Last year I entered my first ever cosplay contest in New Zealand at Armageddon Expo in New Zealand and I wanted to share my experience of competing here including the process, what I thought about it, etc.
As you may already know from my previous posts, I entered the contest as Mercy from the game Overwatch (my costume had wings that can open/close and the staff spun). I spent around a year building her and although she was slightly rushed (I finished her last second the night before judging), I was very happy with her. I am planning to make a new Mercy cosplay, but she will be a longer term project to improve on the previous build.
There are 3 categories in which you can enter: junior which is for children, novice which is for participants who have little to no experience in costume making, and open which is for all non-professionals. I had only been making costumes for around a year when I started on Mercy (and this was as a hobby, not professionally) so I entered into novice.
To sign up for the contest you had to submit a creation diary in which you outline what you've done to create each piece, what went wrong, if your entry is incomplete how you plan to finish it (they will follow up on this later), if anyone helped you (75% of the entry has to be your own work), etc. This has to be submitted several weeks in advance to allow the judges to read through them all, and there's a limit of 40 entries per contest (first come, first served, although the slots have only filled one year as far as I know - the one I competed in).
After that you had to wait for judging which would be during the convention itself, usually a day before presenting on stage. You'd be given 15 minutes to talk to the judge and have some photos taken. It's during this time that you can point out things you're very proud of, explain more about certain processes/pieces, or if your entry was incomplete talk about what you've done since to finish it. Once that's done judging is complete.
During presenting they read off the contestants one by one starting with the juniors, novice, and then open, and once your name is called you simply walk up the stage, strike a few poses, and walk off again while the judges say a few words about the costume (you can perform a skit if you'd like).
Once everyone has presented they wait off to the side while judges announce the awards (there's technical awards, best solo in each category, best group in each category, and best in show which is the overall winner). I ended up winning best in show for Wellington.
It's not over from there yet though. Each regional winner (since there's 4 or 5 events throughout the country usually) has to come to Auckland Armageddon in November to compete for the NZ cosplay champion (costumes aren't rejudged, they go off what you'd submitted for the regional contests). I sadly didn't win overall (probably due to me rushing the wings and the covers being secured with duct tape) but it was still a thrilling experience.
There are a few things I want to talk about regarding NZ Armageddon contests though.
For one I cannot compete again and I am saddened by that. I am currently studying set and prop making at a Drama School and once I graduate I'll be considered a professional for which there is no category. I could not compete this year either (the Armageddon in my region is already over), because the current judges are the tutors from my school. I really hope they do add a professional category eventually since I really enjoyed my 1 year of competing and there's a lot of people in the same position (New Zealand isn't that massive, and a lot of people have something to do with the industry or have also studied at the same school).
I do plan to go compete overseas eventually, but that won't be for a while to come since I do not have the funds for travel as a student (big wings aren't cheap to fly with). There is one contest next year I'm still hoping to enter which is called Cosplay by Play (only video game characters are allowed) and you can enter as a student (not as a professional though). This year was the first time it was held so I'm hoping for it's return next year.
Next is the topic of skits. I am super happy that skits aren't a judged component since I am not a performer but a creator, but others wish they could compete as a performer. I think they should add a separate prize for best skit so that creators can create and performers can perform.
Anyway that was my experience and thoughts on the cosplay contest I entered here in New Zealand last year. I can't wait to experience contests elsewhere to see how they work in comparison. =)