1. All the contestants must be over 18 years old by the 10th of September of 2024 and must have the selected country nationality or permanent residence.
2. Each spot must be occupied by 2 cosplayers wearing costumes from the same source, as an example if the couple is cosplaying the movie saga HTTYD it’s not allowed to cosplay from HTTYD 1 and HTTYD 2, the costumes must be from the same movie. The same rule is applied for costume changing during the performance.
3. Cosplayers will walk down the stage alone, without any help during the performance.
4. All the contestants must be ready for the costumes’ pre-judging on Saturday. The order of pre- judging will be chosen before the convention and a list will be given to the contestants. The contestant must be ready 45 minutes before their turn. The participants must respect the order and will not be evaluated before their turn or after.
5. Cosplays must proceed from an official commercial source and must have an official reference picture with a full design (Comic, Manga, Books, Cartoons, Anime, Movies, TV-movies, Musicals, Videogames), meaning that the design cannot be based on fan art. Flesh and bone characters will be allowed if they are from official works of fiction. The only non-official designs allowed are the Sakizô and Hanna Alexander illustrations. No genderbend or gijinka will be allowed from any source unless the design is official.
6. Costumes that have previously won international qualifying rounds or awards in international competitions such as ECG, WCS, YCC, EC, CWM, CCCC, MICM, PGEC, GICOF, E2C, PCH or CCSS/CICAF… can’t enter the competition.
7. It is allowed to use the same costume in the finals than in the preliminary round if the costume fits the rules but in case of a tie the jury will value the creation of a new costume for the competition in a more positive way. The performance must be changed at least in a 20%.
8. It is absolutely forbidden to finish the costumes or stage props during the activities in Spain or during the convention, if any staff member notices this rule being broken it will be communicated and 50% of the craftsmanship points will be removed. It is allowed to fix any broken part, but the costume must be finished.
9. Effects of fire, sparks and smoke are forbidden, as well as crackers with gunpowder and laser lights. Objects cannot be thrown on the stage, it is forbidden to dirty, mark or damage the stage. It is also forbidden to bring any liquid, animals or glass on stage.
10. It is absolutely PROHIBITED to use real weapons. Imitations of firearms SHOULD contain the special “red cap”.
11. It is forbidden to wear offensive make-up or costumes, remember this is an international cosplay competition with different cultures taking part.
12. During the performance it is forbidden to jump off the stage closer to the public and/or the jury; violating cosplayers will be disqualified.
13. Performance is to take place on stage: if the costume is not suitable size and/or is unable to go on stage, you can’t do the performance and take part in the competition.
14. The cosplayers must follow the indications given by the organization, any misconduct before or after the competition may cause the disqualification of the contestant and the prohibition of entering ICL again.
15. Japan Weekend will be allowed to make free use of the photographs and videos taken during the contest without any economical compensation for the participants or photographers. These pictures will be given to third parties to promote the competition.
16. The rules can go through any type of modifications until the day of the contest according to the needs of the organization. The participation in the contest implies the recognition of these rules.
Official Criteria of International Cosplay League Jury
1. The jury is not allowed to follow the process of the creation of costumes in social media. In case it happens, the jury will not be allowed to take this information into account when judging, only what’s presented by the contestant in the pre-judging or in the dossier.
2. All the participants will be evaluated before the contest. During the pre-judging a dossier of 4-8 pages in total (for duo, not per person) showing the process of the work must be handed in. It is allowed to use both sides of the page making that from 8 to 16 usable sheets. The dossier shall have English translation for any writing. The cover page will contain the reference picture of the character, name and country of the contestant and will not be included into the 4-8 pages allowed. Without the work in progress dossier, the participant will be disqualified. It has to be printed in color and stapled.
3. The jury will not debate on the contest or on the participants before or after the contest. In case a participant approaches a member of the jury, the organization will be informed and will take necessary measures. If a participant needs advice on the future contest, it will be given without considering the current one: the judges can’t talk about the deliberation with the cosplayer, but they can give advice for future competitions.
4. The decision of the jury will be irrevocable.
Grading Criteria
40% of the grading will be given for the cosplayers’ costumes and resemblance with the source, and 60% for the performance, acting and staging.
Craftsmenship
1. The quality of the costume will be evaluated in general, that is, some parts cannot be of higher quality than others – this will lower the final grade. Parts will not be judged separately.
2. The diversity of methods and materials will be valued, as long as they provide a better result. The jury will not take into account personal experiences or how big of a challenge it was for the participant, the result is more important.
3. Advanced tailoring techniques are allowed. Manual sewing or embroidery will not be valued positively if the result is worse than what it could be with a machine. If the part of the costume created with advanced techniques and the manual ones have the same quality, the one which took the most effort will be valued.
4. Using an embroidery machine is allowed only if the embroidery is designed by the contestant. It has to be proven in the dossier. If it isn’t designed by the contestant, rule number 7 of Craftsmanship will be applied.
5. Using a 3D printer is allowed only if the 3D model is designed by the contestant. It has to be proven in the dossier. If the model isn’t designed by the contestant, rule number 7 of Craftsmanship will be applied.
6. The choice of materials accurate for the characters’ time period will be valued positively. For example, if the cosplay is from the Middle ages, an accurate choice of fabric will give you more points. If you choose a fabric which is very different esthetically, you will lose points.
7. Costumes have to be handmade in 80% by the members of the team, and the other 20% can be prefabricated, but modified. Stage props, in case there are any, have to be made by the contestants in 70%. If any help with any part of the costume has been provided, it has to be said for it to be ranked correspondingly. In case it’s hidden and later revealed, the contestants will be immediately disqualified, and this offense will be considered for the future contests.
8. The cosplay will be compared to the reference picture, but the jury will not take into consideration the physical appearance of the participant.
9. Make-up and wig styling will be taken into consideration and have to be done by the contestant.
10. To avoid future surprises, have in mind that a simple cosplay with a neat craftsmanship will have a higher grade than a massive costume with bad craftsmanship.
2. The diversity of methods and materials will be valued, as long as they provide a better result. The jury will not take into account personal experiences or how big of a challenge it was for the participant, the result is more important.
3. Advanced tailoring techniques are allowed. Manual sewing or embroidery will not be valued positively if the result is worse than what it could be with a machine. If the part of the costume created with advanced techniques and the manual ones have the same quality, the one which took the most effort will be valued.
4. Using an embroidery machine is allowed only if the embroidery is designed by the contestant. It has to be proven in the dossier. If it isn’t designed by the contestant, rule number 7 of Craftsmanship will be applied.
5. Using a 3D printer is allowed only if the 3D model is designed by the contestant. It has to be proven in the dossier. If the model isn’t designed by the contestant, rule number 7 of Craftsmanship will be applied.
6. The choice of materials accurate for the characters’ time period will be valued positively. For example, if the cosplay is from the Middle ages, an accurate choice of fabric will give you more points. If you choose a fabric which is very different esthetically, you will lose points.
7. Costumes have to be handmade in 80% by the members of the team, and the other 20% can be prefabricated, but modified. Stage props, in case there are any, have to be made by the contestants in 70%. If any help with any part of the costume has been provided, it has to be said for it to be ranked correspondingly. In case it’s hidden and later revealed, the contestants will be immediately disqualified, and this offense will be considered for the future contests.
8. The cosplay will be compared to the reference picture, but the jury will not take into consideration the physical appearance of the participant.
9. Make-up and wig styling will be taken into consideration and have to be done by the contestant.
10. To avoid future surprises, have in mind that a simple cosplay with a neat craftsmanship will have a higher grade than a massive costume with bad craftsmanship.
Performance and Acting
The performance cannot last less than 1 (one) and half minutes or more than 3 (three) minutes without any exception.
The originality of the show and acting will be highly rated, as well as the body expression.
The participant must set up the performance on their own and without any creative help.
No microphone will be provided; the performance has to be prepared beforehand.
When it comes to cosplays of idols or of similar thematic (Love Live, Vocaloid, AKB0048…), the performance must contain something apart from dancing choreography or singing. If it occurs,dancing or lip-syncing cannot last for more than 30 seconds. Playbacks of general songs are allowed. (Example: a group of Love Live cannot dance and lip-sync during all the performance, but a cosplayer of Ursula from Little Mermaid can perform her song while she is acting).
Erotic or pornographic scenes are forbidden, as well as any immoral acts unnatural for the character which could disrupt the order of the contest or disturb the audience.
If there are dialogues in the performance, contestants must provide a clean recording without noise, as the quality of such can deduct points for the performance. It is allowed to use music or dialogues from the original source.
Costume change is allowed: it must be from the same source, but the character can be different.
Only the pair of competitors can participate in the performance. Any helper must leave the stage before the start of the performance.
The preparation of the stage props can’t last more than 40 seconds, the stage props can’t be taller than 2 (two) meters and longer than 4 (four) meters in total. If different stage props are used the width can’t be bigger than half of the stage (not counting the catwalk). Stage props can’t be placed in the stairs but can be placed in the catwalk.
A video will be mandatory, the video could be an image or a well-produced video but the cosplayers must show something on the screen to make the performance more visible. We don’t recommend using white images the most part of the time since backlighting will occur and your performance won’t be visible from the streaming.
It is mandatory to place Spanish subtitles at the top of the screen, so the public understands the performance. If required, a translation will be provided by the organization of International Cosplay League. Subtitles won’t be required for well-known songs unless it’s important for the understanding of the performance. If the audio does not have the typical English pronunciation, we recommend also adding English subtitles so the jury understands the performance without any problem.
Cosplayers can’t leave the stage alone for more than 15 (fifteen) seconds. The video will be complementary but won’t be a primary interaction for the performance. If an introduction has to be made with the video without any cosplayer on stage, it can’t last more than 15 (fifteen) seconds as stated before.
Stage props can’t block the jury’s vision of the performance.
.png){kind=logo}
.png){kind=logo}
