Changes to cosplay contest

By neimhaille. 27/10/09, 09:34 am

Bad internect connection killed my long post of much information, so here is the shorter version until I am well enough to rebuild the long post:

Ambushed Bill about announcing skill division just before conetst so he didn't get a shock ;) Told ok fine, hense the announcement ;)

New skill division is a reflection of all the new people entering who have wonderful costumes especially taking into consideration newness of skills and experience.

Two classes:
Novice: for those who have little or no experience in the skills and techniques used in cosplay. This will be fine tuned but we don't want someone who has heaps of experience in the fundamentals but just haven't entered the contest ;)

Open: for anyone of any level who is not a professional in any of the fundamentals techniques used in cosplay. This means new people who do want to challenge themselves may do so still!

This works out fairer, still offers challenges and safety nets for those who need them than creating a so called "master class".

This will mean a reworking of rules and prizes and I ambushed Bill again after to reinforce how prizes are more about bragging rights and having a momento of a win than anything else.

Nest to note is that all skits will be prerecorded from now. Tech and volunteer help was awesome this week and helped in feeling secure about this decision.
And as a heads up the easiest most convenient form will be an audio CD with just your skit on it.

The registration forms will also be adjusted to work with all of this too.

As always armageddon.cosplay@gmail.com for any queries you may be too shy to ask here.

By fleyer. 27/10/09, 09:36 am

So, I wanted to ask this but you both looked busy afterwards talking to people so I didn't want to interrupt.
But next year I'm planning a trio, one of our members is down in Chch, is it allowed for the other two of us to work on her costume here in Auckland and have her wear it? Or does she have to make it herself? Just so we know before we start ^^

By **JVCA**. 27/10/09, 09:40 am

Oh man, totally loving the pre-recorded only idea! Very Happy

Yay for good tech at long last. n_n

By neimhaille. 27/10/09, 09:41 am

As always everyone has to work equally in their group. She would just be a model otherwise :) That doesn't mean you have to get together though! I mean, I'm not demanding you spend lots of money on flights! Email and digital cameras are love :)

By fleyer. 27/10/09, 09:46 am

Okay, thanks for that ^^
Now we can go ahead, well once the stuff from the states arrives we can start =D

**Guest** Guest

My comp cosplay for wellygeddon is under the spoiler tag in my sig what catergory would it go under, i havent entered before either

By mirenolicious. 27/10/09, 02:57 pm

The announcement for the novice class made me happy but I'm still a bit nervous being a newbie and all. Oh well as long as I enjoy myself nothing else matters...besides there's always CNZ if I need help right?

By neimhaille. 27/10/09, 03:06 pm

We will still be making a fuss for the novice class so no worries and no worries as the novice class will probably be done separately to the open so as to keepneveres down as long as possible :)

We will never make everyone completely happy so have to take a stance based on experience and memory of competing and on the quality of queries we have for it :)

By Icarus. 27/10/09, 04:01 pm

Kiki wrote:: My comp cosplay for wellygeddon is under the spoiler tag in my sig what catergory would it go under, i havent entered before either

I don't think it's the choice of costume/character that determines which category you enter, it's whether you feel confident enough to be able to go up against the 'stronger' competitors to challenge yourself, or whether you want to give it a try but competiting with 'less pressure.'

By Pura. 27/10/09, 04:38 pm

Icarus wrote:

Kiki wrote:: My comp cosplay for wellygeddon is under the spoiler tag in my sig what catergory would it go under, i havent entered before either

I don't think it's the choice of costume/character that determines which category you enter, it's whether you feel confident enough to be able to go up against the 'stronger' competitors to challenge yourself, or whether you want to give it a try but competiting with 'less pressure.'

THIS. It's not the character, but the way you make it. You could do a really well made simple character, or a badly made detailed character. There are examples of both around on the net Changes to cosplay contest 37781

By ShiroChocoJo. 28/10/09, 12:39 am

you call that short? wow. I wonder how long the REAL thing is... o.O"
XP

By Mandie_Chan. 28/10/09, 06:59 am

This is so exciting!
I can't wait to see the final words about the new changes~

Do you think it'll be put in place for Chch geddon next year?

**Guest** Guest

Phew that's good, I decided that I would'nt be able to pull that cosplay off anyway, But i'm glad that even with a good costume i can still enter novice

By **JVCA**. 28/10/09, 07:11 am

@Mandie: I think it will be in place for all '10 events. Very Happy

By Mandie_Chan. 28/10/09, 07:14 am

YAY!!!

I shall enter in chch then~
ooooo.... this also means we are the first to try out the new rules! This shall be epic ^^

By mirenolicious. 28/10/09, 12:45 pm

I'm gonna start saving for welly geddon

By Pseudonym. 29/10/09, 05:01 am

Just my humble opinion: I've been worried about posting this because of possible flak, but I am not going to do an anonymous thing or just keep it to myself so here goes:

I was really disappointed last year when one person won two prizes, I will not dispute that her costume was frikking amazing, (It really was fantastic) but there were many other people who also had great costumes. This actually soured me a little on the cosplay contest, and I decided not to enter at all this year. (In fact I didn't even cosplay. CHCH armageddon 08 really motivated me to start making cosplays but auckland 08+09 have really discouraged me to continue).

I was looking forward to entering in 2010, but after what happened this year at Auckland, EVEN with the announcement, I do not think I will be entering the competition at all unless some really good and DRASTIC changes are made.
I am not going to say I do not agree with the judging of the winners, I think that all the winners looked fantastic, and deserved to win something. But by giving TWO groups TWO prizes, is pretty much a slap in the face to the other cosplayers who also looked fantastic. "These guys were twice as good as you, in fact they were so much better than you that they get all the prizes"
In a running race, if the winner beats the person coming second by half the time, they don't win 1st prize AND 2nd prize.
How hard is it to restrict it to one prize per entry? Really? It takes, four words. "one" + " prize" + "per" + "entry" 1 2 3 4.

As I believe Jess said (I think it was her) in one of the threads about this, the prizes are never going to make up for the money and time put into the cosplay contest, so just because someone spent $1000 on a great cosplay, they shouldn't be awarded more prizes to "make up for it". That is just stupid.
If you have to give a prize to someone who has a less than perfect costume, then so what? that is probably only going to encourage people to enter, or do you not want that?
By giving all the prizes to the people who are fantastic and put in heaps of time and money is basically like saying "you're never going to be this good, so don't even try".

In your (or anyones) honest opinion, were there no other cosplayers in this competition who didn't also do a great job? For any and all of the categories? Wait isn't that what the honourable mentions were for?
The honourable mentions in my opinion are a lame way of making this "ok". And to not even give out certificates this time? How much does an a4 piece of printed card for a certificate cost? 50c? Also, If the idea of open and novice is introduced, honourable mentions should not be counted. I won't even get into why that would be stupid.

In another thread the idea of certificates/medals/trophies/awards/ribbons was brought up. This is something that I have thought was a great idea for a long time. I don't understand why it is only just being suggested (is it even being considered?). As someone who has done (only a little) bit of eventing, where you spend quite a lot of money and time, to only get a ribbon or two if you place, I loved getting ribbons, they were a great (and colourful) way of displaying that you'd done well in something you enjoyed. And they're probably not anywhere near as expensive as a ps3 or a trans-tasmic flight + accommodation for a 1 minute event that you could miss if you sneezed.

The concern about numbers in a group re: medals/awards could EASILY be fixed by a limit "Armageddon will provide up to #(e.g. 3) medals for a group, to have any more made you must pay $(cost) per medal + postage".

Most groups seem to only be 2-4 and hypothetically, if you were in a group of 8 and you won "best group" How many of you would be happy to split the extra payment so that everyone could get a medal? I bet that it would be almost everyone. Considering how much money they would have put into it to get it to prize winning level anyway.

Cosplay is growing in New Zealand (anyone else notice this?), and 3 prizes in an entire contest that many people can only make once a year is just not enough. (not everyone can afford to fly across the country and have a new steller costume 3 times a year).

I was shocked to see that this year the categories had been reduced? Was that to cover the expense of the aussie-nz cup.

So, rather than just ranting about how annoyed I am, I'm going to give my opinion on what could/should be done:

More categories - make the prizes cheaper or more “keepsakey” like a medal/ribbon/framed certificate.

If you expand the number of categories you could even have some that can be won twice. e.g. whoever wins best in show would also have won one of the other categories.

For Example: (and I think there should be even more and even have a "runner up" for each category, these are just ones I can think of right now:

Best Gaming
Best Anime
Best American(non-japanese/asian)? Animation
Best Manga
Best TV (western)
Best Movie (non animated)
Best Book (obviously this would have to have to be looked after carefully)

Best Technical
Most Difficult
(yes they can be different)

Best group skit
Best solo skit

Best group costumes
Best individual costumes

Best in show
(which could be someone from the prize winners already) if you've already got lots of prizes/categories then this actually makes sense, it almost makes sense for the same to apply to best group/individual but I don't think there are enough categories/entrants for that YET.

You could even have some fun "gag" prizes (just some examples)

"most likely to injure themselves/others with their costume(s)"
"most likely to be attacked by dogs"
"most likely to scare young children"
"most likely to be kidnapped in costume"
"most likely to blind someone with the colours"
"most likely to be confused for the wrong gender"
"most well written cosplay entry form"
“most fabric used on one person”

You could even open the door for "best original character" But only allow that category to be entered. I.e. if you are entering an original character you can ONLY enter that category and not have the chance to win anything but "best individual character"

You could also open the door for people who want someone else modelling their costume, but again, only one category for that and they cannot win in any of the other categories.

The main prizes could be a medal/ribbon/small trophy accompanied with a small or smaller prizes than what have been donated/bought by Bill (i.e. instead of one ps3 why not 3psps?) though even smaller would suffice and make more sense.
The problem with prizes like consoles is they're not easily split, and people probably end up selling them and splitting the cash, which is stupid. And even if it is an individual, they might not need/want it anyway.

No one spends $500 on a costume to have the chance to win a $300 console.

I think most people would be happy with just a ribbon/medal you could give them an easy mac and they'd be happy (nacho cheese pleese).

Runners up/gag prizes could receive a small ribbon or certificate.

Another idea is to have a small entry fee apply that could help cover prizes but if there is more love then it shouldn't bother people. i.e. $5 pp or $15 p/group. Though if cost isn't an issue then this shouldn't be done.

I have spoken to quite a few people who like going to armageddon(s) just to see the cosplayers, and I think they really do ~~help~~ make the atmosphere, and while the cosplay comp has nothing to do with hall cosplay, the competition should be encouraging more people to cosplay, NOT discouraging it as I have felt it has been in the last two years.

By Suixelo. 29/10/09, 05:15 am

I agree about the prizes. We do not need playstations and expensive cameras, I really don't see how these prizes are even relevant. Yes, it is a great prize and obviously well recieved, but if we have a choice between recognition of more cosplayers who did a great job, and expensive prizes, I think most of us would choose the first one. I love the medals/certificates etc idea, much much better than prize money and expensive prizes that limit the amount of people who get the prizes. Most cosplayers enter for the fun and challenge, not for the prizes. We all saw the number of entries this year drop.

And I get what you are saying about one prize per person/group. The winners DID deserve their prizes but it was wholly unfair for them to get more than one when the honourable mentions didn't even get a cheap certificate. And I'm not bitter in the slightest, the winners are my friends and I look up to them so so much and I am very happy to get a mention in my first contest.

But yes, I know how much effort is put into this contest, and I'm not trying to put anyone down about it, I just wanted to agree with a couple of points.

By **JVCA**. 29/10/09, 05:16 am

As someone who has closely followed the judging changes over the years, I want to reply to a few points - obviously I have nothing to do with the judging myself, and am only a participant, but I think some of the things you have said are a little unfair as they were decisions the judges have wanted to put in place for a long time now, but have been refused by Bill.

Long reply will ensue shortly.

By **JVCA**. 29/10/09, 06:02 am

Excuse the double post, I figured this was a bit long to edit into my previous one.

Pseudonym wrote:: I was looking forward to entering in 2010, but after what happened this year at Auckland, EVEN with the announcement, I do not think I will be entering the competition at all unless some really good and DRASTIC changes are made.
I am not going to say I do not agree with the judging of the winners, I think that all the winners looked fantastic, and deserved to win something. But by giving TWO groups TWO prizes, is pretty much a slap in the face to the other cosplayers who also looked fantastic. "These guys were twice as good as you, in fact they were so much better than you that they get all the prizes"
In a running race, if the winner beats the person coming second by half the time, they don't win 1st prize AND 2nd prize.
How hard is it to restrict it to one prize per entry? Really? It takes, four words. "one" + " prize" + "per" + "entry" 1 2 3 4.

I will admit I've always found the 'prize doubling up' a bit weird, and whilst I do really appreciate getting two prizes this year, I found myself thinking "gosh... the top five prizes went to three different groups"? I do understand why they have done it - without trying to blow my own horn, I do agree that of the skits presented, ours was the best -- and I can say this simply because of the HUGE crowd reaction we got at the end of it on the main stage. None of the other groups got that reaction. I think there were a few groups there who I personally thought were amazing (some of which didn't even get an honourable mention which suprised me), but when you look at what went into our costumes (Our registration form was 20+ pages long, that's how complicated they were to make), I can also understand why they gave us best group. My own speculation here is that the Judges had three lots of people who they wanted to give best in show to, but obviously could only give one best in show, so tried to even the playing field by giving two (imo well deserved if misguidedly given) awards to each of the others.

Quote :: As I believe Jess said (I think it was her) in one of the threads about this, the prizes are never going to make up for the money and time put into the cosplay contest, so just because someone spent $1000 on a great cosplay, they shouldn't be awarded more prizes to "make up for it". That is just stupid. [/font]
If you have to give a prize to someone who has a less than perfect costume, then so what? that is probably only going to encourage people to enter, or do you not want that?
By giving all the prizes to the people who are fantastic and put in heaps of time and money is basically like saying "you're never going to be this good, so don't even try".

By giving a major prize to someone who has underperformed, you get a lot of audience rage - we had people coming up to us afterwards saying we should have won (which was actually kind of hurtful 'coz we love Jess & Alex to bits and think their costumes were amazing) - in being a judge you have to do your best to make it clear to the audience why your decisions have been made the way they have. By giving a prize to someone who has underperformed it also gives the wrong kind of positive enforcement; instead of saying "try harder" it says "it was good enough, here you go". Forgive me if this sounds awful, but in my mind giving prizes to underperfomers just encourages underperformance, rather than encouraging people to push themselves. And people DO feel inspired to push themselves even if they don't win anything - I've had so many people say just as much either to me, or seen them say it on here.

But that is the beauty of the Novice class - people who do feel intimidated by other entries now get that chance to win something - to get the acknowledgement they so rightly deserve for all their hard work. I personally think it's incredibly unfair to stick someone who's just made their first costume up against someone like Rowan, who has bucketloads of experience - and so that's why I wholly support the novice class. I agree; just because you have less experience doesn't mean you should be made to suffer for it, but just because you have more experience doesn't mean you should be made to suffer for that either.

The cynic in me would like to say "By giving all the prizes to the people who are fantastic and put in heaps of time and money is basically like saying "you're never going to be this good, so don't even try"." - so you mean we should give prizes to every person that buys a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from an op-shop, stick some gel in their hair and call themselves L? Of course people should be rewarded for actually putting in a heap of effort! However, as stated above, experience makes a huge difference to what is regarded as 'a lot of effort', and that is why the class system is entirely necessary now.

Quote :: The honourable mentions in my opinion are a lame way of making this "ok". And to not even give out certificates this time? How much does an a4 piece of printed card for a certificate cost? 50c? Also, If the idea of open and novice is introduced, honourable mentions should not be counted. I won't even get into why that would be stupid.[/font]

I agree that honourable mentions should not be counted (unless you've had a significant number of them - like 5-10+). The judges did apologise for the lack of certificates this time round; I think what you're missing is that they only got back from australia a few days before and between reading the registration forms (you would want them to judge fairly, wouldn't you?), ill health (did you know that Michaela was sick all of the week before armageddon?), and setting up the event and getting to the hotel, I'm guessing there was not the time nor the facilities this time round. I'm sorry, but I find you incredibly rude in just making the assumption that this was out of 'laziness' or 'being cheap' - there are ALWAYS other factors, and to assume is to make an ass of you and me.

Quote :: In another thread the idea of certificates/medals/trophies/awards/ribbons was brought up. This is something that I have thought was a great idea for a long time. I don't understand why it is only just being suggested (is it even being considered?). As someone who has done (only a little) bit of eventing, where you spend quite a lot of money and time, to only get a ribbon or two if you place, I loved getting ribbons, they were a great (and colourful) way of displaying that you'd done well in something you enjoyed. And they're probably not anywhere near as expensive as a ps3 or a trans-tasmic flight + accommodation for a 1 minute event that you could miss if you sneezed.

This is down to Bill. One thing Bill doesn't understand as a non-cosplayer is that it's not about the prizes, it's about the recognition. Having spoken to the judges about this, I know that they've already worked this out; the difficulty is in getting Bill to understand that, and from the sounds of things he's finally starting to listen. One thing I'd like to point out here is that armageddon doesn't buy the prizes; they have sponsors who donate them. That's why last year there were PS3s and PSPs and all sorts, and this year there was a digital camera - different sponsors donate different things, and sponsors are really hard to find. Hence why Bill gets antsy on the subject of prizes - more prizes means more sponsors means more stress means more etc. It does sound like the judges are getting him to understand that these sponsored prizes mean very little to us, though, so I do expect positive developments on this front. Very Happy

Quote :: The concern about numbers in a group re: medals/awards could EASILY be fixed by a limit "Armageddon will provide up to #(e.g. 3) medals for a group, to have any more made you must pay $(cost) per medal + postage".

Most groups seem to only be 2-4 and hypothetically, if you were in a group of 8 and you won "best group" How many of you would be happy to split the extra payment so that everyone could get a medal? I bet that it would be almost everyone. Considering how much money they would have put into it to get it to prize winning level anyway.

I personally think medals are a FANTASTIC idea (though part of me wonders how you'd put them on over a wig like Aurellion's one, lol). With the trans-tasman cup, Bill arranged it so the contestants would have to get it engraved, and then he would cover the cost. By this logic, I think the best course of action would be to do one medal for each prize prior to the event, and just have the extras posted out after the event - from the sounds of things, Bill would probably do that for free.

Quote :: Cosplay is growing in New Zealand (anyone else notice this?), and 3 prizes in an entire contest that many people can only make once a year is just not enough. (not everyone can afford to fly across the country and have a new steller costume 3 times a year).

I was shocked to see that this year the categories had been reduced? Was that to cover the expense of the aussie-nz cup.

This is another point where your lack of research frustrates me. Those extra categories last year were a one-off, requested by the sponsor. With the change of sponsor, the categories were dropped. It wasn't to cover the expense, it was because they were not categories the judges supported anyway and without the sponsor to insist they were there, they were dropped.

Quote :: So, rather than just ranting about how annoyed I am, I'm going to give my opinion on what could/should be done:

More categories - make the prizes cheaper or more “keepsakey” like a medal/ribbon/framed certificate.

Again, had you actually talked to the judges, you'd know they were well ahead of you here.

Quote :: If you expand the number of categories you could even have some that can be won twice. e.g. whoever wins best in show would also have won one of the other categories.

For Example: (and I think there should be even more and even have a "runner up" for each category, these are just ones I can think of right now:

Best Gaming
Best Anime
Best American(non-japanese/asian)? Animation
Best Manga
Best TV (western)
Best Movie (non animated)
Best Book (obviously this would have to have to be looked after carefully)

Best Technical
Most Difficult
(yes they can be different)

Best group skit
Best solo skit

Best group costumes
Best individual costumes

Best in show
(which could be someone from the prize winners already) if you've already got lots of prizes/categories then this actually makes sense, it almost makes sense for the same to apply to best group/individual but I don't think there are enough categories/entrants for that YET.

You could even have some fun "gag" prizes (just some examples)

"most likely to injure themselves/others with their costume(s)"
"most likely to be attacked by dogs"
"most likely to scare young children"
"most likely to be kidnapped in costume"
"most likely to blind someone with the colours"
"most likely to be confused for the wrong gender"
"most well written cosplay entry form"
“most fabric used on one person”

You could even open the door for "best original character" But only allow that category to be entered. I.e. if you are entering an original character you can ONLY enter that category and not have the chance to win anything but "best individual character"

You could also open the door for people who want someone else modelling their costume, but again, only one category for that and they cannot win in any of the other categories.

Though I do quite like some of these categories, the key problem I see is that it makes the whole process a LOT more complicated, and to be honest: we only get around 30 entries into the competition. You've suggested 25 categories in total: how absolutely sugar honey iced tea would those five people who didn't get prizes feel? There's a fine line between having enough prizes and having too many, and whilst I really do support people getting rewarded for their efforts, when you have more than half the competition getting a prize it becomes really upsetting for those who don't get one. Currently, we have around 10-15 categories including the honourable mentions (it's generally 5-10 HMs) and though I do agree that those all need to go to seperate people, I think that that is plenty.

MOREOVER; I'd like to point out that entering the contest is not about winning a prize which is something you seem to be super focused on. It's about having some fun, showing off what you've got, and having the audience appreciate what you've done - and before you bite my head off telling me that's rich coming from a prize winner, I'll tell you that we had just as much fun entering as Flonne and Etna and not getting anything as we did entering with the FF4 group - the prizes are a lovely piece of recognition from the judges, but it's reaction of the general public and doing our skit and trying to make people happy that's what really gets me going. :)

Quote :: The main prizes could be a medal/ribbon/small trophy accompanied with a small or smaller prizes than what have been donated/bought by Bill (i.e. instead of one ps3 why not 3psps?) though even smaller would suffice and make more sense.
The problem with prizes like consoles is they're not easily split, and people probably end up selling them and splitting the cash, which is stupid. And even if it is an individual, they might not need/want it anyway.[/font]

Covered above.

Quote :: No one spends $500 on a costume to have the chance to win a $300 console.

You don't think the judges know that? Michaela's Slave Leia costume that she was wearing during the judging cost her $600-$800 in resin casting, so don't just assume they don't know how expensive these costumes are to make. Again, it's Bill whose fault this is.

Quote :: I think most people would be happy with just a ribbon/medal you could give them an easy mac and they'd be happy (nacho cheese pleese).

...I think I would be personally offended if given an easy mac for a prize for ANYTHING, but that's just me. XDDD *hates easy mac with a passion*

Quote :: Runners up/gag prizes could receive a small ribbon or certificate.

Another idea is to have a small entry fee apply that could help cover prizes but if there is more love then it shouldn't bother people. i.e. $5 pp or $15 p/group. Though if cost isn't an issue then this shouldn't be done.

I really dislike the idea for paying for competition entry - you talk about encouraging people to enter the competition? This is definitely the wrong way to go about it. Aurellion always jokes "never mug a cosplayer - we've already spent all our money on our costumes" - I think people would seriously dislike an entry fee on top of the convention entry fee.

Quote :

I, again, disagree - I have seen more cosplayers every year that I've been to armageddon, so I have no idea what you're talking about when you say that this competition is discouraging cosplay. I do think that fewer people are entering the contest but you don't have to enter the contest to cosplay. Having said that, I would like to see more people enter, and the judges are already making headway into helping that happen.

By Amura. 29/10/09, 06:09 am

I loved this years Comp! I was not even disappointed I didn't get anything! I loved being Cookie Monster! I even got someone shouting out "Encore" just as a joke, but it was fun to have so many people singing along! Very Happy

Its all about the fun of making the Costume and showing it off Very Happy

By **JVCA**. 29/10/09, 06:10 am

MCR_Lolita_Doll wrote:: Its all about the fun of making the Costume and showing it off

Exactly!

By **Riven_**. 29/10/09, 06:36 am

While I kinda do feel a bit sad about the whole two groups winning most of the prizes thing, this is a competition and it's not about being fair to everyone- it's about the people who are the best in each category getting said prize, no matter if it's only one or two people.

In all sporting comps there are only ever three winners 1st 2nd and 3rd, no matter how much effort the other teams put into practicing.

All this has done has been to make me more determined to make sure that my costume is the absolute best that I can make it. And to get my ass into gear in terms of skits as well.
Seeing the level of competition this year shows me how far I've got to go, but with the prizes how they are now, if I ever win one, I will be SO. FRIKKIN. PROUD. of myself, because I know that I'll have earn't it, rather than have recieved a prize because 'oh we needed someone to win the prize in this category and you were the only one' or something.

But yeah, it's not a perfect system and it probably never will be.

By Mandie_Chan. 29/10/09, 06:44 am

*copies and pastes everything that Riven said above*

I guess one thing I've only now realized about the comp is how torn I feel with wanting to see friends do REALLY WELL and at the same time I want to beat them >_<; ~~I hope I'm not the only one~~ As much as i think the prizes should be spread out, I do also think that the best of the best should win.

I hope the new novice thing will help get people into entering, because Cosplaying is fun and everyone deserves to show off what they have made! I know that's why I entered this year~ Though I never realized that the level of costuming was so high, so I will always strive to learn new techniques and make a better and more hard core cosplay with each comp i enter!
*is determined to one day win something*

um... I think I shall return~
hehehehehehe

oh now I has a question~ (because everyone gives me different answers)
To win 'best in show' do you need to have a skit?

By Tails. 29/10/09, 07:04 am

I had a feeling this years judging would cause some controversy...

The only thing I was bothered about was the groups that won more than one prize, like some of you have already said. Not saying those groups weren't absolutely fantastic, because they were! But with only 5 major prizes, if every group could only get one prize, then some of the honourable mentions could have gotten a major prize instead. I'm not being a sore loser because I only got an honourable mention, but there were a lot of us! I don't know.

I do like the idea of novice class, I wish they had that this year!

I guess the prizes for open class might be a bit flashier though?

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