Attention Cosplayers- We’ve got some major news for you! For years we have traveled around to other conventions, and have heard the same thing: “I wish I could compete at NDK, but I don’t make anime/Asian culture-themed costumes”. Well, we have heard you loud and clear, and are happy to make this announcement:
For the first time in NDK history, we are opening up the majority of our Cosplay Contest to EVERY genre of fandom!! In the interest of expanding the cosplay community, and effective immediately, any genre of costume will be allowed to compete on Beginner, Intermediate and Master levels. The only exception to this rule is the Best in Show award, which will only be eligible to costumes of East Asian origin, or inspired by such. This honors our Nonprofit Organization charter while opening the contest to a much wider spectrum of genres and fandoms.
We are also GREATLY expanding the prizes for Cosplay Competition, totalling up to over $4000 in prizes!! See our updated Cosplay rules on the NDK website for more details!
In addition to these big changes, we are also doing the following:
- We are opening up a new category in the Costume Contest: the NDK Best Mascot award. Watch the NDK website and NDK Cosplay FB page for more details on this exciting addition!!
- By popular demand, we have moved up the time of the Cosplay Contest to 4:00 PM on Saturday afternoon of the con. We understand that most of our competitors also want to enjoy the nightlife at NDK, and an earlier start time would be preferable to the traditional start time of 6:00.
- No more emailing in portfolios for Craftsmanship judging before the con! From here on our, we will only need one printed portfolio to be presented to the judges at the con.
- We will have an entire track of programming dedicated to Cosplay on our schedule this year! It will be full of panels on sewing, wigs, crafting props, photography and much much more!
- Due to the evolution of cosplay competitions in the industry, this will be the last year for the Skits category. In the future, we will be moving to a presentation model for each category, which allows more time on stage for each contestant’s performances. After this year we will thoroughly explain the new presentation model that we will be using for judging and the competition. Rest assured, this decision was made in your best interest and addresses the concerns about unbalanced judging of Beginners competing against Masters within the Skits category.
Finally, online signup to enter the Cosplay Contest will be August 11th sometime in the afternoon!! Keep your eyes peeled for the link and our upcoming Cosplay Judges announcement on our FB pages and website!!
