Trans tasman Cosplay Cup: Regional contest for Melbourne
Dates and times:

Email registrations: ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM before midday Wednesday, 13th October 2010 Hand in registrations: Information Booth before 4pm Saturday, 16th October 2010
Judging: Sunday 17th October, 10.30am- room TBC please inquire at the Information Booth
Presentation: Sunday 17th October, 4pm on the Main Stage

Armageddon has run a cosplay contest in each city it hosts and event since 2003 and in 2009 this became the Trans Tasman Cosplay cup to match the winners of the Australian events with those from New Zealand.
The winners from Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland will all show at the Auckland contest and one will be chosen to represent New Zealand.
The Australian winner will be flown from Melbourne to also show at the Auckland contest and a winner between the two will be chosen.

The contest team is made up of permanent and floating volunteer staff, if you would like to help the contest run smoothly please email us at ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM.
The current judge is active locally, nationally and internationally in many areas of costuming and performance art and has been a student of costume art for more than two decades.

Registration:

Group Registration

Solo Registration

Prizes:

Best in Show- flights for one to Auckland, hotel accomodation for the duration of the Auckland Armageddon Expo and transfers between the hotel and airport.
Solo Open Division - TBC
Group Open Division - TBC
Solo Novice Division - TBC
Group Novice Division - TBC
Awards for performance and for technical excellence in each division - TBC

Regardless of a group or solo entry win there is ONE PRIZE PER CATEGORY. It is up to the winners as to how these prizes will be most fairly shared.
Prizes include small cash prizes and certificates and trophies.
These prizes are subject to change due to availability.

Additional awards and honourable mentions may be given out as deemed appropriate by the judge and organisers.


Rules

This contest is open to all amateur and hobby costumers who are not employees or family or friends of Armageddon Expo or the sponsors of this contest.

As always for Armageddon recreations of any media Eastern or Western will be accepted so long as the entrant abides by the following rules.


1 Registering:

YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER TO TAKE PART IN THE CONTEST.

Note that there are two forms; one for solo entries and one for group entries. One group entry form per group only please.
GROUP Registration
SOLO Registration
Please complete the appropriate form and send it to ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM

1a) Registrations must be received by email before midday the Wednesday before the contest.
Late entries handed in at the information booth by Midday Saturday at the event will be accepted but no new forms will be available will.

1b) There are two divisions based on skill; Open and Novice. The Novice division is only open to individuals who have not won any awards for their work in performance or costuming or prop making- this includes any "best of" or "best in" or placings such as first second or third in this contest or any other similar. Those who have won highly commendeds in any contest may still enter. The open class is open to all amateur or hobby costumers or performers regardless of winning any awards. Please email us at ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM if you have any queries.

No professional costumers or performers may take part in this contest, it is for amateurs only.

1c) In any group entry for the Novice division all members must be novices, if you have any members who have won any awards as above you must enter the Open division.

1d) Registrations MUST BE FULLY COMPLETED and will determine the order of contestants.

1e) Once registrations are received you cannot change your costume.

1f) You must PROVIDE ALL THE INFORMATION ASKED FOR, if you have questions about anything in the form please ask us at ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM before submitting your entry.

1g) In group entries everyone will be entered into the same division and it will be the average score that determines placing.
ALL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP MUST BE NAMED AND ALL WILL BE JUDGED. This means everyone including "extras".

1h) If you have not received confirmation from us by Wednesday evening please print and bring your forms and information to the Information booth. It happens rarely but there have been instances of forms not getting through. All folders in the Armageddon Cosplay account are checked to make sure no forms have wound up in the spam folder but ISPs have also been known to not send or accept email as expected.


2 Costumes and props:

2a) You MUST BE THE MAKER of the majority of your costume. If you received help this must be mentioned in your registration form. As a rough guide more than 70% of your costumes and props must be made or heavily adapted by members of your group. If you are adapting garments they must look significantly different once altered - and not be recognisable as the original garment.

2b) In a group everyone must have contributed equally towards props and costumes beyond simply being present and in costume- labour needs to be equal but can divided between members.

NO COMMISSIONS- NO EXCEPTIONS.

2c) No past winning (Best in show, technical or performance awards, best in category) costumes or props or skits can be entered into the contest. Past winners are welcome to enter with all new costumes, props and performance pieces. This includes any costumes for any finals of any major contest in Australasia winning or not- please email ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM if you are unsure.

2d) Costumes from all genres will be accepted such as anime/animation, graphic novels/manga, film, tv, theatre, world cinema. So long as documentation is provided so as to fairly compare the costume with the source.

2e) Original characters will not be accepted. This includes all characters you or your friends have created or where you have the ability to modify the costume/prop to suit. However in games where character and costume appearance is determined by a list of available parts (such as World of Warcraft, Guild Wars etc.) these will be allowed as the source cannot be altered by the user in game. Non Playable Characters from these games are also allowed as they cannot be altered. Please email ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM if you have any queries.


3 Skits:

3a) Skits will have a defined time.
Solos- 1 (one) minute
Duos and trios-2 (2 minutes)
Groups of four or more- 3 (three) minutes.
If you have a group of 10 or more please email us at ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM to negotiate any extra time.
You may choose to go under this time- this is encouraged.
Be prepared for the judges to ask questions on how you made your costume outside of this time.

3b) Skits MUST BE PRERECORDED. These must be burned to a CD in audio format and be the only track. Please hand them in with your form on Saturday or bring them with you to the judging room. No microphones will be available.

3c) You will be given a warning when you have reached the limit and if you do not stop when asked by the judges YOU WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. You will also be disqualified if you present a different skit on stage than in the judging round.
This limit is to allow all entries to present their skits in the time we have allotted on the main stage.

3d) You must include a written copy of your skit and MP3 file with your registration form.

3e) In a group everyone will be judged and the performance marks averaged over the group.

3f) No profanity, nudity or hateful language will be accepted even when appropriate to the genre. Please email ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM if you have any queries.


4 Safety:

4a) No acrobatics or weapon displays.

4b) Prop weapons cannot pose a risk to yourself, the organisers, the convention centre or the general public. So we ask that your props and weapons be made of materials that will not cause harm. This includes- but is not limited to- items that can cut or burn or are very heavy objects.


4bi) NO METAL PROPS AND REAL WEAPONS- NO EXCEPTIONS. Small screws, hinges and bolts may be used to hold the prop together but must not be exposed.

4bii) No projectile weapons, including but not limited to BB guns, bows, crossbows.

4biii)Wood can only be used in small amounts such as a handle or grip of a prop. It must not constitute the majority of the prop unless it is a very light wood such as balsa. Email ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM if you are unsure.

4biv) Fibreglass may be used but it must be trimmed and finished appropriately and must still comply with all the rules listed for safety.

There are many online tutorials and guides for how to make props on the forums of http://www.cosplay.com so if you feel unsure how to go about working within this rule please visit there first. Past contestants have used pre-made plastic toys as a base with papier mache, foam, Das, polymer clays, plastic piping etc. to build parts.

4c) Large costume pieces must also pose no risk to the public so pre-test wearing the full costume to know how they will limit your movement through crowds. If you are very limited consider wearing those pieces only in the contest or for photos and carry them at all other times.
Again http://www.cosplay.com has guides and tutorials for making armour and large costume pieces. Other sites for information would be http://www.alleycatscratch.com and many Star Wars fan sites. Please choose wisely for your own safety as some of these materials or methods can be harmful to your health.

4d) NO EXPLOSIVE OR INCENDIARY DEVICES TO BE USED- NO EXCEPTIONS.

4e) No mess is to be left on the stage, audience or judging area after your skit. No messy skits will be accepted. This includes but is not limited to food items.

4ei) No extra stage dressing requiring extra time is allowed. This includes but is not limited to set pieces, lighting and sound. There will be time for everyone to set themselves on stage but we cannot allocate extra time.

4f) Choose body make up/paint carefully. For your own safety and those at the convention please read as much information as you can about the various options. Do not choose anything that will stain other guests and attendees. Test your make up/paint before the contest so you understand how long it will take to apply and dry. There are many guides to how to choose make up and two of the best are http://fx.wikia.com/wiki/Special:Categories and http://cosplaywiki.org/index.php/Makeup
Many of the products are available here in New Zealand at art or specialty stores. Remember to chose wisely for your own safety as some pigments or paints can be toxic.

4g) The event is billed as a family friendly event but does attract a varied audience so please choose a costume you will feel comfortable wearing in a large and diverse crowd.
Please email ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM if you have any questions.


5 On the day:

5a) ONLY PRE-REGISTERED ENTRIES WILL BE SEEN.

5b) Judging begins at 10.30am and continues until all pre-registered contestants are seen. You MUST BE AT THE DOORS BEFORE 10.30am so everyone can be seated on time.

5c) You will be called into the judging room in the order we will view the entries. We will enforce the rules; if we have not received your entry YOU WILL NOT BE ADMITTED so make sure you have entered as per the rules above.

5d) The judging and presentation in public will follow this same order.

5e) Each convention centre has different temperature controls and settings so extra layers and some water may help make your wait more comfortable.

5f) Please set phones to silent or off while the judging takes place.

5g) While only contestants and authorised personal are permitted in the judging room a helper or guardian- where required-  will be allowed. Please email us at ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM to let us know if you have any special requirements in this regard.

5h) In order to be fair to all contestants you will be asked to stay for the entire judging round- exceptions to this will be made for medical or other special circumstances. Please let us know as soon as you can if allowances need to be made.

You will then be free to rest after the judging and before the presentation.

6 Main stage
6a) Be ready at the main Stage at 3.50pm and be in the same order as you competed (numbers will be provided at the judging round) so that everyone is ready to present themselves or their skits from 4pm. The awards will be announced once everyone has presented themselves and their skits on the stage.

6b) Please note: ONLY PROPS, COSTUMES, SKITS AND PEOPLE PRESENTED IN THE COMPETITION ROUND WILL BE PERMITTED ON THE MAIN STAGE.

6c) There will be no designated place or person to look after your personal items while you are on stage. Get to know your fellow contestants, you are all in the same boat.


These rules and prizes are subject to change without notice. However where possible notification of such changes will be made here or in other appropriate media.

Decisions made are final. No Exceptions. The Armageddon Cosplay organisers are not responsible for your lost forms or damage to you or your costume or damage caused by you or your costume.

Participation in the Cosplay Contest implies an understanding and acceptance of these rules and regulations. Please email ARMAGEDDON.COSPLAY@GMAIL.COM  if you have any questions or concerns.