How to judge a local Club Model A show?

[rpm2831]

In the past four years our club has relyed on Peoples Choice Awards according to body styles(Tudor sedan, fourdoor sedans,Roadsters,etc).Previous to the past four years we had knowlegable people in the club that volunteered to judge the Model A cars and trucks according to the different areas such as upholstry, engine and compartment,paint, correct original parts , and eletrical.The problem we see is that the public will judge in a casual observation based on things they like such as color,bias to owners they know, "bells and whistles" on the car, etc. .We are looking for advice on how other local clubs judge their shows. Thanks Ray in Duckroost.

[RonC]

use knowlegable members if possible and be consistant on what parts of the vehicle you judge and how critical you judge it.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Ray, is this show only catering to the Model A Ford, --or are there other marques too? By allowing your viewing audience (spectators) to vote by 'Popular Choice', you eliminate a lot of potential aftermath caused by Judges AND Car Owners who may not be totally versed on authenticity. From a Promotor's position, it is not hard to defend a balloted People's Choice. Sure there will be the potential for someone to "stuff" the ballot box, but again, that is easy to defend also.

Also, by going to a critiqued judging format, you must generate Judging Sheets that can (i.e.: should) be backed up by some written manual. Most major automobile clubs that perform this level of competition have a manual (Judging Stds, Rulebook, etc.) in place to back-up their judging sheets. Is this something you want to generate (??), ...because I doubt MARC/MAFCA would look favorably to using their sheets and/or J/S in an "unsanctioned" competition.

Just thinking outside the box. If I am going in the wrong direction, please give us a little more details and information on what your goals and present rules are.

.

[JTW]

If you just want to have fun and have discussion between spectators and owners, stick with the peoples choice awards - but have a lot of catagories, everyone is involved and there are plenty of winners. There 10 different shows near me, in the summertime, and the most popular are when spectators are involved

[Glenn C.]

If your show is open and free to the public, with several different entrances, have two or three of your members walking around passing out blank "Peoples Choice" ballots to the spectators. Keep it as simple as possible, and as enjoyable as possible. You may be having to deal with 200 to 500 cars. If the vehicles are just Model A, that may be different. In that case draw a half dozen names from a hat to be judges, from the entrants. That way you get a good mix of knowledge and fairness. You know the old saying "KISS". Everybody should enjoy the show, including yoursellf.

[tamagrouchy]

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A cruise night I frequent has awards, but they do it a bit differently. The "show" is free. Ballots are only given to people who have registered their car. YOUR car # is on the ballot and you are NOT allowed to vote for yourself. There are 3 choices where you can put a car #, so you vote for your favorite 3. It's essentially a peers choice award. I like this concept as at least you know the "judges" are fellow car enthusiasts AND the potential for stuffing the ballot box is smaller AND you would have way fewer ballots to count.

[Mike V. Florida]

Here is what we do for our Annual All A show (this year is our 37th),

We have divided the judging book into larger sections, i think we have 7 books.

We look at the standards and the cars. We judge in accordance with standards but take into account that these are drivers not show cars. If something is in poor condition is it because of age or maintenance. Example, bumpers, are they shiny with correct paint on the clamps and bolts. This is one section that age would have little to do with the condition. Now as for paint, condition such as chips and stuff are not marked off as severe as national judging.

As for awards, we have three classes, Master, Heritage, Preservation. Based on the number of entrants there are several awards for each class.
Additional awards for best in show, peoples choice, best period dressed man and woman.

[rpm2831]

We have an A-400 in the club and were questioning what category the this car should be in.Is it a convertable , a sedan,?It should be in a class by itself?And there is the problem. It would always win its class as we have categories for different body styles.I have no problem with that, but the owner might get tired of having nothing to compare it to and winning 1st place all the time.Ray.

[Chris in WNC]

without over-analyzing this I see three possibilities, listed from easiest to most difficult:

1) People's Choice - or as I like to call it, the "red convertible award"

2) Peer's Choice - ballots only to registered participants. more accurate
but still rather easy.

3) Actual Judging - hardest and most risky. when the First Coast Model As
had car shows back in the 80s & 90s we used a simplified Judging Standard for the Model A classes, not unlike the current Touring Class Standards. this gets the most accurate results, but is also the most work. it also has the greatest risk of offending newbie Model A owners
who have shiny paint jobs on otherwise mediocre cars.

[rpm2831]

Thanks Don. That gives me "food for thought".We wil have mostly Model A's(and some T's) with a maximum number of 35 cars and trucks.We have a committee that will look at the format for judging this year and most probably we will stay with the Peoples Choice ballots.Thanks to all the input on my posts. Happy New Year!, Ray in Duckroost.