Here is a simplified set of rules used by a smaller convention. Feel free to use them and adapt them to your convention needs. In place of YourCon, substitute the name of your convention. YourCon is a generic place holder, and is not a recommendation of any possible convention with that name.

Sample Masquerade Rules

Welcome to YourCon masquerade. To help everyone have a good time, we use a modified version of the International Costumers Guild (ICG) masquerade guidelines. We are going to use the following divisions to help make it so that everyone has a chance to compete against people of equal skill levels:

Young Fan
This is for the child who creates their own costume with no or minimal parental help. If the parent creates the costume, then the child can show early in the masquerade, but the costume is judged at the parent's skill level.
Novice
This is for everyone who has not entered a masquerade or has never won a costuming award before, and does not earn any monies/income from costuming or sewing.
Experienced
This is for everyone else who has costumed before, won awards, or earns any monies/income from costuming or sewing.
Exhibition
For those that do not want to compete their costumes, but want to show them to the audience. As long as the costume meets the rules, it can be shown. This is frequently done when someone has won an award for their costume previously, and they want another audience (family, friends) to see it.

Since this is going to be a family-friendly event, the rules are:

Since children may be present at this event, all costumes must be at least PG-13.
No costume is NO costume.
Solo entrants have a time limit of 45 seconds.
While this does not seem like much time, it'll seem like forever when you are on stage by yourself.
Group entries have a time limit of 90 seconds.
Time extensions may be given by approval of the Masquerade Director.
T-shirts with commercially printed text will not be considered costumes for this event.
Commercial, purchased, and rented costumes may not be entered.
No materials or effects that will leave a mess on stage or another contestant are allowed.
Please keep in mind that you'll be wearing your costume for about two hours.
No pyrotechnics or any other type of open flame is allowed.
No microphones are available to entrants.
Each contestant may only appear once on stage.
You may enter multiple costumes as long as each costume appears on different bodies.
Nothing may be brought on stage that might endanger entrants, audience, judges, or crew.

The masquerade director has the authority to eliminate anyone from the competition on the grounds of bad taste, danger to self and/or others, or any violation of these rules.

Page maintained by Carole Parker