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Cosplay at Otafest

Cosplay is such an incredibly important part of our festival. We love seeing you bring your favorite characters to life though your effort, dedication, and passion!

We strive to bring you the best experience in whichever contest you chose to enter. This comes with an important caveat though; We also expect you to read up in advance on the contest you are entering so you are aware of the contest rules, format, entry deadlines, contest times, and any specific entry requirements. This point alone will allow us to have a fantastic time together!

Cosplay Staff

The cosplay events at our festival are carefully planned, administered, and implemented by our dedicated Cosplay Team. Please take note of our team so you know who to find if you have any questions!

  • Amanda L. (Cosplay & Contests Manager)
  • Martyn B. (Showcase Coordinator)
  • Noa B. (Stage Coordinator)
  • Izy C. (Stars of Cosplay Coordinator)

Preparation

So you want to enter a cosplay contest, eh? The very first thing you should do is to decide on which contests you would like to enter and determine if your cosplay would qualify for entry. Read up on the contest’s rules and requirements. If you have any questions at all please, please, please email us.

Here are a few tips to help your experience be as smooth as possible:

  • Attend Otafest! This one is easy, have your ticket to Otafest, and get your wristband or badge before you check in or enter! All entrants in any of our cosplay contests must have proof of valid entry to the convention.
  • Be familiar with your cosplay, seriously, did you make it, how long did it take you if you did, are you wearing it or do you have a friend modeling for you?
  • Be aware of the contest's rules, does your cosplay qualify, do you have to be the one wearing it? Did you have to make it?
  • Know the day and time of your contest(s). If a contest has an audience and starts at 2pm in the afternoon then you must be there well before that time for set up. The exact times will be included in the contest details but it's usually 30 minutes to an hour before show time.
  • Practice. If you are performing a skit then rehearse it, know your moves, know your lines or pre-record them, the audience will respond favorably to an entertaining well-rehearsed performance.
  • Upload your music. We no longer accept day-of music submissions so if you have music/audio for a skit entry then make sure you have your MP3 file and upload it when you pre-register.
  • Pre-register! This saves everyone time and makes sure your information is correct beforehand. If you have problems signing up then email us, we're happy to help you with any issues or questions.
  • Check the prop policy and be sure to have Prop Check take a look at any prop you may have before you attend the contest.
  • Show up. We understand things happen, minds change and cosplays don't always get finished on time. If this is the case, please let us know so we can open the spot for someone else!
  • Communicate. Know that you can contact us at any point for clarification on... well, anything! We're friendly people, talk to us ❤.
  • Abide by all Otafest rules, regulations, and policies. Failure to do so will result in disqualification from the contests and may result in further action. Specifically, this pertains to decency of the costume, appropriate footwear and inappropriate clothing.
  • Verbal, emotional, or physical abuse towards staff or other cosplayers will not be tolerated. This will result in disqualification from the contest(s) without prior warning, potential revocation of your admission to Otafest, and a possible ban from future Otafest events. Please be kind.

Our Contests

Otafest offers four cosplay contests of varying time commitments and skill levels. We hope to provide something for every cosplayer no matter where they are in their cosplay career.

Skit Contest

Saturday
2.5 Hrs Time Commitment
  • Must make your cosplay
  • Must wear your cosplay
  • Appear in front of audience
  • Performance required
  • Pre-registration
  • Day-of registration
  • Awards presented immediately
Contest Info

Cosplay Showcase

Friday
2 Hrs Time Commitment
  • Must make your cosplay
  • Must wear your cosplay
  • Appear in front of audience
  • Performance required
  • Pre-registration
  • Day-of registration
  • Awards presented immediately
Contest Info​

Fashion Show

Saturday
1.5 Hrs Time Commitment
  • Must make your cosplay
  • Must wear your cosplay
  • Appear in front of audience
  • Performance required
  • Pre-registration
  • Day-of registration
  • Awards presented immediately
Contest Info​

Stars of Cosplay

Sunday
10 Min Time Commitment
  • Must make your cosplay
  • Must wear your cosplay
  • Appear in front of audience
  • Performance required
  • Pre-registration
  • Day-of registration
  • Awards at Closing Ceremonies
Contest Info​

Cosplay Repair Room

Hosted in Ideation Room 4

Cosplayers deserve to feel comfortable and confident. Our Cosplay Repair Station is stocked with everything you need to fix unexpected malfunctions, so you don’t have to worry about your outfit falling apart.

Frequently Asked Questions

We’ve listened to your feedback and noticed that cosplayers really want simple contests that are fun and don’t take all day. We’ve spent a long time researching and developing the new multiple-contest approach, and we find that people can enjoy the entire Otafest experience more if they aren’t caught up for long periods of time just for one event.

Our festival is growing and so are our cosplayers’ time demands and skill levels. We want to provide a wide range of events with reasonable time commitments for you.

You can enter any and all of them as long as you meet their requirements!

Yes, for every event except Stars of Cosplay.

We have limited time for each of our contests, and understanding that the cosplay contests are very popular events, we must have a limit on how many people can participate.

This is especially important for the Cosplay Showcase and Cosplay Fashion Show. If competing is important to you, please arrive early for registration for those events.

Late entries will not be accepted to any of our contests.

Usually the answer is no except at the Cosplay & Contest Manager’s discretion. No staff who has any part in organizing and implementing any of the contests can enter under any circumstances.

A cosplay judge may not enter the same contest that they are judging in the same year.

Judges from past events, and judges who are responsible for other contests are permitted to enter at the discretion of Otafest’s cosplay staff and will be automatically placed into the Advanced category.

For example, a Cosplay Showcase Contest judge may enter the Cosplay Fashion Show as their judging from the other event has no impact on the placements of the one they are entering, but they would not be able to enter the Cosplay Showcase Contest.

When you see a cosplay contest in the schedule, that means the show starts at that time. This means that we need time beforehand to get you and everyone else ready to begin the performance on time!

If you don’t turn up early then we can’t set up on time and the contest would be delayed. However, since there are other events following our contests in the same room, we’re forced to start at the scheduled time. This means if contestants are late we will start without them.

We don’t like turning people away so please don’t put us in that position. Pay attention to our instructions and arrive at the given set up time.

Sorry about that, we’d love everyone who wants to participate to have their chance but in this situation you can only learn from the mistake and be better prepared next time. We would love to see you next year!
We appoint judges for each contest. As organizers we have no say in who wins unless the judges’ decision is against the contest rules. The one exception is the Stars of Cosplay contest in which your fellow attendees vote for their favorites.
Demonstrate to us that you are a very experienced and talented cosplayer. Ideally you will have been a winner in our previous contests at the Advanced (formally Expert) level. Usually our judges are retired or semi-retired multiple contest winners or cosplay guests.
The same reason you have to wait to see a doctor: there are people ahead of you, they most likely pre-registered and got there before you. You can save time by pre-registering yourself! We always do our best to keep things flowing as fast as possible, but we also want to give you and everyone else the time and attention you deserve.
When you sign up for a contest you answer a short series of questions about your past cosplaying experience, we use these answers to place you in the categories. Be honest when answering these questions. The judges may move you between the categories at their discretion based on their conversations with you.
YES! Pre-registering allows you to fill out your own information without us asking “How do you spell that again?”, it saves time on the day, and it guarantees that you have a place in the contest (but you still need to show up on time!).
Email us, we’ll update your information. Don’t submit another entry.
You can email us at cosplay@otafest.com. Please allow a couple of days for us to reply as we do receive a lot of emails.

Otafest

May 10 – 12, 2024

Calgary Telus Convention Centre
120 9 Ave SE
Calgary, AB T2G 0P3

info@otafest.com

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