All Cosplay Contest contestants and their handlers must be registered attendees of Origins Game Fair 2026.
● The contest is open to contestants who have made or purchased their costumes, however this will impact the awards you are eligible for.

• Contestants with costumes they have made will be assessed during craftsmanship judging and will be eligible for all prizes.

• Purchased costumes, or contestants who do not wish to be judged on craftsmanship are eligible for judge’s choice awards, the performance award and the themed awards. See the award list for more details.

● Contestants must be present for craftsmanship judging (if applicable), and the Cosplay Contest stage presentation to win.
● Participants under the age of 15 must be part of an eligible entry with an adult 18 years or older.
● Contestants and their handlers in Cosplay Contest grant Origins Game Fair staff and their designees the right to utilize their likeness in promotional events.
● Participants agree to allow themselves to be photographed and/or recorded by the event organizers or designee.
● Origins Game Fair reserves the right to disqualify or remove anyone for any logical reason, including but not limited to: cheating, inappropriate behavior at the event, and offensive cosplays (see glossary for definition of offensive cosplays).

● Contestants agree to follow all Origins Game Fair and Cosplay Contest policies and codes of conduct. This includes the weapons policy. These policies can be found here.

• Contestants must have their weapons approved by event security and
  peace bonded.

• Contestants must wear a completed costume to the Cosplay Contest. Contestants must also compete with the costume approved after acceptance.

• Cosplay costumes must fit within a PG rating--this means no excessive gore or
  nudity.

• Contestants must wear shoes at all times.

• Projectiles, fog machines, glitter, messy substances, liquids, pyrotechnics, flames, lasers or items that may pose a danger to other participants and guests will not be allowed. When in doubt, ask!

• No participants or costume articles may leave the stage (e.g., you may not crowd surf, or throw items or projectiles into the audience, etc).

• Acrobatics, gymnastics, intense martial arts and other potentially dangerous physical demonstrations are prohibited. Some light dance moves, twirls, etc. are fine.

• If you are wearing a costume that inhibits your ability to move, see, breathe, or otherwise function in a way that is more restrictive than your ordinary state of being, you must have a mechanism inside the costume where you can get out of it if needed, and/or you must have a handler who can assist you.

• Cosplays and stage walks may not contain religious, political, insulting or offensive statements or representations. We use the following definition for offensive cosplays: cosplays that incite violence, racism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia, ageism, and bigotry. This includes race-facing (e.g. Blackface/Brownface) as well as costumes that replicate, or make light of historic or current international or national tragedies.

• Contestants are allowed to have one handler/assistant with them for costume, mobility, and accessibility needs, and/or emotional support. All handlers must be checked in with cosplay staff or they will not be allowed backstage or with you during craftsmanship judging. If you need more than one handler, it must be cleared with the Cosplay Directors ahead of time.

Origins Game Fair staff and volunteers may not enter the Cosplay Contest. Headlining and invited cosplay guests or other invited parties are also not eligible to enter the costume contest.
● Entries can consist of one person or a group, however, an individual person may not appear in multiple entries (e.g. you cannot enter individually, and also enter along with a group even if you use a different costume). Keep in mind, groups. must split the prize if the group entry wins.
● Groups may not exceed 5 people.

• For craftsmanship scoring, each costume present in the entry will be scored individually then averaged.

● Contestants may not enter a costume that previously won a major award from Origins Game Fair or any other event. If the award was minor, such as “Best Prop” or “Best Intermediate Runner Up,” this rule does not apply.

• Please contact the Cosplay Directors ahead of time if you are uncertain if your cosplay qualifies. This rule is strictly enforced and violations may result in disqualification from this and future cosplay contests. Please see the glossary for definitions of major and minor awards.

• Please notify the Cosplay Contest Directors immediately if you need to withdraw your entry so we can give that slot to another contestant.

● Cosplay Contest judging results are final. If the contestant exhibits rude, disrespectful, or hostile behavior toward the judges or staff, they may be banned from participating in future Origins Game Fair cosplay contests. If you feel a judgment was made due to cheating or another unjust cause, please email your concern and evidence to the Cosplay Directors at Origins Game Fair here: events@gama.org
● Contestants understand that the published contest awards may be adjusted, changed, or withheld pending complaint resolution or for any reason deemed appropriate by Origins Game Fair.
● Contestants agree to not film any part of the craftsmanship judging process, or other inappropriate time as deemed by Origins Game Fair staff.

● Stage time is limited to one minute per entry.
● There will be a mandatory meeting (Greenroom) for all entrants in the Sewing & Cosplay Room at Union Station C at 3:30 p.m. near the Union Station B stage. Here, contestants will be put in order, and have a chance to get ready for the show.
● All members of your entry must attend Greenroom to participate in the contest. Those not present will be disqualified.
● Runway music will be provided by the Origins Game Fair staff for all Contest entries. Contestants will not be allowed to bring their own audio.
● No microphones will be provided. No live dialogue is allowed.
● Contestants will be able to enter and/or exit via ramp if desired.
● Stage dimensions: 16’ x 24’.

New this year, cosplay contestants participating in the Origins Game Fair Cosplay Contest will have the opportunity to participate in craftsmanship judging. This is 1:1 time with our esteemed judging panel to explain how you made your costume and highlight your crafting prowess.
● Contestants may register for the Cosplay Contest on site Friday (See registration information below).
● Craftsmanship judging will occur ahead of the Cosplay Contest on Saturday morning. Contestants will be assessed on their craftsmanship, including their technique, finish, how well the costume stays together, fidelity to reference
images and overall impression.
○ Factors that will NOT will not count against the fidelity score include the
cosplayer’s race, age, ethnicity, height, size, use of mobility items,
corrective vision, or lack thereof, socioeconomic status, and other health,
cultural or religious identities that the cosplayer has that may differ
between the cosplayer and the character. See the Glossary for the
definition of “fidelity.”
● Entries with more than one person in the entry will be judged individually, and the scores will be averaged.

All contestants will self-select a craftsmanship level. This ensures that each participant is judged fairly among those in their same skill level.

• Beginner: Any contestant who has never won an award in any costume/cosplay contest, or has won 2 or fewer minor cosplay awards (e.g., a judge’s choice award, or best beginner runner up). At least 50% of the costume must be made by the contestant.

• Intermediate: Any contestant who has won two or fewer major awards in any costume/cosplay contest, or event cosplay contest (e.g. Best Beginner, or Best Beginner craftsmanship). At least 65% of the costume must be made by the contestant.

• Master: Any contestant who has won 3 or more major awards in any costume/cosplay contest, or event cosplay contest, or someone who has income exceeding $10,000 per year from costuming, cosplay, sewing, prop construction, wig construction/styling, or any other costume/cosplay-related field. At least 75% of the costume must be made
  by the contestant.

If you are entering the contest with other people, then your class will be determined by the highest class achieved by any member of your entry (e.g. if you are a Beginner and your partner is a Master, you must enter the Master category). If you aren’t sure what. class you are in, please contact the Cosplay Contest Directors at events@gama.org.
Please note the cosplay contest team reserves the right to move you to an appropriate class at any time without prior warning in the interest of the integrity of the contest.

Your craftsmanship judging time is determined by your cosplay class via block scheduling. That means a few contestants will have the same judging time but you will be called individually to meet with the judges to explain your costume. You will receive your judging time at registration. While cosplay contests do eat up quite a bit of your Saturday schedule, contestants are free to enjoy the event after their prejudging slot ahead of Greenroom. If you experience a time conflict, please email the Cosplay Directors.
Please show up to your designated time block and be prepared to explain how you made your costume.
If you had a friend or family member make your cosplay for you, you can present the costume as their model, however, the maker will serve as the entrant and will need to fill out the registration form. The award will be given to the creator of the costume, and we’ll leave it to you to divide up any awards you receive. Both the creator and the model must be registered attendees of Origins Game Fair.

Craftsmanship Judging will take place at Sewing & Cosplay at Union Station room C.

Please come to the registration table to confirm your appearance and you will be called up to meet with the judges.
● Entries with 1-2 contestants will have 5 minutes with the judges to discuss how the costume was made and answer any questions the judges may have. Entries with 3-5 entrants will be given 7 minutes.
● Be prepared for judges to look closely at your work such as seams, paint job, wig styling and detailing.
● Judging is minimally invasive, however we know some contestants may feel uncomfortable with the judges touching them/ their costume. Please let the directors know if this is the case so we can make accommodations. A trusted handler may be brought in to craftsmanship judging to flip seams, or additional reference pictures may need to be added to the progress book so the judges can see the interior parts of the costume.
● Be sure to tell the judges about things you’d like to highlight on your costume. Likewise, please tell the judges about any elements on your costume you did not make.
● All members of your entry must be present for the full length of the judging session.
● Entrants who are not present at their judging time slot will be disqualified from the contest.
● Contestants must bring printed character reference photos for judging as well as at least 3 progress photos. Front and back reference photos are highly
encouraged! Your progress books will be returned to you after the contest, so to make this process easier, please label your books.
● Reference photos must be printed and bound in some way (binder clips, staples, glue, safety pins…) No photos from your phone/tablet/computer will be accepted.

This part of the contest is where contestants can enter the stage and pose for the audience. This is the time to get into character, get some great reactions from the audience and show us how you embody the spirit of your character!
● Contestants will have up to one minute to walk to the pre-arranged audio provided by Origins Game Fair. Additional time and custom audio will not be allowed.
● Contestants will be awarded based on their stage presence, and how well they embody the character’s mannerisms or convey their character on stage.
● Contestants may not exit and re-enter the stage, or enter/ exit the stage in any unconventional manner.

● Contestants may leave some props behind, after approval from the Origins Game Fair Cosplay Contest staff. A staff member will be there to remove the props and return it to you once you exit the stage.
● Additional tech/ lighting/ music etc. will not be provided.

Origins Game Fair staff will not be held liable for damage to props if the contestant leaves it on stage for the staff to retrieve.