The cream of the crop of cosplay comes back again this year, fresher, louder and better than ever with the Madman National Cosplay Championship! AVCon is once again proud to host the final qualifying round.

If you're interested in registering for the Madman National Cosplay Championship you'll need to head to the Madman National Cosplay Championships site and register through there.

The Madman Nation Cosplay Championship state qualifier is held on Saturday at AVCon and runs separately to the AVCon Cosplay Competition.

Winners of the state championships held at AVCon and each Supanova will be invited to compete at the end of the year (flight and accommodation are part of the heat winners prize) with the National Cosplay Champion winning a trip to Japan (see http://www.madman.com.au/cosplay/ for more info)!

Madman have also been making some changes to the championship, which are highlighted below.

Open to teams of 2

This year the event will be open to teams of 2 as well as individuals. Both individuals and pairs will be competing on the same formats. There are no separate categories.

Wild card finals entry

If deemed appropriate, the judges may select a wild card entry after all qualifying rounds have finished. There will be up to a maximum of 5 wildcard entries, but is not guaranteed. Wild cards will only be given out under special circumstances.

Wild card entrants for the final must pay their own way to the final including accommodation and flights.

Introduction of Japanese video game characters

To diversify the contest, Madman will also be allowing cosplay of Japanese video game characters to compete in the championship. Please contact Madman to clarify whether your character will be eligible. Only Japanese video game characters will be allowed. The character must be originally designed in Japan for a Japanese game. E.g. Mickey Mouse from Kingdom Hearts will not be eligible.