Masquerade Rules

Masquerade Rules

Costume entries should have some sort of relationship to a general Science Fiction / Fantasy / Cosplay theme (including Video Games, Comics and Animé), whether as an Original Creation, a Re-Creation, Creative Interpretation, or Assembled costume. If in doubt, please contact the Masquerade Director at masquerade@glasgow2024.org.

If you violate any of these rules, you may be disqualified and dropped from the competition.

  1. All contestants must attend the masquerade general meeting and go to rehearsal so that tech can coordinate things with the contestants for best results.
  2. All contestants must be attending members of Worldcon Glasgow 2024. If the maker and presenter are different people, the maker must be at least a supporting member but an attending member if you want to be there. If you are the model, you need to be an attending member.
  3. This is a costume competition celebrating and rewarding the art and craft of costuming. If you assembled your costume – A costume assembled from an assortment of pieces from different suppliers; when those suppliers were not all costume resources, you may use the “Assembled by” line on the Masquerade Registration form to indicate you did that. For instance, if you purchased some parts from a consignment shop, some from a donation store, and some from a costume shop, that would be considered an “assembled” costume. Assembled costumes are allowed in competition, but are only eligible for Presentation Awards, not Workmanship judging. (Exceptions: a costume piece(s), such as a prop, that you created yourself – that particular item may be eligible for Workmanship judging.)
  4. A costume may be entered in competition if it has won “Best in Show” or “Best in Division” at another lower level competition.If you have won a major award with this costume (such as “Best in Class”) at an international competition (international competitions include Worldcons, Costume-Cons, and Anime North), we might ask you to compete up one level, or present your entry out of competition (Exhibition). We DO want to see your costumes here!
  5. Each presenter may only appear on stage in a single entry. One body, one presentation.
  6. The standard PG rule applies. No costume is “no costume.”
  7. No live animals are allowed on stage with the exceptions of a) people and b) service animals.
  8. No materials or effects that will leave a mess on stage or in the green room are allowed. No materials or effects that may ruin another entrant’s costume are allowed.
  9. No pyrotechnics or any other open flames are allowed.
  10. All special effects must be reviewed with us before contestant meeting (the earlier, the better).
  11. Attending the contestant meeting is required. You need it to get a feel for the stage. We need it to double-check your tech, and to make sure the crew knows what to expect from your entry.
  12. If you’re going to have large props, bring your own ninjas to get them on and off stage.
  13. Individual entries are granted 60 seconds on stage. You may use less time, but if you exceed the limit, you may be ineligible for any award.
  14. Group entries are granted 90 seconds on stage. You may use less time, but if you exceed the limit, you may be ineligible for any award.
  15. The masquerade directors may grant additional time for your entry upon request. Additional time must be requested in advance.

Division Placement

Most entries will be placed in the Novice, Journeyman, or Master Divisions. A group entry will be placed in the Division appropriate for its most experienced member. We also have a Young Fan Division for those under 15 years old and an Exhibition Division for entries which have already won awards elsewhere and have not been significantly modified since.

Master

The Master Division is an open division. Any competitor may enter in the Master Division.

Journeyman

  • Professional costumers may not enter in the Journeyman Division
  • If you have won an award in the Master Division you may not enter in the Journeyman Division
  • If you have won more than three awards in the Journeyman Division, you may not enter in the Journeyman Division.
  • If you have won “Best Journeyman,” you may not enter in the Journeyman Division.

Novice

  • Professional costumers may not enter in the Novice Division
  • If you have won an award in Journeyman or Master Division you may not enter in the Novice Division
  • If you have won an award at an international competition (Worldcon, Costume-Con, San Diego Comic-Con International) you may not enter in the Novice Division
  • If you have won “Best Novice” you may not enter in the Novice Division
  • If you have won more than 3 awards in regional competition, you may not enter in the Novice Division.

Young Fan

  • The Young Fan Division is only open to competitors under the age of 15 who have participated in the design and construction of their costumes
  • If a costume is entirely adult-designed and adult-constructed, it may not be entered in the Young Fan Division.

Exhibition

  • The Exhibition Division is an open Division. Any presenter may enter in the Exhibition Division
  • The Exhibition Division is a presentation-only division. Exhibition entries are not judged, nor are they eligible for any award
  • Entries that have already won awards at other conventions and have not been significantly modified may enter in the Exhibition Division
  • If you’re not sure whether you should consider a past competition to be a major regional competition or a local competition, please ask the directors. The size of the event and number of entrants in the competition will be considered.

For this competition, any person who made more than 1/2 of his or her annual income from costuming in any of the last 5 years qualifies as a “professional.”

Any competitor may enter in a more advanced division than he or she is placed.

If you have any queries on these Rules, please contact us at masquerade@glasgow2024.org.

Hints and Suggestions:

The following information will help you ensure you get the most out of your investment in the competition. You don’t have to follow these suggestions, but it would be advised.

All entrants are encouraged to participate in workmanship judging. You can’t win a workmanship award if you’re not judged.

  • If you’re entering a re-creation costume, bring documentation. A letter-size color photocopy or color print of your source should be sufficient to show the judges what you’re trying to recreate (5 copies would be nice). The judges will probably ignore anything other than that. Video, floppy disks and CDs are right out. Paper, please.
  • If you think a personal or business relationship with a judge will make it difficult for the judge to be objective, please talk to us. We will consult with the judging panel, and we’ll come up with a reasonable course of action.
  • Don’t plan on having access to power on stage. It won’t be there. Extension cords all over the stage aren’t particularly safe.
  • Don’t plan for complex lighting. It won’t be there. If you wish anything other than default lighting, discuss it when you check in with us, and also with the crew at contestant meeting.
  • Don’t plan to use a microphone. During presentations, the MC is the only person with a microphone. Spoken narrative must be pre-recorded or provided when you register as a script for the MC. You may attempt to speak from stage, but spoken dialog will be more effective if it is pre-recorded as part of your presentation.
  • Speaking of pre-recorded, we prefer MP3 files or other audio file.. The “5-copy rule” is a good guideline. Terrible things can happen make a master and 4 copies. Pack them in separate bags. We’ve seen too many people lose their only music.