This year, there will be a maximum of twenty (20) skits entries and thirty (30) craftsmanship contest entries. Ten (10) slots for skits and twenty (20) slots for people who want workmanship judging will be reserved for online registration.

At con registration will end at 11:00 AM on Saturday morning. Entries will not be accepted after this time. Online entries will be accepted up until November 1, 2010. Registering online saves you the hassle of having to deal with at-con sign up and allows you to easily make changes to your masquerade entry.

Entries may be asked to make changes for purposes of safety and appropriateness before they are approved.

Failure to show up for cosplay check in will forfeit your spot in the masquerade. Cosplay rehearsal is mandatory, unless you have special circumstances you have cleared with the coordinator.

Minors (15 and under) must have their parents' permission to enter the masquerade.

Please be as specific as possible when describing your needs for tech crew and what your skit will be about, if you are doing a skit. The more specific you are, the more likely tech crew will get your tech needs right!

The Masquerade Coordinator will notify you when your registration has been approved if you sign up online. You may request changes to your information at any time after you have been approved.

You must be a registered con-attendee to participate in the Masquerade. Please do not sign up for the Masquerade until you have registered for the convention.

You must let the Masquerade Coordinator know if you must cancel your Masquerade registration at the last minute. It is not nice to take up a slot that could go to another entry if you decide you do not plan on attending!

General Guidelines

All costumes must be related to Japanese anime, manga, or culture (J-Pop, Japanese historical outfits, the Sera Myu musicals, etc.). Original or interpretational designs are welcome in the masquerade, as long as they contain Japanese influences. If you submit an original design for craftsmanship judging, you must bring references showing how you made your costume. If an original character is part of a skit (non-walk-on entry), it must appear in a skit where at least one Japanese character is prominently featured. Costumes from non-Japanese related/inspired sources, however, such as Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings, are not allowed onstage unless they are only making cameo appearances in a skit.

All entries must adhere to the Weapons Policy. The following are prohibited onstage:

• Brass knuckle weapons made of metal or hard plastic.
• Guns, such as: air rifles, BB guns, blow guns, firearms, paint ball guns, stun guns. Prop guns are allowed, but they must not be capable of firing an object and must be recognizable as prop weapons. If a police officer cannot tell the difference, it can't go onstage!
• Live steel weapons, such as: battle axes, knives, swords and throwing weapons.
• Spray weapons, such as: pepper spray and mace.
• Projectile weapons, such as: bows and slingshots.

All entries must attend Masquerade rehearsal. Entries that do not show up will be considered no-shows and dropped from the Masquerade unless they have needs that have been cleared with the coordinator.

Commissioned costumes may not be entered for workmanship judging. You cannot receive credit for another person's work.

Costumes entered in the hall costume contest are not allowed to be entered in the masquerade.

Entries will be sorted according to division at lineup with the Youth entries going first and the Masters entries going last within each contest. If this is inconvenient for you, you may request a different place in the lineup. Please only make this request if you have special needs (i.e. your costume is oversized or bulky)! Requesting to onstage later, because you think it will improve your chance of winning is bad form!

Interactive skits that require entries to interact with random members of the audience who are not part of their presentation, the emcee or the judges are not allowed. Please do not prepare a presentation that requires the judges or the emcee getting up onstage to interact with you.

Masquerade entrants may be photographed during the Masquerade by press photographers and by audience members during the cosplay half-time. By registering for the Masquerade, you agree to let your photograph be taken by our enthusiastic congoers.

No costume is NO COSTUME. Nudity and the display of bodily parts that would be covered by a bikini (for women) or Speedo (for men) is strictly forbidden. In other words, if you could wear your costume to the beach, and not get hauled off by the police, that's fine. If you violate this rule, you will be disqualified from the contest!

Skits and costumes must be rated PG. If you are concerned about the appropriateness of your presentation, it is suggested you This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. in advance. Entries that push the PG rating will be disqualified.

Items in bold will get you disqualified if you don't follow them!!

You may only register once for each contest. Appearing in more than one skit or walk on is not allowed.

You may not compete in a costume that has competed at a previous Anime USA unless significant changes (35% or more of the costume has been re-worked) have been made and you have received special permission from the coordinator. Costumes that have won awards at a prior Anime USA should not be re-entered, regardless of how many changes were made.

Skill Divisions

Based upon the information you provide on the registration form, the cosplay coordinator will place you in one of the following divisions:

A major prize is any prize that starts with the words "Best," "Most," "First," "Second," or "Judge's Choice". Honorable mentions, look-alike prizes from photo contests, and awards given by hall costume contests that do not use the skill divisions do not count as major prizes.

Based upon the information you provide, the judges and/or the coordinator may decide to place your entry in a higher division. This will not be done without advanced warning. (Sandbaggers need not receive prior notification.)

Entries are always welcome to enter a more challenging division than one they are eligible for. You must note on the registration form if you wish to compete up, otherwise the cosplay staff will place you in your regular division.

If you have opted to compete in a higher skill division than one you were eligible for in the past, and won a major prize in that division, you are obligated to compete in that Division at Anime USA. Falsifying information on the registration form to be placed in an easier division is grounds for disqualification.

If your costume has previously won a major award like Best Craftsmanship or Best in Show at a different convention, we request that you enter it in a higher division if you are bringing it to Anime USA.

You must compete at the level of the most experienced person in your group. When filling out the forms, list the awards of the most experienced person, even if they are not the group leader.

Awards

The competitive awards for this year are:

Workmanship awards will also be be given at the craftsmanship judges' discretion. Excellence deserves recognition. In addition, the Masquerade Coordinator may choose to give a Coordinator's Choice award. The award will go to the entry with the best hand-work.

Workmanship Contest Rules

All costumes must be related to Japanese anime, manga or culture (J-Pop, Live Action TV shows or musicals). Original or interpretational designs are welcome in the masquerade, as long as they contain Japanese influences.

All participants must have reference pictures of their costume. Without good documentation, the accuracy of recreation costumes cannot be properly assessed. If you are submitting an original or interpretational design, it is especially important that you bring references so the judges can get an idea of the construction techniques that went into your costume.

Workmanship judging will occur on a first come, first serve basis. Please be on time to the judging session. Only one workmanship judging session will be held and if you show up after the doors have been closed, we cannot extend the judges' time like we did last year!

Participants in the workmanship contest will get the chance to show their work onstage as part of a fashion show. Individuals have 30 seconds to show off their costume, groups of 2-3 people have 45 seconds, 4+ people have a minute.

Please do not enter characters from non-Japanese related sources (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, etc.,) or original designs that do not incorporate Japanese influences for craftsmanship judging. You are welcome to wear these costumes as part of your skit in the skit contest if they meet the cosplay skit rules, but they should not be entered for workmanship judging or displayed onstage as part of the fashion show.

Craftsmanship is the assessment of the costumer's skill at making a costume. Any costume that consists mostly of bought items will not be considered for craftsmanship judging (i.e. buying regular street clothes that require no alterations). Also, if you were not involved in the making of your costume (i.e., you bought your costume from a seamstress), please do not register for craftsmanship judging. You cannot receive credit for another person's work. However, in the case of parents/grandparents/guardians helping their child in making a costume, it is completely acceptable. It is preferable that they be present at pre-judging to discuss the costume.

If you are competing as a group, all members must be present during pre-judging.

Interference with the craftsmanship judges when it is not your turn to be judged will get you disqualified. Do not try to hear or see what the judges are saying or writing while others are being judged! It's just not nice!

Skit Contest Rules

An Individual presentation has 60 seconds. Groups of 2 have 2 minutes (120 seconds); groups of 3 have 3 minutes (180 seconds); groups with 4+ members have a maximum of 4 minutes. Entries that go over the time limit will be penalized.

Entries are not allowed to interact with the presentation judges, the emcee or random members of the audience who are not part of their skit. If you need props in the audience, we will be happy to supply you with staff volunteers.

Live steel onstage is forbidden. Do not try to sneak in a weapon; you will be pulled offstage and your group will be instantly disqualified.

No more than six people will be allowed on stage at any time. If you have a large group, you can have others wait in the wings and come on as others go off. Exception to the rule: if you have a large costume that takes up a lot of space, the Cosplay staff has the right to limit the number on stage further. Please tell us if you're going to be cosplaying as an 8 ft monster or mecha!

Stage acrobatics are not recommended, especially for beginning cosplayers. If you plan to use martial arts, falling techniques or gymnastic talents, it must be approved by the Cosplay staff ahead of time. If approved, rehearsal on stage is mandatory before line-up.

Tech capabilities are not known at the moment, but plan on bringing a CD if you wish to have background music or a dialogue for lip-syncing. Please label your name and address on the front of the CD, and also specify in large writing which track you need.  The tech crew cannot be blamed for any difficulties when entries are not prepared themselves. If you have any lighting needs/cues, they must submitted to tech crew during cosplay rehearsal.

What goes on the stage with you comes of the stage with you. For safety reasons things like confetti, fireworks, flash paper or other forms of pyrotechnics, rose petals, water, and other small messy objects are strictly forbidden from the stage area. Failure to abide by this will result in instant disqualification.

Please refrain from using obscenities within your skit content and dialogue. There may be children in the audience. If you come out acting like Howard Stern you will push the masquerade's PG rating.

Your entry must contain at least 1 character from a Japanese source in a prominent role in your skit if you plan on doing a skit (non-walk-on entry) that has original characters or characters from a non-Japanese source (i.e. Aliens, Star Wars, Harry Potter) appear in your skit. Your skit should use OCs and non-Japanese characters for cameos, they should not be the main focus of your skit.