

• NOON - 1:00pm

• 3:00pm - 4:00pm

The times above are subject to change and will close if/when the contest cap has been reached.

Each entrant (or group leader) must come prepared with the following information at sign-up. Only one entry per group is allowed.

• Full Name(s)

• ID(s), shown only to validate age if parent/guardian if needed for 13 and under

• Contact Email/Phone

• Name of character(s) being cosplayed

• Color print-out of character(s) being cosplayed (on 8.5” x 11” paper please)

Once your entry is confirmed, you must show up in the staging area 15 minutes prior to the Cosplay Contest start-time or you will be dropped from the contest. Additionally, please let us know how many parents/handlers you will be bringing with you at your check-in so we can accommodate accordingly.

“Walk-thru” PERFORMACE

We're sure you have excellent taste in music, but there will be no music submissions for your walk-through performance. DJ BOOTLEG will have lively music going in the background.

Each entry will be limited to 30 seconds and may include up to 5 people.

You will be judged on the following criteria:

• Craftsmanship - Overall build and look of your cosplay.

• Make Up - Cosmetics used to enhance your cosplay.

• Showmanship - Theatrical presentation and performance of your cosplay

• Stage Presence - Overall ability to command the attention of the audience/judges

• Crowd Reaction - How HYPED do you get the crowd (louder is better)

STAGE RULES

No microphones may be used by the contestants at any time.

Everything brought onto the stage during the “walk-thru” performance must be removed at the end of the time limit.

Messy substances including confetti, glitter, flower petals, water, and other liquids are not allowed.

Pyrotechnics or special effects such as fireworks, flash paper, or smoke machines are allowed.

Contestants may not throw anything off the stage or into the crowd.

Any stage fighting or acrobatics must be pre-choreographed with NO HARD CONTACT. One foot must remain on the floor at all times. Climbing onto the stage or leaping off the stage is strictly prohibited.

AWARDS

• 1st Place: AV Anime Fest V.I.P. Founder Pin and V.I.P. Backstage Passes to AV Anime Fest 2025

• 2nd Place: Kaido Funko Pop, Signed by David Sobolov

• 3rd Place: “Artist Alley” Gift Basket

NOTE: Only trophies will be handed out on stage. Any other prizes must be picked up by the winners at the conclusion of the event (just before closing remarks). Awards may be added or removed based on the number of entries accepted.