PLEASE read this entire page carefully if you would like to participate in Sonic Neon Summit’s cosplay masquerade. It contains important information.

1. Must have a valid Sonic Neon Summit 2025 weekend pass or Saturday badge. 
2. If you are under the age of 13, you must have your parent’s permission to enter and you must also be accompanied by your parent/guardian throughout the duration of judging and the contest.
3. You agree to read and abide by all the rules as posted upon signing up for the contest.
4. Sonic Neon Summit staff have the right to refuse participation to anyone for any reason.

The Masquerade is Saturday’s big cosplay event! Come cheer on your friends or be part of the show! Participants will show off their craftsmanship skills and their stellar performances for all to enjoy.

This is a combined competition featuring craftsmanship, masquerade and showcase.

“Craftsmanship” is defined as a contestant who created, crafted, or heavily modified at least 50% of their cosplay. 

“Masquerade” is defined by a contestant who performs a skit, which could include a spoken word lip sync, song lip sync, dance performance, or similar talent performance. 

“Showcase” is defined as a contestant who walks the stage, poses, and allows the audience to see their cosplay.

You may choose to compete in both craftsmanship and masquerade categories, or one or the other. Showcase is a separate category that cannot be combined with craftmanship or masquerade. Craftsmanship entries that choose to not perform a skit will still walk the stage during the masquerade so you can show off all of your hard work! Please indicate whether or not you will be participating in craftsmanship judging.

All entries regardless of category must sign up using the form on this page by MAY 1ST, 2025.

Craftsmanship entries MUST ATTEND PREJUDGING on Saturday at 11am. No exceptions. Excess tardiness or failure to attend prejudging will result in immediate disqualification.

• Youth: Open to all participants aged 12 or younger. Any “Youth” presentation (“Youth presentation” meaning an adult cosplaying a child character, such as Tails or Cream) will be moved out of Youth and into the appropriate non-Youth category. This means if you’re over the age of 12, you cannot enter as Tails or Cream, for example, and expect to be placed in the Youth category.
• Novice: Open to competitors who have won 2 Major Awards or less as a Novice. If you have ever won in any division higher than Novice in any competition, you may not enter at Novice or lower. 
• Journeyman: Open to competitors who have won 2 Major Awards or less as a Journeyman. If you have won more than 2 Major Awards as a Journeyman, you will need to enter the Master Division. If you have ever won in any division higher than Journeyman/Intermediate in any competition, you may not enter at Journeyman or lower.  
• Master: Open to all competitors who wish to compete at this level. *Professional Costumers must compete in this division.
  • *A Professional Costumer is defined as someone who makes over 50% of their income through costume making or commissions.  

Each entry’s category is determined by the highest ranked division member of their group. For example, a group containing 1 Novice, 3 Journeyman, and 1 Master, will be required to participate at the Master level.  

For Division Placement Purposes: Awards of ranking are including but not limited to: 

AWARD TYPE	RANKING
“Best in Show”, “Best in Division”, “Best Performance or Craftsmanship”, “First Place”, “Second Place,” or similar.	Major Awards.
“Honorable Mention”, “Judges’ Award”, and similar forms of recognition	Minor Awards.

Participants may be bumped into a higher division at the Judges’ discretion. However, if the competitor receives an award in this higher division, they must continue to compete in that division (or higher) in future competitions.

PRINTED, FULL COLOR reference material is required. Even if a character is popular or well-known, reference material is needed to judge for accuracy. Lack of printed references will greatly affect scoring, as not every judge has knowledge of every detail of every character. Phones, laptops, tablets, and anything similar will NOT be accepted. It is highly suggested that a thin folder with pockets or brads should be used to present your images. Progress pictures of construction work may also help but remember that judging time is limited, and the judges do not have the time to look through pages upon pages of references and will revisit during the deliberation process. You are welcome to have the materials back after the Masquerade. 

Please reach out to any of the judges if you have questions on the references required. Examples of reference materials and a build book will be in the SNS Cosplay Contest discord server.

• Awards are broken down by Division, when applicable. 
• “Presentation” judging is defined as a Masquerade performance.
• Awards will be determined based on scores for each division and category, focusing on Craftsmanship and Presentation, and will be awarded at the Judges’ discretion. 
• To be eligible for “Best in Show”, a group must have completed both Craftsmanship and Presentation judging.

1. All performances have a three minute time limit, whether it be solo or group. Contestants who enter as Craftmanship Only or Showcase can walk on stage, pose, and show off your cosplay.
2. Violating any Contest or Convention rule will automatically disqualify you. Depending on the severity of the violation, you may have your badge revoked or face a permanent ban from Sonic Neon Summit.
3. This is a family friendly event. All performances and cosplay must be kept at a PG-13 level or lower. Any cosplayers presenting a costume with excess nudity will be disqualified.
4. No explicit language, gestures, nudity, dancing, etc.
5. Participants are expected to behave backstage in an appropriately mature manner.
6. All props/backgrounds MUST leave with you. There is no storing of props/backgrounds pre/post-event in the backstage area.
7. Contestants may enter Showcase only, Craftmanship, Masquerade, or BOTH. However, contestants may only have one entry (if you’re in a group, you can’t also enter solo)
8. Purchased or commissioned cosplays are NOT eligible for Craftsmanship Only. You must have made at least 50% of your costume. If you are modeling a costume made by someone else, they must be present during judging to qualify. However, purchased costumes are still welcome to perform in the Masquerade!
9. Be smart! Do not be that guy who gets sent to the hospital in front of everyone for attempting a dangerous stunt. The safety of our cosplay contestants and audience are our top priority.
10.  If you are performing, audio must be submitted in .MP3 format on or before May 1st, 2025. No exceptions. Please add your name in the title of the file.
11. This cosplay contest has a discord server where you can interact with fellow competitors, con staff and judges. These interactions must always remain professional and sportsmanlike. Disrespectful attitude or language to any peer, staff, or judge will have consequences up to and including disqualification from the contest.