COSTUME CONTEST REGISTRATION FORM
Please fill out and submit the following registration form in order to participate in the SVCC Costume Contest. Click here for Contest Rules and Regulations.
COSTUME CONTEST RULES & NOTES
All participants and assistants must have a Silicon Valley Comic Con admission badge.
Purchased costumes are prohibited from entering the contest. However, exceptions can be made for costumes that contain “found” pieces, “modified” or altered from its original design or purpose; although this may affect the total craftsmanship score of the participant, it is not meant to discourage participants from entering the contest. Costumes that are considered “kits” are allowed so long as kit was assembled by the participant. All participants should be prepared to briefly explain the process through which their costume was created, altered, or modified. Costume(s) should be 70% “hand-made”.
Note: Costumes do not have to be worn by the creator of the costume. Costume creators may have a “model” for their costume but the costume creator MUST be present at the pre-judging (in the case of craftsmanship entries) portion as well as the entire costume contest. Creators must be prepared to explain the creative process behind their costume.
Entries may be by individuals or groups, and may be of an existing character from any television show, film, comic, or literary property, or a custom creation by the entrant.
All costumes must abide by the rules of the convention dress code and weapons policy. All costumes should provide enough coverage to be worn in public and should be in good taste and appropriate for a family-friendly show.
No profanity will be allowed on stage. That includes messages on signs or clothes. Violators will be removed from the competition.
If a policy violation is discovered by any of the Silicon Valley Comic Con staff or judging panel, that entry will be disqualified.
No glitter, confetti, pyrotechnics, live flame or smoke generators of any kind are allowed in the convention center.
No electrical power connections will be provided. If your costume requires power, it must be part of your costume.
Contestants who wish to be considered for the craftsmanship awards MUST pre-register prior to Silicon Valley Comic Con (the deadline will be Wednesday, March 16th). Only craftsmanship entries will be eligible for the Best in Show award.
Contestants who register at the event on Saturday, March 19th, are eligible for all other award categories. On-site registration will be taken at the Cosplay Information Table from 10am until 3pm.
All entrants must check-in on Saturday, March 19th between noon and 3:30pm at the Cosplay Information Table to receive their entry number. The location will be posted shortly.
Craftsmanship entrants will be assigned a pre-judging time window when they check-in. Those entrants will be given directions to the pre-judging location. Any craftsmanship entrants who fail to report for their pre-judging time window will be conducted as if they were a non-craftsmanship entry (e. g. They are eligible for other awards, but not the Best In Show of craftsmanship awards).
All craftsmanship entries are strongly encouraged to bring reference material for their costume(s). While we will not turn away entries that do not bring reference material, the absence of reference could affect your final score. Not all judges know all characters and creatures, so it’s in everyone’s best interest to bring a color photo (or several) if at all possible. If costume is an original design, then reference images of inspiration or in cases of characters from novels, a printed description from the literary work will be most helpful. Digital devices may be used to present reference photos to the judging panel.
Youth entries are those who are under 16 years of age.
Entries will be separated into three categories:
- Novice - Contestants who have never entered a prior contest or won any awards.
- Journeyman – Contestants who have won at least one but less than 2 major cosplay/costume awards at any convention.
- Master – Contestants who have won 2 or more major cosplay/costume awards at any convention.
Note: Judges reserve the right to move any contestant into a different category should they feel their skill level exceeds the category for which they initially signed up.
Costumes that have won a major award at any past Big Wow Comic Fest may NOT be entered into the Costume Contest. "Major awards" include but are not limited to, “Best In Show”, or “First Place”, “Second Place” etc.
Groups are allowed to enter the contest but will be judged as if the entire group were as 1 person entering.
Regarding group entries, Each entry’s appropriate category will be determined by the participant with the highest number of cosplay/costume awards. For example, an entry consisting of 3 persons with 2 participants having won no awards, and the third participant having won 3 or more major awards will be placed in the “Master” category.
Pictures and video may be taken during both the Pre-Judging as well as Performance portion of the judging process of the participants. These pictures/video are the property of Silicon Valley Comic Con for the purposes of advertising and promotion of future events and contests.
You must remain in the main Ballroom for the entirety of the contest. Please arrive before the (?). You will have designated areas for waiting pre and post judging during the Performance phase of the contest. Please listen to the directions given by the Silicon Valley Comic Con volunteers and be respectful to your fellow contestants. If you have special needs, please let the judges’ panel be aware at the pre-judging portion of the contest or during check-in at the Cosplay Table.
Each participant will have 60 seconds of time to perform on stage. This is your time to shine, so make the best of it. “Skits” are allowed but not mandatory.
Extra time will be allotted for groups. For each additional person beyond two you will granted an additional 30 seconds, not to exceed 3 minutes. For example 3 participants will be granted 1 minute 30 seconds, 4 participants are granted 2 minutes, up to a maximum time limit of 3 minutes.
Your costume must allow you the freedom of movement so that you can go up and down steps. Should assistance be needed, you may have up to two assistants help you but they will not be provided by the SVCC staff. Should a costume be deemed as “excessively large” some accommodations can be made so that the contestant no longer in required to go up or down steps.
When each contestant/group checks in, they will be asked to write an “introduction” for their performance. This is not mandatory but highly suggested. Contestants/groups are allowed to bring pre-made introductions which will be attached to their entry form.
Award Categories:
The following list is an example breakdown of the awards that may be awarded. However, at the judge's discretion they may choose to omit or add to the awards as they deem appropriate for the entries received.
- Best In Show
- Best Master
- Best Journeyman
- Best Newcomer
- Best Group
- Best Performance
- Best Youth
- Audience Favorite
- Judge's Choice