Hi all, I thought we could begin a discussion with information submitted to the BOD and which will be in the G and D soon. Thanks,
Steve
Judge’s Gazette #10
By Steve Scott National Judging Chair
Review of 2003
1. Judging Form
The VCCA Judging Form has completed its fifth year since it was revised. We have made a lot of progress with the form but we still found some areas where we can make it better. The committee will be going over the form, and revisions will be finished for the 2004 season by the date of the Board meeting. We are especially proud of the fact that we have an instrument that is able to adjust to any vehicle that is judged in our system. We are confident that we will be able to use a single form in the future. Thanks to Jean and Dennis Fink for all of their cooperation and effort in making the Judging Form a reality.
2. Judging Manual
This year we are making our corrections and revisions as usual. There are no new policy changes. We are simply correcting mistakes and wording. In the last three years we have sent out over two thousand Judging Manuals to members of the VCCA. It is the goal of the committee to have a manual that will be printed every five years to save on printing costs. We are setting a goal of 2006 for the final revised edition to be printed.
3. 1979s are Eligible for Judging This Year
Well, it has not taken long, but the 1979 vehicles have come on board this year. There are some changes in some of the classes and we have only one new class this year. One other nice issue is that we will not need any more new classes of vehicles until the 1980 vehicles are on board. We have looked ahead and are planning to condense some of the years due to the similarity in body style being longer as the '80s and GMAD were approaching. For example, this year we add a new full-size class W6. These are all 1977-78 Impalas and Caprices. They are totally different than the 1976’s. This was the big downsize year for the full size, so we need to open up the new class. However, the 1977 to 1990 Impalas and Caprices are quite similar, so we will not need to open up a W7 class until thirteen years from now. Things to look for in 1978 are the blue engines. The GM blue takes over for the Chevy Orange. Delco Freedom Batteries are optional on some models. Round headlights are still PowerBeams and Guide is marked on the new rectangular headlights found on some models. The small block 350 is the largest engine you can find in a Chevy in 1979. Tower hose clamps are still used. Radial tires are standard on all '78s. We added an AA5 class this past year for the Malibu, which replaces the Chevelle. The 1977 Chevelle was still the same as the 1973 A-body style. In 1978 the style changes. This style will not change until 1984 models when the Malibu was discontinued. That gives us until 2009 before we will need to adjust the AA class.
4. 1980 and 1981 are Display this year
It’s hard to believe that these years are already at 25 years. We should encourage 1980 and 1981 owners to register at this year's meets and participate. That's why we have the Display class. There are some interesting 1980 and 1981 Chevys.
A new vehicle enters the class judging in two years. The Citations will be eligible in 2005. The RPO X-11 Coupe is an interesting vehicle. However, we won't have to make a new class for Citations since they took the place of the Nova; we can put them in Class Z6 when the time comes.
5. Area Meets
We had seven National meets in 2003. (Area 9 in Jan. '03) The meets were:
Area State Chair Chief Judge
Area 11 New York Russell Heim Russell Heim
Area 4,5,6 Colorado Roberta Davis Bill Dirnberger
Area 7 Ohio Roger & Pam Williams Steve Scott
Area 8 New Jersey Ron Marciano Ed Boyce
Area 3 Washington Dave & Betsy Williams Roger Scott
Area 1 California Gloria Palazzo Larry Pearson
Area 9 Florida Don Williams Bob Denison
Special thanks to all of the people who worked so hard to make sure these meets were a success. We are very excited that meets in California and Florida occurred this past year. Nine out of the twelve areas of the VCCA had Judging Schools and judged meets available to its members. We hope, someday, that all twelve areas will be included on the list.
6. Membership Participation Statistics
2002 Statistics
Total Vehicles Judged: 349
88 1st Juniors
49 1st Seniors
26 Preservation Boards
97 Preservation Miniatures
123 Preservation Tabs issued
37 HPOCF Certifications
<sum> 14 HPOCF Gold (Certified in 4 vehicle areas)
<sum> 12 HPOCF Silver (Certified in 3 vehicle areas)
<sum> 11 HPOCF Bronze (Certified in 2 vehicle areas)
27 2nd Juniors
6 2nd Seniors
6 3rd Juniors
17 Second Juniors scoring below 901
7 Second Juniors would have advanced with the proposed Multiple Award (2% of total)
3 Second Juniors scoring above 901 and not 10 points from class winner
1 Second Senior would have advanced with the proposed Multiple Award
2 HPOCF (not certified due to over restoration)
2 Scoring below 701
3 Preservation not scoring 901 (warning letters)
2 Senior vehicles not scoring 901
2003 Statistics
Total judged vehicles = 304
45 HPOCF Certifications (1 min 1 board, 18 tabs, 25 ovals)
83 1st Junior and Tabs
31 1st Seniors
34 Preservation Boards
76 Preservation Miniatures
18 2nd Juniors
1 2nd Senior
5 3rd Juniors
0 3rd Seniors
10 vehicles scoring below 901
1 vehicle scoring below 801
Multiple Awards = 0
Mandatory deductions:
Engine = 1
A/C = 1
Body = 0
7. HPOCF Certification
This was the second year for members to be certified for the Historical Preservation of Original Chevrolet Features class. The idea and the decision to adopt the HPOCF certification program was a very successful and positive decision by the Board. We are extremely excited about the future of this service to our members. We had 45 vehicles certify this year. The certification form worked very well and was easy to use. Revisions will be made for next year, but the form worked very well as it was. Thanks to all of those who volunteered to be on the various certification teams, to Chris Cufr, who developed a beautiful set of awards for this coveted trophy and to Bill Dirnberger and John Mahoney for developing the policy and procedures for this event.
8. Junior Tabs, Preservation Tabs and Judging Awards
Another success was the issuance of the 1st Junior Tabs, and we continued to hand out the Preservation Tabs. Tabs were issued to all members who attended meets this year who received their Preservation Boards and Miniatures. Thanks again to Chris for his hard work. We had very few mistakes and those that did happen were corrected within a short time. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Certificates have also been a success for the third year. The decision to utilize the certificates in this fashion has helped the National to use these certificates instead of storing them in a box and wasting membership money. Thanks to Tim and Karanel Larson of Burlington, Iowa for their hard work this year as the National Judging Records Coordinator. Tim has kept a database on all of the participation cards that we have collected from the various meets.
9. Judging School Program
2003 VCCA JUDGING SCHOOL REPORT
Individual 2003 Judging School presentations
The following summaries provide details for each Judging School presentation that took place in 2003:
<sum> Tarpon Springs, Florida January 23, 2003
Hosted by the Florida Suncoast Bay Region and presented by Ken Farley and Bob Denison. Twenty attended. A special thanks to Don Williams.
<sum> Barrington, Illinois April 27th, 2003
Hosted by the Northern Illinois Region and presented by Steve Scott. Fifteen attended.
<sum> Hanover Township, New Jersey May 3, 2003
Hosted by the Historic New Jersey Region. Forty attended. Presenters were Jack Anderson, John Mahoney, and Mike McCusker. Special thanks to Ron Marciano.
<sum> Chillicothe, Ohio … July 18, 2002
This school was presented in conjunction with the 40th Central Meet at the meet
headquarters hotel. Steve Scott presented the full school curriculum, including the classroom session and field demonstration, to 51 members who completed and
submitted judging participation cards. Originally requested to be part of the Area #7Director’s meeting in April, the school was rescheduled and included as part of the Central Meet activities in order to accommodate additional members. We also had additional classes added for credit. Bill Barlage developed a class on Field Entrance Checks , which was well attended, and Marge Barlage, Pat Honeyman, Fran Kass, and Charlotte North presented a class on Tabulation. Many thanks to all of them.
<sum> Auburn, Washington August 15, 2003
Jack Anderson and Steve Scott traveled to the Seattle area for the Northwest Meet. The Mount Rainier Region hosted the school in conjunction with the meet. We had 66 members attend the school and it was a big success. Special thanks to Roger Scott and Dave and Betsy Williams.
<sum> Los Angeles, California … September 14, 2002. Instructor Larry Pearson presented an abbreviated version of the Judging School. 15 members completed and submitted judging participation cards.
Total Attending Judging Schools = 161
10. Proposals Approved by the National Board in 2003
This year the Judging Committee does not have any new proposals from the last National Board meeting that will go into effect for 2004. This will be the second year that the National Judging Awards pins will be handed out or mailed to the membership for volunteer service to the club. This idea was well received, and is a positive step to promote and thank members of the club for their willingness to volunteer.
It is estimated that there will be an initial grandfathering of a number of members. The member will receive the appropriate pin for each award they apply for. However, two things must happen before the member being grandfathered receives the awards. One is that he or she must judge at one meet after applying for grandfathering and two, must receive one judging school credit. Some members have received judging school credits already at the Anniversary meet or at previous judging schools that have already occurred.
We feel this will be a great way to say thanks to our members for all of their help and this will encourage members to want to volunteer for VCCA functions.
11. New proposals to be presented to the National Board for 2004
Establishment of a Special Body (Historical Interest) Class
This year the judging committee has only one Special Body (Historical Interest) Class proposal generated by author Bill Dirnberger. The committee was in favor of the concept, but felt that more discussion and work needed to be done. The result was that the Board will be asked to send the proposal back to the committee to form a sub-committee for further research, but the Board approves the concept. Do we have a separate Truck class and put commercial for special interest? Do we have a separate special or historical interest class that is certified similarly to the HPOCF class? These are the questions we need membership input on. Let us know what you think. You can contact us directly or discuss the issues on the VCCAChat.org website.
Multiple Award Proposal
We did not have any multiple awards issued this year. We had eleven opportunities at the various meets, but the issue never came up.
Addition of a Touring Class
In our travels this past year we did hear a lot of interest by the membership for a touring or driver class. This is something the board needs to look into more. What does our membership feel about a Driver Participation Class or
Touring Class similar to other clubs? We have a committee working on that right now. Jim Farris is our Touring Committee Chair. Let us know what you feel. We would like to hear from you.
Area Meets for 2004
Area Date Location Meet Chair Chief Judge
Area 1 Sept. 26 Los Angeles, CA. Gloria Palazzo Larry Pearson
Area 3 July 22-25 Portland, Oregon Mary Nel Mahler Gary Albertson
Area 4,5,6 June 15-19 Iowa, City Iowa Ron Bechler Bruce Johnstone
Area 7 July 21-24 Midland, Mi. Linda Harbron Wayne Jackson
Area 8 August 1 Randolph, NJ. Ron Marciano Don Symonds
Area 9 May 6-8 Morresville, NC. Alan Banner Bob Denison
Area 10 June 13 Cationsville, MD. Dottie Miller Jack Anderson
Area 11 July 9-11 Vernon, Conn. Larry Jamatis Bob Dayton
12.Judging Tips and Pointers (Where we can improve)
<sum> Owners remember to sign your judging forms on the front of the form and on top of all judging sheets. It is required.
<sum> Owners of HPOCF vehicles should take an active roll in the certification of their vehicle. It is important to place comments under each section of certification ahead of time so that the certification teams can discuss the authenticity and originality of the particular part of the vehicle. Remember your car is not being judged, it is being certified.
<sum> Chief judges should give instructions to the team captains that if the judging teams need a break to make sure the team stays together during the break. The hosts should have plenty of water available for safe hydration during the time spent outside.
<sum> Remember, When in doubt, ask! Sometimes even the most experienced judges don’t know everything and the worst thing you can do is “think” you know something and be afraid to ask because we are supposed to know it all. That is not true in our system. In the very near future we will have more technical information available at our meets that will help us make those correct decision on, especially the authenticity of a piece. Condition is a different topic. The mistakes we made last year were primarily ones of deductions for correct pieces. We have to get better at that.
<sum> We would like all meet chairs and chief judges to use a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for a database of the vehicles registered and for the awards if possible. This was extremely helpful in getting the awards updated and certificates and judging awards out in a timely manner.
<sum> We will be mailing out the judging pin awards to those members who did not attend a National Area Meet last year but have earned their award. Tim and Karanel Larson from Burlington, Iowa have done a great job keeping judging records.
<sum> Team Captains make sure that forms are initialed and abbreviations and comments have been placed for every point deduction. Team members please to do not make up your own categories when judging. If you feel there are changes in the form to be made we will consider them for the next season. If team members make a category team captains are to ignore them and not count the deduction, then go back to the team member and guide them to make the deduction in a category that is officially on the form.
13. Tech Manuals on CD
We are almost done with having the VCCA tech manuals for 1912-1954 available for the membership on CD. Thanks to Bob Hensel, we have been able to collect the available manuals that have been placed in our archive have been converted to Microsoft Word files and all placed on a CD. We are not quite done with the project but it should be available about the middle of April. We will be sending a copy of the CD to each Area Director, each Area Judging Coordinator, the VCCA Library, and on the VCCA website. There are still a lot of little gaps to fill so we are just beginning this long project but it is a start. We are also in the process of getting the initial information for the 1955 to present. We will keep you informed on this project .
14. Kudos and Thank Yous
I want to thank all of the members of the National Judging Committee for their hard work, input and support this last year. I want to especially thank John Mahoney, Jack Anderson, Tim Larson, and Chris Cufr for their continuous effort and support of our program. Without these coordinators and assistants we would not have had the successful improvements to the VCCA Judging program. Jack Anderson was a big part of getting the judging program to be consistent across the country. Jack has asked to step down from his trainer coordinator position but will remain on the judging committee. We welcome our new trainer coordinator Steve Leunig. Steve brings a lot of knowledge and expertise to bring the judging school program to another level. We will be offering more classes and will be implementing the school program at a more local level.
Respectfully Submitted,
Steve Scott-National Judging Chair
721 Penn Blvd.
Lindenhurst, Illinois 60047
847-356-3684
novasscott@aol.com
Vintage Chevrolet Club of America
National Judging Committee
