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We’re excited to announce some fantastic upgrades to the contests at Holiday Cosplay Tampa Bay this year! We have new versions of our contests, adding several new elements as well as introducing a new type of craftsmanship competition just for novices. And we’ve make these upgrades to better showcase and support your talent!
We’re adding several new elements to your favorite contests! We’re adding to your main stage strut, including a Winners Q&A, and arranging opportunities for you to get feedback from judges as well as giving you a spot on our website where you can add photos, videos, and more (great for your fam, friends, and fans who come and cheer you on!) Here are the specifics:
Yet another addition, applying only to Craftsmanship and Novice Craftsmanship contestants, is that we will post your pre-judging to your Con Map Profile (we do this a couple of weeks prior to the event). As a reminder to craftsmanship contestants, you check in at the Guest Cosplayers alcoves. All of this makes checking-in and knowing where to be easy-peasy.
And ty to Eve Talisman Cosplay for her ideas and feedback on the improvements to our contests!
We’re thrilled to introduce the Novice Craftsmanship Cosplay Contest at Holiday Cosplay 2024! This contest is designed for cosplayers with little or no competition experience who have never won a major award. The rules are the same for both the Craftsmanship and Novice Craftsmanship contests, with the only difference being the skill level—Craftsmanship is for intermediate and advanced cosplayers, while Novice is for those just starting out.
We’ve added this new cosplay contest for several reasons:
First, the response to our Craftsmanship contest has always been huge and included lots of talent, with about half of the entries coming from novice cosplayers. In the past with only one contest, we were forced to limit the number of talented cosplayers on all levels who can participate. By adding the Novice Craftsmanship contest, we’re making sure everyone of all levels has more chance to compete.
Second, we want to encourage talented cosplayers who are new to competitions to jump in- the water at our contests is nice and warm, we promise!
Third, we want our conventions (Holiday Cosplay, St. Pete Comic Con, Anime St. Pete, Sunshine City Scare) to be the starting place for novice competitors to begin their contest journeys. We love being able to say “we first spotted that talent!”
Fourth, we LOVE cosplay contests, so having two instead of one just means more fun for everyone! (unintentional rhyme, but we’ll take it).
For more info on contestants we have a couple of resources. Here’s an FAQ for contestants and panel hosts. And here’s an outline of how we appreciate those, including contestants, who help make the show possible.
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