I General provisions

1.The Holder of The Masquerade costume contest, hereinafter referred to as „the contest” is the Klub Fantastyki Druga Era Association in Poznań (hereinafter referred to as “the Holder”).

2. The  contest Coordinator is Zofia Skowrońska.

3. The contest is held during Pyrkon Fan Convention between 26-28.04.2019 (hereinafter referred to as “Pyrkon”).

4. The aim of the contest is to popularize fantasy and the cosplay community in Poland.

5. The contestants are tasked with creating a handmade costume and present it on stage during the contest and in front of the jurors during the individual assessment round

II Participation conditions

1. Minors can participate in the contest under the condition that they present a written consent from their parents. (The form can be downloaded from the pyrkon.pl website in The Masquerade section.)

2. The presented costumes must originate from sources related to fantasy books, comic books (including manga), games, films (including animated films), series, illustrations (including fanart), the contestants’ own imagination, etc.

3. The presentation and the costume cannot contain anything that is generally considered to be vulgar or offensive.

4. It is permissible to use a model to present the costume.

5. It is permissible to submit costumes already awarded or presented in other competitions. It is not permissible to submit costumes that were showcased in the Masquerade competition in previous years.

6. Contestants make the costumes themselves. Purchase items are acceptable (e.g. wigs, lenses, footwear base), but they should only constitute an addition to the contestants’ own work. In the case of group performances, contestants have the right to help one another in creating the costumes within one group.

7. Each contestant may apply with one costume only.

8. By entering the contest, the contestants provide their consent to free presentation, reproduction and distribution of photographs and recordings containing their likenesses, taken or made during Pyrkon for the purposes of archiving materials and promoting Pyrkon and the contest holder.

9. By entering the contest, the contestants accept the provisions of the regulations.

III Categories

1. The contestants shall be awarded in the following categories:

• Cosplay. A precisely recreated costume of a specific character. The assessment will be based on the similarity of the costume to the graphic source submitted by the contestant (e.g. a comic strip, a poster, an illustration, a screen from a movie or a game), the proportions preserved as well as the precision and quality of execution.
• Own design.  Costumes without a graphic source, which are the execution of the contestant’s own ideas. In this category the contestant’s creativity and logic, precision and quality of execution will be assessed. Among others hand-made larp costumes, costumes executed with fantasy conventions in mind, variations on existing characters will be awarded in this category.
• Individual presentation. The best solo stage performance will be awarded in this category. The entirety of the performance will be taken into consideration, including among others the idea for the presentation, its straightforwardness (whether the jury and the audience could follow and understand it), the contestant’s acting skills, the props and the set decorations. The presentation should take between 0:30 seconds and 2:30 minutes.
• Group presentation. The best group presentation will be awarded in this category. The entirety of the performance will be taken into consideration, including among others the idea for the presentation, its straightforwardness (whether the jury and the audience could follow and understand it), the acting skills of all the group members performing, props and set decorations, the group’s ability to work together in harmony. The presentation should take between 0:30 seconds and 2:30 minutes.

• GRAND PRIX. The main prize of the contest. A single person is awarded, regardless of whether she presented the costume in a group or solo. The basis for awarding the prize is the combination of a very good stage performance and a high-quality costume.

IV The course of the contest

1. For the sake of limiting the number of stage performances, the competition consists of several stages.

2. By 07.04.2019 r. at 23:59 applications via forms available on the www.pyrkon.pl website are being accepted. A separate form is prepared for solo performances and a separate one is prepared for group performances. The applications should include among others:

• Photographs of the costume completed in a .jpg or .png format,
• A short description of the technical execution of the costume,
• A description of the stage performance,
• A backing track cut to fit the time of presentation (if a video is to be used during presentation, it should constitute one file together with the backing track in the .mp3 or .avi format),
• If the contestant anticipates the use of pyrotechnic effects during the presentation, the application should contain a detailed description of the intended effects.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

3. By 10.04.2019 at 23:59 the Contest Holders chose the contestants, who will compete further. The main criterion for the selection is the quality of the costume and the presented idea for a stage performance. The number of performances allowed (including solo performances and group performances) may not exceed 40. The results of this stage will be communicated to the contestants via e-mail.

4. During the course of Pyrkon, the contestants referred to in para. 2, take part in:

• A stage rehearsal  – optional, but recommended due to a particular shape of the stage (arranged in the form of the letter T). The rehearsal will take place in the evening on Friday. Each contestant who indicates the need for a stage rehearsal in the application, will be granted individual time on stage. The contestants will be notified about the individual time of the stage rehearsal via e-mail before the Convention.
• The Jury Round – an individual meeting with the jury, lasting no longer than 5 minutes, the aim of which is for the jurors to inspect the costume presented up close and ask additional questions regarding its creation. The contestants performing on stage together enter the jury round together. During this part, the jurors award points connected with assessing the costume (without disclosing the result)  The order of presentation during the jury round depends on the size and time needed by the contestant to put the costume on. All the rounds will be held on Saturday. The contestants will receive information about their individual time of the jury round via e-mail before the convention.
• Stage performance – performance on the big stage (Saturday evening), presenting the costume/character in front of the audience. During this part, the jurors award points for presentation (without disclosing the results). The presentation should last: a minimum of 0:30 seconds and a maximum of 2:30 minutes.

5. The individual time of the performance and the round, provided to the contestants via e-mail before Pyrkon is an estimated time and may change depending on the course of the contest. The contestants shall be notified to date about any changes.

6. The contestant’s absence during one of the assessed parts results in the contestant not being awarded points for this part. In case of a complete absence from the contest, restrictions described in pt. “IV Disqualifications and admonitions” of these regulations shall be applied to the contestant.

7. The award ceremony is held on stage approximately half an hour after the stage performances. The selection of winners is based on the sum of the points awarded and the jury’s discussion.

8. After the competition, the jury will be available backstage for the interested contestants in order to provide information related to this year’s edition of the contest as well as hints and tips regarding future editions.

V Stage performances

1.The contestants perform on stage solo or in groups.

2. Each presentation should take between 0:30 seconds and 2:30 minutes and include a backing track or video material provided prior to the contest (via the application form on the www.pyrkon.pl website in “The Masquerade” section).

3. The contest holders provide help handing props and carrying the props onto the stage. If the contestant wishes for persons other than The Masquerade’s staff to help them, it is recommended for those persons to be wearing black. There is a possibility to rehearse the performance on stage during the morning rehearsal on the day of the contest.

4. A rectangular stage connected with a catwalk (stage 6×8 meters with the catwalk added of 10×2 meters together form a T shape), colorful lighting and sound system with the technicians’ assistance is at the contestants’ disposal during rehearsal as well as during the contest. Detailed information regarding the equipment available as well as the stage plan can be found on the pyrkon.pl website in “The Masquerade” section before the launch of the application forms.

5. If the contestant anticipates the use of pyrotechnic effects during the presentation, the application should contain a detailed description of the intended effects.

6. It is absolutely forbidden to use fire on stage.

7. The use of vulgar language, obscene behavior or behavior violating the well-being of third parties is unacceptable. Failure to comply with this provision  may result in disqualification.

8. The contest holder is not responsible for the behavior of the contest contestant.

VI Disqualifications and admonitions

1. Depending on the severity of the offense, the contest holders may issue an admonition or disqualify the contestant (prevent them from further participation in the current edition of the contest, not include them in the final score, request that they immediately leave the backstage) and/or deny them participation in subsequent editions of the contest.

2. Admonitions and disqualification are considered by the contest coordinator in the following cases:

• the contestant purposefully destroyed or damaged the costume, props or set design belonging to another person participating in the contest,
• the contestant showed an unsportsmanlike behavior, in particular lack of manners towards other contestants,
• the contestant did not attend the jury round or their stage performance without providing a reason or naming their own neglect as the reason (e.g. failure to complete the costume on time, changing their mind, withdrawal of part of the group, failure to prepare for the stage performance). This sub-point does not apply to persons who experienced serious health problems, preventing them from continuing to participate in the contest.

3. Each case of admonition or disqualification is considered individually by the contest coordinator.

VII The Jury

1. The jury is comprised of well-known specialists in the fields of cosplay, creating costumes and props, designing, make-up, stage performances and fantasy.

2. The jury is comprised of three persons.

VIII The Prizes

1. The main prize, also known as the Grand Prix, comprises of:

•        5 000 PLN,
•        A trip to the International Cosplay Champions Cup as the representative of Poland. The event will be held between 20-22.09.2019 in Bratislava, during the AnimeShow convention. Transport, stay and participation in the international contest will be included in the prize,
•        A statuette designed by Robert Tomak.

2. Prizes in the remaining categories are:

•        1,500 PLN in each category;
•        Statuettes designed by Robert Tomak;
•        Prizes from the patron and sponsors, the list  of which shall be provided on the www.pyrkon.pl website before the start of the contest.

3. A list of all the prizes will be presented on the www.pyrkon.pl website in „The Masquerade” section before the start of the Pyrkon Fan Convention.

4. Where necessary, the sponsor of the cash prize shall pay the tax on the prize to the appropriate Tax Office, pursuant to the applicable Act on personal income tax .

5. The contest holder reserves the right, in special cases, to change the amount of the prize or to refrain from awarding it.

6. There is no possibility to exchange the in-kind prizes for their equivalent in cash.

7. Failure to collect the prizes by the winner within the deadline of 30 days after Pyrkon ending is equivalent renouncing the prize.

*In order to collect the prize in the form of the trip, the winner must be of age and be a citizen of Poland, which is necessary due to the restrictions of the International Cosplay Champions Cup. Should the winner of the Grand Prix of The Masquerade 2019 not be able to collect the prize,  it is firstly passed on to the winner of the best cosplay of The Masquerade 2019. If they are unable to collect the prize as well, a different contestant will be appointed from among those who earned the jury’s special attention.