2026 APPLICATION DUE DATE
Completed applications must be received by midnight Friday, July 24th, 2026

General Contestant Requirements
Each contestant of the Mid Atlantic Bear, Cub & Pet Contests must:
1. Be 21 years of age by 8/7/26
2. Be a resident of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia or Washington, DC
3. Be able to represent the Mid Atlantic title of Bear/Cub/Pet if they earn, for the full year until the step aside in 2027
4. Agree to photographs and video footage during the contest, by the contest staff and community at large
5. Consent to photographs and videos to be used by the Mid Atlantic Bear, Cub & Pet Contest staff for social media sites, promotional, marketing and/or general purposes

6. Refrain from posing for explicit photographs, videos etc. or participating in any public sexual performance without written consent from the Co-Producers.
7. Submit a complete and signed contestant application and photographic release form and consent to a criminal background if requested by the producers.

Auction Basket
Each contestant competing agrees to donate and supply an auction basket of appropriate items to be used for fundraising purposes, to benefit the Titleholders Travel Fund. . Baskets should be accompanied by an inventory of contents and the value on a separate sheet of paper. Baskets will be auctioned off as a live auction during the contest. Contestants are encourage to seek items donated to you for your title run.

All contestants must arrive in Baltimore, Maryland at Clifton Pleasure Club on 8/7/26 by 4pm on the contest weekend for the meet and greet. The contest will be held on 8/8/26 at Metro Gallery in Baltimore, MD.

Contestants will be judged in the following categories:
– Meet & Greet (Friday Evening) – 15pts
– Interview (Saturday Morning) – 30pts

– Fantasy Scene (Saturday Afternoon) – 20pts

– Hot Wear (Saturday Afternoon) – 15pts
– Formal Wear & Speech (Saturday Afternoon) – 20pt

Solo Contestants:

Should a contestant be the only one competing in a particular category they must make 50% of the points to qualify for the title.

Category Descriptions and Scoring:
Meet & Greet (15pts) – The purpose of this category is to make sure the contestant will be a good representative for The Mid Atlantic Bear, Cub and Pet Contests. Contestants will be judges on approachability and interactions with attendees, judges and staff.

Interview (30pts) – This category is not opened to the public, it is a way for the judges to get to know the contestants off-stage.

Contestant Introductions – This category is a non-judged category to allow the audience to get to know the contestants. Contestants will be dressed casually and have a chance to introduce themselves.

Fantasy Scene (20pts) – Judges will be looking for contestants ability to entertain and tell a story while keeping judges engaged. The fantasy scene is limited to 3 minutes maximum. Anything over 3 minutes will be a deduction in points.

Hotwear (15pts) – Judges will be looking for contestants to be comfortable on-stage in their hotwear.

Formalwear & Speech (20pts) – Judges will be looking for contestants interpretation of formalwear. Speeches will be judged based on if they convey a meaningful message appropriate to the communities. Speeches should be kept to 90 secs, anything over will be a deduction in points.

Fraternization with Judges

Contestants and judges may fraternize informally in public situations. Private meetings or personal contact between judges and contestants during the contest are absolutely prohibited. Any behavior that might create even the appearance of bias will be brought to the attention of the Mid Atlantic Bear, Cub & Pet owners/producers and other judges, who will decide if the disqualification of the judge and/or contestant would be prudent. To avoid accidental violation of propriety, all contestants and judges must display their respective identification badges whenever they are in public. Owners/Producers have absolutely NO say or influence over the judges and/or contestants. The judges’ scores are final.

Winners will receive:
Winner will receive the legacy stole with removable year patch, which will be passed on each year. They will also receive the Mid Atlantic Bear, Cub & Pet back patch. In addition, each winning titleholder will receive a prize package of items donated by our sponsors and vendors.

What is expected of the winners?

The primary duties of Mid Atlantic Bear, Cub & Pet are to represent the communities while also representing the Mid Atlantic area in the best light possible.
At minimum, the contest winners will be responsible for the following:
– Titleholders are REQUIRED to attend their step aside and judge next years contest
– Hold a minimum of two community fundraisers in the Mid Atlantic region

– Participate in title gear as a family at minimum of 1 Pride events in the Mid Atlantic region

– Compete at World Bear Weekend in the appropriate category, Bear, Cub or Pet in 2027