-----2024 RATHA CON COSPLAY CONTEST RULES AND INFORMATION-----

​

We will  have TWO main contests, one for Kids (under 12) and one for everyone else.

​

The KIDS cosplay contest will be a walk-on judging. 

​

ADULT Judging will take place in designated time slots BEFORE each competition. Contestants will sign up for a judging time slot and arrive at the judges' station at your specified time to have your costume evaluated, then return for the line up, costume parade, and awards ceremony. 

​

 

Cosplay contests are separated into the following categories:

​

​

--- EXHIBITION (Kids and Adults)---

This category is for people who just want to show off their costume for fun! No awards will be given for this category. You will line-up with the rest of the contest entrants and get to show off your costume on stage at the start of the contest. Arrive at the line-up time to join. Any and all ages and costumes are welcome to join this category. There will be an exhibition category time for both the Junior's competition and the Adult competition.

​

​

 

---JUNIOR COMPETITION---

​

This contest is for any type of costume, store-bought or handmade, for ages 11 and under. This contest is separate from the main cosplay contest. The Junior contest lineup will take place at 3:00pm, with the judging taking place on stage. 

​

​

 

--- ADULT CONTEST JUDGED CATEGORIES ---

​

Judging will take place from (TIME TBA), with line-up and awards at (TIME TBA). Contest entrants ages 12 and up may enter the main cosplay contest in the categories listed below***. Judges are available to help if you are not sure which category you fit into. Judges will present 1st place and runner-up awards in each category, along with honorable mentions or special awards of the judges' choice, TBD. 

​

COMPETITION CATEGORIES:

​

- NOVICE - 

For beginning cosplayers/ costumers. Store-bought costumes are allowed in this category. No entrant who has previously won a costume contest should enter the novice category. 

​

- JOURNEYMAN -

This category is for intermediate cosplayers who have some experience crafting costumes and entering contests or have put significant effort into hand-making a costume. Most of our cosplayers tend to fit this category. First-time cosplayers are welcome in this category if they meet the entry criteria: Costumes in this category should be at least 60% handmade by the entrant or comissioned pieces, and contestants in this category should have previously won no more than 2 costume contest awards. 

​

- MASTER -

This category is reserved for more experienced cosplayers and creators. Costumes in this category should be mostly handmade by the contestant (90-100%), and/or entrants who have won 3 or more more cosplay contest awards previously will be entered into this category.

If you're not sure which category you would fit into, our fabulous Cosplay Judges will help place you in the correct category! 

 

​

PLEASE NOTE ---  We hope you will use good judgement and sportsmanship when entering the contest. We want our contest to be fun for everyone. We know that cosplayers are all a part of a big and active community and we see each other everywhere. In general, we would highly discourage you from entering our contest with a costume that has won multiple major awards at other conventions. Again, due to the nature of the cosplay community, our judges probably know if a particular costume has won a lot of awards before. We do not have an official rule against this, however the judges may take this into consideration if they feel you are taking advantage of our small convention. We hold this contest solely for fun and we want to make sure to showcase our awesome cosplayers of all skill levels!

​

***By dividing our contests into these categories, we hope to make our cosplay contest more fair and balanced, so you are competing against other costumes of a similar skill level. 

 

​

- CONTEST JUDGING -

 

Judging criteria-

Costumes will be judged based on a variety of factors, including craftsmanship, accuracy (or creativity for original design costumes), materials used, etc. Please bring a photo (or have one on your phone, etc) of your character, if applicable, for reference so we can judge the accuracy of your costume.

​

​

AWARDS:

- Judges will present a 1st place and runner-up in each category
- Judges may choose to hand out special awards for their favorite costumes, props, or showmanship, so there are plenty of ways to win!

 

---- And just a few more things to note ----

​

 

• "Group" costumes will be judged as one individual entry, there is no special category for group costumes this year. 2 or more people will count as a group and any awards will be presented to the group as a whole. Please inform the judges if you would like to be judged individually or as a group. 

• Family or group costumes with at least one adult will be entered into the regular categories, NOT the junior category. This means kids may either enter solo into the junior category or enter the "adult" categories as part of a group costume. 

• Oh, and it's totally FREE to enter!

 

 

Have a question about the cosplay contest? Send us a message on facebook or here on our site - scroll to the bottom of the main front page and fill out the contact form. Ratha Con Staff will be on-hand all day at the main information booth to answer any questions you might have. 

​