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From: Rande Bellman[SMTP:rande@thecia.net]
Sent: Wednesday, June 25, 1997 3:36 PM
To: tigers@autox.team.net
Subject: The United and the Concours
Rande,
I agree, great event, especially the Caravan from L.A. was great.
The " Concourse " and I use that term loosely as it was just a car show, =
was a let down to say the least.
We had all looked at the ""Official"" judging form on the Web site for =
months, and due to some individuals with extreme powers, this judging =
was dropped.
Some of us spent many many hours fine tuning our final show product.
To meet with the expectations of the Concourse, that never came.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy with my trophy, but feel bad for others =
who would have been moved up a notch, if the Herringbone car would have =
been correctly classified, NOT IN A STOCK CLASS, this car was never a =
production vehicle, one was ever made, it was a custom coachwork car =
made specifically from an Alpine, atleast that is what The good book =
says.
This car should be in a Masters class, or in a special interest class, =
if this car enters next year as a Stock, Hmmmmm I wonder who will win??? =
Ahhhh Daaaahh
Not one of our """"PRODUCTION""" cars will ever compete against this =
car, it is so unique and unusual.
So to me the Concourse event is a major part of a United, it was =
advertised as such, and never just as a "car show", I can attend dozens =
of those here every month, but not with the opportunity to be judged =
along side my peers.
We need change, the classes need to be split, Mk1, Mk1A and a class for =
Mk2, also a Masters class, this class is anyone who has trophied in a =
class for 3 years, then moved up to give others a goal to strive for, =
also a special interest class.
The more tropies the marrier...
Every other car club I have been a member of does this, and you are =
correct, the judges need to have a judges meeting, prior to the event, =
with guidelines, as well as a Master judge, who irons out any questions =
during judging..
This is how I did things in the Volvo club for years, and guess what, =
everyone was happy..
Now that sounds great!!!!
Take care to all, and let's hope for changes to come quick and furiously =
as not to end up on a "GOOSE SHIT" infested dirt patch again, and let's =
do it in style from now on....
See Ya' Jan............. Stock 3rd place =
Eureka 97...
=20
I'm responding to Jeff Cushing's post about the Concours at the Eureka =
United,=20
and I'll tackle the judging first.
I, too, expected judges on the order of, let's say, TAC committee people =
to be=20
doing the judging. If what Jeff said about the use of fellow class car =
owners for=20
judging is true, I agree that a more professional source, like TAC, =
would level=20
the playing field and hopefully cut down on some the complaints from =
entrants.
Again, if I take Jeffs word for gospel that the Harrington Tiger =
competed in the=20
same class as a mass-produced Tiger roadster, then I too think the car =
was in=20
the wrong class. It probably should have competed with the featured cars =
like=20
the rally car and the Le Mans Tigers. Placing it in competition in a =
stock class is=20
unfair to Bill V and the roadster owners.
The judging aspect of concours events in general are sometimes a major =
turnoff.=20
Part of that in the Tiger world is that all of us have taken our cars =
apart, and we=20
think we have a heightened sense of what is original, personalized, and =
modified.
This probably is going to cause some friction.
Did I have any problems at the concours? Someone with a bull horn would=20
periodically tell those of us with camera to get away from the cars =
while the=20
judges did their thing, all the while my plane is taking off in 90 =
minutes, and=20
these special cars may not be here again, and I"m thinking, "unless you =
are=20
planning on having bull horn for your box lunch, beat it, chum."
Largely, the show from my spectator vantage point was outstanding. I =
agree with=20
Tim Morin, I've had many great experiences at these United, but this one =
was the=20
absolute best.
As to the cost, those of us who are not from around those parts spent=20
considerably more just to fly there and stay for the weekend. Heck, =
Disneyland is=20
close to $200 for 4 adults, for just ten hours, and thats before the =
food.
If any of the registration money was used to get those great Tigers =
shipped to=20
Eureka, it was money well spent.
I'm genuinely sorry that you didn't have a better time there, Jeff. The =
Redwoods,=20
the coast, and the Tigers were wonderfull. If you want Big Bear to be a =
success,=20
get Mr. Hall and Norman involved in the judging guidelines, with your =
input. But,=20
largely, it will be mainly an uphill battle(and no, I don't just mean =
the drive to=20
Big Bear) to top this years United. If you seriously think you can =
improve on it,=20
tell me and Tim Morin now. We're already packin'.
Rande Bellman
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