How to Register:

You must complete the form below to be considered for this year’s contest.

Please note: You must receive confirmation via email from our Cosplay Competition director in order to participate at the Los Angeles Comic Con Cosplay Nationals only after you have registered via the website. Registering does NOT guarantee acceptance into the competition . We do have a cap on all divisions. The registration process will close depending on which is met first, our max capacity or our closing registration date. Be aware it may take up to 14 days before you are confirmed via email from our cosplay competition director. Upon receiving your registration form you may be required to submit work in progress/complete photos, concept art or character art and anything else related once our cosplay competition director has contacted you. Registration for categories will close once they are filled up. You may not compete without a confirmation, NO EXCEPTIONS.

There is no onsite registration.

Where & When:

L.A. Comic Con Main Stage: Saturday October 5th, 2024.

Time: TBD

You MUST be available to check-in and attend pre-judging at the times indicated (TBA). You must be on time as there will be NO LATE ENTRIES allowed once pre-judging ends. Prejudging will be staggered by Division starting with Novice and ending with Master. If you miss prejudging you automatically forfeit your entry into the competition.

Be prepared for this and take traffic, parking, and security times into consideration. The LA Comic Con Cosplay National Championship has no control over any of these factors.

There will be no dressing room available, but you are free to wear your costume on the convention floor.

We also ask that you inform us prior if you have incorporated any strobe or flashing lights of any kind in your cosplay.

There is absolutely no video recording or photographing inside the pre-judging room without permission from all the judges present.

There is also no video recording or photographing behind the main stage during the competition. If you do not respect and adhere to these rules you will be disqualified from the event and removed from the backstage area.

There is only one handler allowed per entry inside the pre-judging room, AND behind the stage during the main show. You and your handler will both be given special badges and you must have these at all times. Be mindful your handlers must purchase their own Saturday or weekend badge to the convention.

All entries have until September 20th, to contact the Competition Director with any changes to your submission with updated pics and paragraph description. If you do not, you will forfeit your entry. We understand things happen, please adhere to all the rules and requests to maintain a smooth show.

You must purchase a Saturday or weekend badge to participate.

Judges & Hosts:

TBA

The judges are selected from individuals in the cosplay and costuming communities who excel at craftsmanship, design and have extensive backgrounds in costuming/prop creation.

Prizes:

$25,000 in cash plus other prizing. More details to be announced soon!

Official Rules:

The following rules apply to ALL entrants regardless of categories.

Entry into the event is at the discretion of the event staff, and we reserve the right to reject ANY entrant who does not adhere to these rules or whose costume is in violation of them. Please see the convention harassment policy HERE.

Subject to Change: Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we will be following all CDC guidelines as recognized by the City, County and State. Masks are not required at this time but as we get closer to the event we may enforce them based on the convention center and City/County/State guidelines.

Waitlist: Once a category has filled up please email cosplay@comikazeent.com to be added to a wait list. If you are added to a wait list, you can check back for any cancellations. However we do not resort to the waitlist passed one week prior to the event.

Returning this year under our rules and regulations is our rule on returning costumes. No costume entered in the previous Cosplay National Championships under either category will be allowed to enter this year’s 8th Annual Cosplay National Championship. If you are suspected of entering a costume worn and placed at this show’s competition you will be automatically disqualified. We happily welcome cosplays entered in other convention’s cosplay and craftsmanship competitions throughout the world. We are aware and observant of folks who do abuse this and enter the same winning costume in other competitions through the world and we will take this into consideration when reviewing your submission. We encourage you to get competitive by bringing your a-game and building something brand new as we love to see it at our particular competition.

Divisions:

There are four divisions for this year’s Los Angeles Comic Con Cosplay National Championship including a Best In Show. Best In Show is NOT a division one can enter; it is decided upon at the end of the show during the awards ceremony and is the biggest prize winner.

For entrants who are participating as a GROUP, you must complete the form for whichever division listing for your group. You are limited to 5 members max.

Novice Division (ages 13 and over):

Every entrant is limited to participating in ONE division.

You may enter either as an INDIVIDUAL or a GROUP (2-5 persons).

If you are under the age of 18, you must apply with signed permission from a parent or legal guardian. Cash prizes will be written in the form of a check to that parent or legal guardian of 18 years or older.

There will be prizes/recognition for the top three winners in this division.

Qualifications: This division is limited to encourage those new to costuming and competitions. Entries for this category have not competed in Journeyman nor Master categories at a prior LACC, Masquerade or Cosplay Competition.

Journeyman Division (ages 13 and over):

Every entrant is limited to participating in ONE division.

You may enter either as an INDIVIDUAL or a GROUP (2-5 persons).

There will be prizes/recognition for the top three winners in this division.

Qualifications: Though you may be newer to costuming or you are a pro, consider this entry tier if you have competed before in the Journeyman or Novice division and have placed at a prior LACC Competition. Be mindful a judge or the director can bump you up to Master at any time from Journeyman depending on the quality of your cosplay for placement in the competition. Especially if you have placed first place in Journeyman in the LACC competition prior.

Master Division (ages 13 and over):

Every entrant is limited to participating in ONE division.

You may enter either as an INDIVIDUAL or a GROUP (2-5 persons).

There will be prizes/recognition for the top three winners in this division.

Qualifications: This division is designed for the most advanced competitors. Entry must have entered in Journeyman or Master division prior and have placed in Journeyman or Master division at LACC. The stakes are high. Think you’ve got what it takes?

Costume Composition:

Store-bought costumes are NOT PERMITTED! Your costume needs to be made or modified by you. We obviously will not judge you by store bought shoes.

Modifications will be carefully assessed by our judges and must be at least 50% modified from the original piece. This applies to all aspects of your costume.

This year we are not allowing designs worn by anyone other than the maker of the costume. The maker and wearer of the costume must be present and registered to enter. No one is allowed to model your costume in this year’s Championship.

Our judges may ask you to verify that your costume is an original construction or to confirm an acceptable amount of modifications have been made to pre-existing materials.

While we do allow for a few minor pre-made, pre-purchased items, we are looking for craftsmanship and creativity. You may also give credit to your fellow costumer(s) who assisted you during the construction of your entry. Any assistance can only be up to 30% assistance, for example, you may have purchased a 3D printed prop as opposed to modeling and printing it yourself but you may have finished the piece off yourself depending on the scale and amount of said 3D purchased piece. Or perhaps you’re too young to operate a certain type of machinery or tool. Again assessment of this will be at the full discretion of the judges.

Original character designs and concepts are accepted as well! We are also allowing mashups and different takes on existing characters. Please be prepared to show the judges your reference for all characters not cannon to their original intellectual property. We highly encourage a build book!

Build Books are not mandatory but appreciated. There are up to 4 judges if you wish to offer 4 separate copies of printed build books. You are of course allowed to bring only one if you prefer. But again build books are not required. We are not responsible for your build book if you leave it with us in pre-judging or at the show period. Please do not leave your build book in the pre-judging room or the main stage area during the competition. If you would like to make paper copies of the build book to leave with judges after pre-judging that is acceptable but we’d prefer not to be responsible for any decorative or prop like build books that accentuate your cosplay.

Note: Unfortunately, we will not have any repair kits on hand. You are responsible for your own costume and its integrity.

Kid-Friendly Show Reminder:

There will be children present and your costumes and presentation should be suitable for ALL ages. As a reminder entry into the event is at the discretion of the event staff, and we reserve the right to reject ANY entrant who does not adhere to these rules or whose costume is in violation of them. Please see the convention harassment policy HERE.

Costume Presentation:

Anticipate a 2-4 minute presentation for 1-5 people during mandatory pre-judging.

Depending on the complexity and detail, the judges may request additional time to observe and properly judge your costume during pre-judging or during the actual show.

During the main stage portion of the competition, there will be time for a small up to one-minute presentation. During this time there will be 3 points of posing on the stage, more information to follow closer to show time!

This is simply for photos and one last look from the judges, no music or performances please.

Returning this year, and to help create some fun flair, each entry will be allowed to include (during registration, once accepted) a paragraph description of their costume! This can be a narrative about the character and where they are from, scripted dialog, how many hours your costume took, or some funny family friendly jokes! This paragraph will be read by our hosts during your stage presentation and must be no more than 3 paragraphs long. The organizer of the show must approve your presentation paragraph before you are accepted in the show. During online registration you will be able to submit your paragraph.

Prohibited Items:

Please refer to the official show costume/weapon policy HERE.

If you are not willing to comply with these policies, please do not bring your costume weapons.

Live Animals:

Live animals are not allowed during the show or pre-judging unless they are a service animal. No animal is allowed on the stage at any time. Our staff is on hand to assist you during the main stage event.

Not Eligible to Enter:

The following are prohibited from entering the Los Angeles Comic Con Cosplay National Championship: ANY current Los Angeles Comic Con employee, including volunteers, paid staff, celebrity and cosplay guests. If you have judged in a previous Los Angeles Comic Con Cosplay National Championship you must wait one year before registering to compete in between judging and competing.

We hope to see you at the competition!