Almost every convention hosts some type of cosplay competition, which often draw a packed audience. In recent years, it has become common to categorize competitions based on the participants’ experience levels. For example, beginners can compete against each other and experienced cosplayers against each other. The rules of cosplay competitions have had to be reviewed, and nowadays, emphasis is placed on self-made costumes. Many competitions have regulations on how much of the costume must be self-made. In addition to manual skills, competitions sometimes require performance skills because a cosplay competition is not always just a costume competition; it may also involve acting out a scene as the character.
Finnish cosplayers have performed well in cosplay competitions abroad. Finnish representatives have participated in competitions such as the Nordic Cosplay Championship, EuroCosplay Championship, and World Cosplay Summit. Participants can register separately for international competitions, or they may qualify by winning Finnish competitions or qualifying rounds. For example, to participate in the World Cosplay Summit in Japan, a two-person team can qualify by winning the qualifying competition at Tracon held in Tampere. The winners of the qualifiers do not have to pay for their participation or travel expenses to the final; these costs are covered for them by the organizers of the competitions, or the expenses of participating in the competitions are awarded as prizes for the qualifiers. The prizes for competitions usually consist of trophies and medals, but rarely money. Competition participation and cosplaying are done primarily out of love for the hobby and are usually funded from one’s own pocket.
