Children’s Cosplay Competition Rules

Children’s Cosplay Contest Rules

All children under 12 years old must be accompanied by an adult with a paid registration valid for the day of the competition. All competitors over 10 years of age must also have a valid registration for the day of the competition.

Acceptance to the cosplay contest does not include access to the convention. All participants over 10 years of age must purchase valid registration to the convention in order to participate in the contest, and children 10 and under must be accompanied by a guardian with a paid registration for the day of the competition.

Baltimore Comic-Con is not responsible for unaccompanied minors.

Costumes cannot have previously won a major award* at another competition. Costumes that have won minor awards** can be entered.

The Children’s Cosplay Contest is for all children 17 years and younger.  All costumes will be accepted for the competition. 

There are two entry levels:

Children 5 to 12 years: At least 30% of the costume must be made by the competitor.

Teens 13 to 17 years: At least 50% of the costume must be made by the competitor.

Registration – Online registration for the Children’s Cosplay Contest is available and preferred, but contestants may sign up in-person from Friday through Sunday until 12:00pm ET (noon), or as long as competition slots are available. Registration is on a first come, first served basis.

Costume Eligibility –

  • Level of personal work done on cosplay – Competitors must make their own costumes (see requirements above). Store bought cosplay, cosplay created entirely by parents, closet cosplay, commissioned cosplay, etc. are NOT accepted to the competition.
  • Build books, while not required, are highly encouraged and can help with the judging process and give judges insight to work done on the costume.
  • Type of Design: Costumes must represent an existing or recognizable character from the pop culture realm, including movies, TV, comic books, manga, anime, etc. Costumes can also include derivative designs from artists (i.e. Hannah Alexander Art, Sakizo Illustrator, etc.) so long as reference artwork is provided for the judges. Original characters will be allowed with references (mood boards, artistic interpretations, origin stories, commissioned art, etc.).
    A. Competitors will not be docked points for assistive device use such as wheelchairs, glasses, etc.
    B. Competitor body size/shape/skin color/orientation/race/etc. will not affect judging.
  • Costumes cannot have previously won a major award at another competition. Costumes that have won minor awards can be entered.
    • *Major awards include
      • Any “Best Of” (such as Best of Weekend, Best Novice/Intermediate/Master, Best of Friday/Saturday, Best Craftsmanship, etc.)
      • Any 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Place Award (such as 2nd Place Overall, 3rd Place Intermediate, Runner-up Novice, etc.)

Costumes being entered into the Baltimore Comic-Con Cosplay Contest are not permitted to have previously won any major awards.

    • **Minor awards include:
      • Judge’s Awards
      • Honorable Mentions
      • Spirit Awards
      • Coordinator’s Choice
      • Audience’s Choice

Costumes that have previously won minor awards are allowed to be entered into the Baltimore Comic-Con Cosplay Contest.

    • If you are unsure whether an award you have previously won counts as major or minor, please e-mail the Baltimore Comic-Con Cosplay Coordinator at cosplay@baltimorecomiccon.com.

Judging – Costume judging will take place before the stage presentation. Judging will be based on Ambition and Construction.

Contestants will have a limit of 5 minutes to discuss their costumes with judges.

The judges’ decisions are final, and no further negotiation is permitted. There is no obligation on Baltimore Comic-Con or the judges to provide feedback. Judges can provide feedback at their own discretion.

Stage Walk – Contestants should be able to safely move in the costume with limited assistance (except in the case of disability or age that requires a helper), and the costume must not impede the contestant’s ability to get on and off stage. A single adult may take the stage with the child contestant to help with the Stage Walk. The adult is allowed to be in cosplay while on stage, but the adult’s cosplay and stage performance will not be considered in the final judgment of the Kids’ contest.

Late arrival or failure to show up to the stage walk will result in automatic withdrawal from the kids’ cosplay competition.

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