Cosplay Tournament of Champions (TOrCH)

Time	Saturday, August 13 · 3:00pm - 8:00pm
Location	The Event Center-SM City-Cebu
Created By	Kukue Hiko
More Info	General Mechanics, Rules and Procedure Cosplay Tournament of Champions II Overview The Cosplay Tournament of Champions (TOrCH) is a cosplay costume and talent competition that aims to create an energetic and competitive arena for Cosplay on a truly national level by holding cosplay contests in target venues in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. TOrCH Preliminaries will be held in key SM Malls all over the country to determine the best... cosplayers of each region. Winners from the Regional Qualifiers get a chance to compete in the TOrCH Finals that will take place on Sunday, October 2, 2011 in Cosplay Mania 11. Definition of Terms Cosplay – abbreviated form of “Costume Play”, this involves dressing up and acting as one’s favourite fictional character. Usually, the outfits they wear for cosplaying are made by themselves. Cosplayer – a cosplay enthusiast / contestant in cosplay contests. Cosplay Contests – a costume, skill and talent competition where the accuracy, level of detail and craftsmanship of the costume created (basing from a fictional character), as well as the convincing portrayal of the character (via skits and performances) are measured and are the basis for determining winners. TOrCH II – abbreviated form of Cosplay Tournament of Champions II. Refers to both the Preliminaries staged in selected venues throughout of the Philippines as well as the Finals that will be held during the culminating day of Cosplay Mania '11. TOrCH Preliminaries – refers to the TOrCH II contest legs held in various SM Malls and SM Cyberzones across the country. TOrCH II Finalists / Finalists – refers to the pair of Cosplayers who will emerge victorious during the preliminaries and who will compete in the finals to be held in Cosplay Mania 11. TOrCH II Finals – refers to the Grand Finals of TOrCH II to be held on October 2, 2011 during the culminating day of Cosplay Mania '11. TOrCH II Preliminaries Mechanics The TOrCH II Preliminaries is open to all Philippine residents aged 18 and above on or before the date of Cosplay Mania '11 (October 1, 2011). Each TOrCH II valid contestant entry will require a team of two (2) individuals. Both individuals must be in Cosplay Costumes from any Japanese Intellectual Property (Anime, Tokusatsu (Metal Hero), Video Games, Movies or Comic Books). Both individuals must also be from the same series although characters may be mixed if there is an existing and official crossover of the characters (for instance, One Piece x Dragonball crossover.) Original or Fan-based (Dōjinshi) characters will be immediately disqualified. TOrCH II Preliminaries shall be scheduled in key SM and SM Cyberzone venues in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in the following venues and on the following dates: July 2 – SM City Baguio (Event Center) July 16 – SM City Cagayan de Oro (Event Center) July 30 – SM City Bacolod (Event Center) August 6 - SM City Davao (Event Center) August 13 – SM City Cebu (Event Center) August 27 - SM City North Edsa (Annex) September 4 – SM Southmall (Event Center) September 24 – SM Manila (Cyberzone Event Center) Interested contestants may pre-register at the Cosplay Mania website (http://www.cosplaymania.co​m/) starting on May 1, 2011. They may also register on the day of the event at the designated registration area. Upon registration, contestants need to provide the following: a fully filled out official registration with this details: Team name/Alias Full names of the contestants (as it appears on their ID/Passport) Birth dates of the contestants Characters they are cosplaying and from which series they are from a clear photocopy of a Philippine Passport, valid up to December 2011 or later (1 for each contestant). For those who have already applied for their passport and is just waiting for it to arrive, we shall accept a copy of your original DFA Passport Slip (Payor’s Copy) OR the Consignment Note or Airway Bill from your chosen courier if you have decided to have your passport delivered. a signed image release, quitclaim and waiver; a full-body reference photo of the two (2) characters that they will be competing as. The reference photos must be: must be of the original character, not the contestant dressed in costume; at least 10.16cm by 15.24cm (or 4 inches by 6 inches) each; must be provided in color, and: must be in printed form. [Optional] a CD soundtrack to be played during their performance with the following restrictions: soundtrack should be in .CDA or .MP3 format; it consists of a single file, and: file is no longer than five (5:00) minutes. Participants with incomplete requirements will not be allowed to register. Pre-registrants must confirm their participation by approaching the registration table on or before 1:00pm on the day of the contest. If any one of the members of the competing team has already won in a previous TOrCH II preliminary leg for the current year 2011, he or she is automatically disqualified from participating in any of the other preliminary legs. Deadline for contest registration is at 2:00pm of the event date. Cosplay costumes that have won or placed in past Cosplay TOrCH legs are ineligible for joining the contest. Reused parts such as overalls, boots, wigs, etc. are allowed but the costume must be completely different. Minor changes such as color, weapons, etc. does not qualify as a new costume and will therefore be disqualified. Skits involving extreme fan service (kissing and the like) and lewd, messy or obscene costumes will be immediately disqualified. Cosplayers shall be held responsible for their props at all times. Any sharp and/or metal and pyrotechnic costume props are not allowed. Messy props that can cause damage to the stage or surrounding area or that takes a long time to clean up is likewise disallowed. Cosplayers shall be liable for any damage or injury resulting from mishandling and/or negligence of a contestant in his/her use of props/materials throughout the duration of the event. Contestants will be allotted a maximum of five (5) minutes of stage performance. Contestants who will have special requirements for their skit are advised to inform the organizers regarding their set-up during registration. Otherwise, the contestants will be provided default background music. Stagehands, with or without a costume, or any form of on-stage assistant to the TOrCH II contestant will not be allowed. Contestants will be judged according to the following criteria: Performance (40%): Execution of Skit, creativity in action scenes, choreography and adherence to time limit; Craftsmanship (45%): Costume accuracy, costume difficulty, innovativeness in use of materials and creativity in costume construction; Overall Impact (15%): Appeal and total presentation of the character. For a total of 100% 10. The Judges’ decisions are final and cannot be appealed. 11. At the end of a preliminary leg, the pair with the highest scores shall be considered the winner and shall become a TOrCH II Finalist. All TOrCH II Finalists shall participate the TOrCH II Championships which will happen on Cosplay Mania '11, October 2, 2011 at SMX Convention Center, Pasay City, Metro Manila. All TOrCH II Finalists must be available to travel to Manila on September 30, 2011 for rehearsals and must stay until the evening of October 2, 2011 to participate in the TOrCH II Finals. 12. A runner-up will also be determined for the pair garnering the next highest scores. Runners-up shall replace the TOrCH II Preliminaries Winner in the event that they are unable to compete in the finals. TOrCH II Finalists must notify the organizers of their unavailability with prior write notice via email to cosplaymania@gmail.com no later than September 15, 2011. 13. Prizes: Each Team of TOrCH II Preliminary Winner will be awarded a Two (2) DCP-J125 printer from Brother which shall be given right after the announcement of winners. TOrCH II Preliminary Winners from Cebu, Davao, Bacolod and CDO shall be given two (2) roundtrip airline tickets while winners from Baguio shall be given two (2) bus allowances to travel to Manila to compete in the Finals at Cosplay Mania ‘11 on October 2, 2011. Airport/Terminal fees, bus and airport transfers from their locality, excess baggage fees, airfare and accommodations of assistants, and food during the finalist’s stay in Manila shall not be covered by Cosplay Mania ‘11 and shall be shouldered by the finalists. TOrCH II Finalists will receive accommodations for two (2) for three (3) days and two (2) nights starting September 30, 2011 until October 2, 2011; for the TOrCH II runner up, they will receive PT1290 labellers from Brother. 14. Relatives of TOrCH II organizers, marshals, volunteers, suppliers and company partners up to the 2nd degree of consanguinity or affinity are prohibited from joining this contest. 15. Registration and participation to the Cosplay Tournament of Champions constitutes that the cosplayer gives the right and the authority to Cosplay Tournament of Champions and Cosplay Mania '11 organizers/staff, its sponsors and authorized press media to take pictures and/or videos of registered cosplayers, cosplay groups and its members and will be the sole property of the organizers/staff, its sponsors and authorized press media to be used for future publications and/or advertising promotions. TOrCH Finals Mechanics All TOrCH II Finalists (Preliminary Winners) must be ready to compete in the TOrCH II Finals on the 2nd day of Cosplay Mania '11 to be held on October 2, 2011. All TOrCH II Finalists must submit the following on September 30, 2011 during rehearsals: a signed image release, quitclaim and waiver; a clear photocopy of a Philippine Passport, valid up to December 2011 or later; a full-body reference photo of the two (2) characters that they will be competing as. This reference photo must be at least 10.16cm by 15.24cm (or 4 inches by 6 inches) and must be provided in color and must be in printed form. The reference photo must be of the original character, not the contestant dressed in costume; a CD soundtrack to be played during the performance with the following specifications: soundtrack should be in .CDA or .MP3 format; it consists of a single file, and: file is no longer than five (5:00) minutes. a printed Technical Script in three (3) copies that may or may not include the following technical components that will be made available for use of the finalists during their performance: 1 Smoke Machine 1 Mist Machine 2 Par 64 Lights 2 Spotlights 4 Moving Heads [Optional] a Video in DVD format no longer than 5 minutes that will be shown on the elevated video wall positioned behind the stage. TOrCH II Finalists will be allowed to do any of the following for TOrCH II Finals: Revise or improve on existing costume used in the preliminaries Create or present a totally different set of costumes from the one used in the preliminaries – provided that the following shall also be submitted on September 30, 2011: Names of the new characters they are cosplaying and from which series they are from New reference photos as per photo reference restrictions For the new costumes to be qualified, they must still adhere to the rules originally set in the TOrCH II Preliminaries. TOrCH II Finalist performances are limited to only Five (5) Minutes. Should their performance exceed the allotted time, ten (10) points per exceeding minute shall be deducted from their total score. Skits involving extreme fan service (kissing and the like) and lewd, messy or obscene costumes will be disqualified. Cosplayers shall be held responsible for their props at all times. Any sharp and/or metal and pyrotechnic costume props are not allowed. Messy props that can cause damage to the stage or surrounding area or that takes a long time to clean up is likewise disallowed. Cosplayers shall be liable for any damage or injury resulting from mishandling and/or negligence of a contestant in his/her use of props/materials throughout the duration of the event. Stagehands, with or without a costume, or any form of on-stage assistant to the TOrCH II Finalist will not be allowed. TOrCH II Finalists must be present in the Cosplay Holding Area in full costume by 4:00 pm on October 2, 2011. Finalists must be ready to have their costumes assessed by judges and answer any questions they might have. TOrCH II Finalists will be judged according to the following criteria: Performance (40%): Production of performance and the creative elements as well as entertainment value; Craftsmanship (45%): Workmanship and accuracy of the costume; Interview (15%): How well the contestant answers questions posed by the judges For a total of 100%. The Judges’ decisions are final and cannot be appealed. Prizes - One (1) Finalist pair with the highest score shall be declared the Cosplay Tournament of Champions II Champion. The next one (1) finalist pair receiving the next highest score shall be declared the Runner Up. The prizes for the TOrCH II Champion and Runner Up will be announced, and will be given during the announcement of winners. The TOrCH II Champion shall also represent the Philippines as the Official Representative of the country to the Asian Regional Cosplay Championships happening within Anime Festival Asia in Singapore. The champion's travel and accommodation expenses to and from Singapore shall be shouldered by the Anime Festival Asia team. In the event that the TOrCH II Champions may not be able to attend the Asian Regional Cosplay Championships, the Runner Up Winner shall replace the Champion team as Official Philippine Representative to the said contest overseas. Relatives of TOrCH II organizers, marshals, volunteers, suppliers and company partners up to the 2nd degree of consanguinity or affinity are prohibited from joining this contest. Registration and participation to the Cosplay Tournament of Champions II constitutes that the contestant gives the right and the authority to Cosplay Tournament of Champions II, Cosplay Mania '11 organizers/staff, its sponsors and authorized press media to take pictures and/or videos of registered cosplayers, cosplay groups and its members and will be the sole property of the organizers/staff, its sponsors and authorized press media to be used for future publications and/or advertising promotions. The Cosplay Tournament of Champions II and Cosplay Mania ‘11 is the Philippine’s Official Event Affiliate for Anime Festival Asia’s (AFA) Regional Cosplay Championship (RCC). The Cosplay Tournament of Champions Cosplay II Guidelines is the sole property of its organizers and its parent company, Cosplay.ph. The guidelines or any part thereof cannot be copied and/or replicated and/or reproduced for any other event and/or contest without the consent and/or permission from its parent owners. Prizes may be subject to change without prior notice.