Stu, I respect your long service to TE/AE and you continuing interest in
Tigers.
A friend of mine has a 57 TBird, whose previous owner won the TBird
Grand National Award. This is a national event where only the very best
can even compete. The award is not passed on to the new owner, and my
friend has to start from the ground up.
Now don't get side tracked re large number of cars, different than
Tigers and their owners, or anything at this point.
I went to help my friend get his car ready for the first part of the
TBird showing. He did not know the cars intimately like most long time
owners, and so he started searching for help in how to get his car ready
for the concourse.
There were three manual available, that is great detail went into what
the original car had, such as what color black was on a certain part.
Remember those Tigers owners who have asked such a question before, and
besides the BON, have no resources other than an owner of an original
car, who may or may not describe the black correctly, i.e. matte, shiny,
gloss, etc.
These manuals were an invaluable guide to my friend in getting his car
ready. We worked on the car, it was not perfect, but he made the first
step in the TBird concourse.
He also went to the next step, and while the car is beautiful, he does
not intend to go to the Grand Nationals, as this car will be a driver.
Why do they have such rigid standards and of what value are they?
At both concourse events, the judging was only on the merits of the car,
and whether if was correct, as outlined in these manuals. The manuals
were there for everyone to read and understand, including the Judges.
There was absolutely no subjective or individual judgment between Judges
or owners, as everyone knew what the rules were.
The Judges and owners had to abide by the rules, and frankly this made
for a much better, and more enjoyable event, as everyone knew there were
a set of rules, and it made it easy to conduct this portion of the
concourse event.
I have also attended concourse events, and some have been very good, and
others have left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Others at these
events have been so disturbed that they made the decision not to attend
the events again, as they felt the Judges were imputing their own
subjective views into the judging. They for all practical purposes have
decided the club is bad, and run by insiders who are running it for
their own benefit.
This is never good for a club, as this never helps the club to grow or
prosper.
The Point is:
Have a consistent set of rules.
Let everyone know.
Let the Judges and Owners know and abide by these rules.
Have fun.
I also belong to another car club, where the judges are given training
sessions for a day on a specific model in the line up of cars in this
brand of cars. The same thing happens there, and the events are fun,
everyone know the rules and judges and owner really get along great.
Some thing I have seen in this car club and observed, and had confirmed
by my friend with the TBird, is the relationship of owners and judges.
In these clubs, if something is not correct by the rules, often times
the judges will mention this to the owner, usually after the judging and
often privately. But the judges are always available and willing to
explain and help the owners in understanding their cars, and the rules.
I happen to be a judge at an event, where an owner of a beautiful car
lost by one point. The car had just won Best of Show at Amelia Island,
an invitational concourse event. I was the judge that took the point
off. After the judging, I went up to the owner, told him I was the one
point judge, explained why, and he not only agreed, but thanked me for
pointing it out. No hard feelings, just an open and honest event.
BTW, there were a lot of cars at this event. In the past I have heard
that the judges can't remember all the cars, but the judges I am
familiar with certainly know what they did and why.
This promotes a good feeling between judges and owners, as both feel
the event is not only fun but fair.
Baseball fields, NASCAR tracks are different, and you are right about
the excitement this adds. But the rules for baseball and NASCAR are
there, just so everyone knows how the game is played.
While Sunbeams, Tigers and Alpines will most likely never get to the
point or sophistication of the TBird group, there are distinct
advantages of national rules that are consistent, and detailed.
Concourse judging will be easier for both the owner and judges. Those
restoring their car, now have a set of guidelines, from which to look,
but still make their own decision regarding their choice for their car.
Rules and Guidelines are generally considered a sign of the maturity of
a club. While Tigers generally have more modifications that most cars,
I am an example of that, the lesson learned by other clubs show what can
be done.
Larry
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