CC19-SF-03c: Malachite Samurai
Competition Staff & Rules
Staff:
- Director: Wayne Carmichael
- Master of Ceremonies: Patricia Huff
- Workmanship Judge: Judy Simpson
- Presentation Judges: Cat Devereaux*, Diane Kovalcin and Fran Evans
Rules:
This is a competition where conference attendees show off their Fantasy and Science Fiction costume creations on stage using presentations of about a minute or so in duration.
Each presentation consists of one or more costumes that are displayed to the competition’s judges and audience. A single presentation is referred to as an entry. If an entry involves two or more people, it is referred to as a group entry.
Each costume or group should have some sort of relation to Fantasy and Science Fiction themes. This may include reproductions based on fanciful artwork, media costumes, books and costumes from the designers’ imaginations.
Each entry is judged on Contestant skill level; Costume presentation; Workmanship and Documentation.
The importance of each of the criteria depends on the costume. For example, when judging a re-creation costume, the judges will normally place greater emphasis on documentation and workmanship relative to the other criteria.
Skill Divisions
A ranking system will be used at Costume-Con 19 to allow costumers with similar skill and experience levels to compete against their peers.
With the exception of the Young Costumer division, the division awards that you have won at previous Costume-Cons or World Science Fiction Conventions will determine the division that you should compete in. If you are not sure which division you should enter, ask the Masquerade Director.
YOUNG COSTUMER:
You may enter the Young Costumer division if you are under 13 years old when the Masquerade takes place. To help the judges, you will be also asked to enter one of the following subdivisions:
Constructor: Enter this subdivision if you made your costume yourself.
Presenter: Enter this subdivision if you are wearing a costume someone else has made for you.
Note: This division was referred to as Junior Costumer for Costume-Con 18’s Masquerade and as Young Fan at Costume-Con 17.
NOVICE:
The Novice division is open to anyone who is not required to compete in the Master or Journeyman divisions. This means you have won less than three Novice division awards and no awards in any higher division.
If you have never competed before, you are not required to enter in the Novice division. You also have the choice of competing in either the Journeyman or Master divisions.
JOURNEYMAN:
The Journeyman division is open to anyone who is not required to compete in the Master division. Enter this division if you have won three or more Novice division awards and less than three Journeyman division awards and no awards in the Master division.
As a courtesy to other contestants, costumers who normally compete at the Master level in the Historical Masquerade are asked to complete at least in the Journeyman level in the Fantasy and Science Fiction Masquerade.
MASTER:
The Master division is open to anyone who wishes to compete at this level. However, you must enter this division if you have won three or more Journeyman division awards or have won one or more Master division awards or make a significant portion of your income as a costumer.
Costume Types:
Costumers should specify which of the two costume types they are presenting.
Re-creation Costumes are costumes based on any visual source such as a painting, movie, comic, or book cover. You must provide documentation that includes a photocopy of the original visual source(s). You are encouraged to provide multiple views of the original costume where possible. You are required to submit four (4) documentation sets. The judges will compare your completed costume to the supplied documentation.
Original Costumes are costumes where the design came from the designer’s imagination. A costume is still considered original if it is based on a text-based description rather than a visual source.
Judging:
Costumes will be judged separately for presentation and workmanship.
Presentation Judging:
The presentation judges’ panel will normally judge each entry on what can be seen and heard on stage.
If you are entering a re-creation costume, the judges will also be comparing your costume to the documentation you are required to provide.
Workmanship Judging:
Workmanship judging is optional and is intended to recognize those costumers who have put extra effort into making their costumes. Judging will be held in the backstage dressing area (Green Room) before the stage presentations take place.
You may enter the whole costume or specific pieces for workmanship judging. Please note that the judging is open to a multitude of techniques in addition to fabric sewing.
Presentation Time Limits:
* If your entry has three (3) or fewer people, you have maximum of 60 seconds.
* If your entry has between four (4) and six (6) people, you have a maximum limit of 90 seconds.
* If your entry has seven (7) or more people, you have a maximum limit of 120 seconds.
* You are not required to use the full time limit.
* If you absolutely cannot fit your presentation into these limits, I am willing to listen to your arguments. However, I am of the opinion that one of the reasons for entering a contest is to see if you can achieve the goal while staying within the limits imposed by the rules.
General Rules:
Every contest has rules and the Masquerade is no exception. Many rules have resulted from past mishaps or near misses at other conventions, so there are very good reasons why they exist.
1. Safety first! No combustion-based effects such as open flames, fire, or flash powder.
2. Safety first! Items such as special effects, unsheathed edged weapons, or projectile dispensing apparatus, must be cleared with the Masquerade Director before contest check-in begins. Presentations that have not obtained clearance will not be allowed on stage.
3. No messy substances (wet, dry, or oily)! Not only can these substances pose a safety hazard, it will delay the proceedings if we need to protect you from the lynch mob of outraged costumers whose creations you have just damaged or destroyed.
4. No smoking in the green room, photography areas, and the Masquerade hall.
5. No costume is no costume. This masquerade is rated PG-13.
6. Purchased or rented costumes may not be shown in competition.
7. Hall costumes may not be shown in competition.
8. No live microphones will be provided for contestant’s use.
9. Each contestant may only appear once on stage during the Masquerade. However, a contestant may enter more than one costume so long as it appears on another body.
10. Safety first! No flash photography while contestants are on stage. A separate area will be provided for general photography. This rule is primarily intended for the audience.
11. The masquerade director has full and final authority to eliminate anyone from the competition on the basis of taste, danger to audience or contestants, violation of the above rules, or any reason deemed sufficient. There will be no appeal.
