THE OFFICIAL WORLD COSPLAY SUMMIT 2010

Participation Regulations for Cosplayers

The World Cosplay Summit constitutes the Cosplay Parade, the Championship, and other rerated promotional activities.

Rules on Participation in the World Cosplay Summit

[1]	Each country will be represented by one team of two cosplayers.
[2]	The costumes must be from Japanese anime, manga and video games. Dojinshi and unique characters from live actor movies based on anime or manga are not permitted. (i.e. Dragonball Evolution etc.) When doing a costume from a game, the character must be recognizably Japanese. (i.e. not a Disney or Star Wars character even though the game may be made in Japan.)
[3]	Cosplay costumes are to be hand-made. Pre-/ready-made costumes are not allowed. *It is permissible for family and friends to help with costumes, but basically it is preferable that costumes are hand-made by the contestants themselves.
[4]	You must be able to come to Japan for about one week from the end of July to early August for the World Cosplay Summit.
[5]	You should be aged 18 and over when you come to Japan. *If you are under 18, you must have the consent of a guardian. Participation is allowed if you have the permission of a guardian and are able to come to Japan on your own.
[6]	You should cooperate in a positive manner in order to ensure the success of the World Cosplay Summit.
[7]	When the sponsor asks for documents (i.e. passport application, official documentation etc.) related to the World Cosplay Summit, please prepare and submit them as quickly as possible.
[8]	Media such as TV programs, internet homepages, newspapers, magazines, etc., may use your pictures and images of the preliminary contests prior to the World Cosplay Summit. On these occasions, compensation will not be furnished.
[9]	All image rights in all media exposure such as news from TV programs and other assorted media involved with the World Cosplay Summit, promotional activities in the print media as well as events and performances, announcements of the World Cosplay Summit both prior to the World Cosplay Summit and during your stay in Japan, will be attributed to World Cosplay Summit Executive Committee.
[10]	After the World Cosplay Summit has finished, images/footage of cosplayers, photographs, programs broadcast, internet homepages and DVDs etc., come under the jurisdiction of World Cosplay Summit Executive Committee. Compensation will not be furnished for such images used by the media. (Your signature is required on the attached acceptance form for regarding this matter.)

Preparation: Rules and Warnings

[1]	You are required to bring three costumes to Japan: one for the the Cosplay Parade, one for the Championship, and one for media appearances.
[2]	In the Championship, please make sure the costumes of the characters in which both of you will appear are from the same Japanese manga or anime or video game. *It is not necessary to coordinate costumes for the Cosplay Parade.
[3]	Equipment and props for the Championship performance are limited to those of a size that 2 representative cosplayers and 1 organizer are able to carry on their own at one time to the venue. Only 3 people are able to prepare the performance backstage.
[4]	It is not permitted to directly copy original drawings or logos to your equipment or props.
[5]	You are required to bear the cost of any overweight luggage charges when shipping costumes and other items. It is possible to send them to Japan by air or ship beforehand, but again you are to bear any costs incurred yourselves.
[6]	Please prepare your own music for your performance. A performance sheet stating what you will perform is to be submitted in advance. Please note that the use of the voice(s) of the original voice actor(s) for the music is prohibited. Please send your music on a CD.
[7]	Please send the documents and CD by one months ago of the date of the Championship. Material for submission; performance sheet, original images of the characters, costume construction report and CD. Please send these as soon as possible after the preliminary round especially the date of the preliminary round is close to the Championship.

Other Regulations for the Championship

[1]	The performance at the Championship can be the same as the performance given in the preliminary round, but if it is the same, your performance should be augmented to a level appropriate for the Championship.
[2]	Please strictly adhere to the time limit of 3 minutes. The 3 minutes includes the setting up of any equipment/props on stage up to the end of the performance. If the performance is too long and goes over the 3 minute limit, points will be deducted.
[3]	Only the 2 representative cosplayers, an organizer, and an interpreter are permitted to enter the backstage area of the Championship.
[4]	The organizer and stage staff or any other person is not permitted to help you during your performance on stage. (2 members of the stage staff will help you to set up your equipment/props on stage)
[5]	It is possible to scatter things onstage during your performance, but staining, marking or damaging the stage in any way is prohibited. Anything that takes time to clean up on stage is also not allowed.
[6]	It is prohibited to take your performance into the audience area.
[7]	Using fire is prohibited.
[8]	The order of performances is decided by a draw after your arrival in Japan.

Judging Criteria for the Championship

Each judge of the Championship can award 10 points for costume, 10 points for performance, and 5 points for faithfulness to the original work, for a maximum total of 25 points.

[1]	Performance (10 points): level of performance, inventiveness, entertainment.
[2]	Costume (10points): design, faithfulness to the original characters costume.
[3]	Fidelity to Original (5 points): level of faithfulness of the performance towards the original story and characters.

If there are any questions regarding interpretation of the rules or decisions on specific cases please contact the WCS staff.