By 2005 the institute received 775 requests for the preliminary contest, representing students from 40 states and six Canadian provinces.

The preliminary contest is held in Jackson Square, and anyone from the audience is eligible to compete.

The following organizations have held the preliminary contests to select the representative of the country for the Cosplay championship since 2005.

Such preliminary contests were held prior to the major games to determine who would participate in the main event.

She won the preliminary contest in Amsterdam, and was sent to the finals of the contest, placing second.

There are six regional preliminary contests in each of the five rural regions and in the capital Reykjavík.

Teachers must fill out the forms on the Braille Challenge website and register each individual student for the preliminary contest.

The preliminary contests also pitted newcomers against one another.

Once the child wins the preliminary contest, he or she is qualified to the final competition.

The election was widely seen as a preliminary contest for the party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election.