OK now, where to start. Lousy start to a great day came with rain at 5:45AM which promptly stopped at 6. Wet roads that left slime all over a perfectly good 3 week old cleaning was a highlight of the day and then we got to Belgrade.
Good classing was thought to be a plus in years past at this show, but seeing some misdirection in the Projects/RIP class and some minor infractions in the 80's class led me to believe that all that posturing was just that.
Judging was much improved over past years and is getting better every year. Possibly in 5 to 10 more years they may get it right. I am not saying that the 1st place cars in all the classes didn't deserve a trophy but some others that didn't get trophies got robbed and others that did were poachers. The judges did fine but some of the experience from years past has not been passed on and some judges take their position way to seriously. A case in point was the judging of my own vehicle with no placard in the window and a conversation that ended with me stating to the judge that "I'm not here for the trophy", yet he still judged the vehicle.
Time management was the biggest complaint that I heard and it showed as the awards didn't start until well after 3PM. This doesn't happen at larger shows of 200 or more vehicles. Please use a calculator or get a rocket scientist to tabulate the points. But wait, you can't do that, it AIN'T ROCKET SCIENCE. Don't tell me it is that difficult as I have been a judge several times at better shows than this one. Using people just to tabulate points might be good in the future. At one point I was ready to start checking into getting a room.
Belgrade. Much improved over the other years but still on par with the other "judged" shows. Way to much room for improvement in its 5th year. Yet I still had a good time catching up with others and baking in the sun with the people I enjoy.
Added 7/26: In case you think Belgrade was an overall bad show, it was not. It is however disappointing to myself and others to see a show that has been hammered repeatedly by several sources on its ineptitude and shows little improvement in the areas in question. This Show is a Good Show if your not really a trophy person or are lucky enough to get a judge that knows what is going on. And yes, I in all probability will return, if for nothing else to laugh and have fun.
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- Human by Birth, Gearhead by Choice.... Doing it the way it oughta be done.
Sorry for the late comment, my internet has been down all week!
ReplyDeleteI wanted to give you my review of 2 shows from last weekend.....
GORHAM: Saturday's Gorham show started with the now pretty much standard (in Maine) "Five Dollars, what class do you want to be in?" Driving my Cadillac, and glancing at his list, I promptly replied "Full Dresser Motorcycle" which this guy started marking off my ballot...... Aye, aye, aye! After letting this guy in on the joke, I proceeded to the customs class. Laughs abounded as a 2006 (?) Prowler was allowed to enter the Streetrods class....Yes you read right, A PROWLER in the STREETROD class. I notified the owner and one of the organizers (buddies?) that a prowler shoulden't be allowed to enter the street rod class as it is NOT a street rod. I was told "that's a matter of interpretation" to which I responded "No, actually it is Maine state law- Cars built AFTER 1948 are ineligable for streetrod plates, and the accepted end of the streetrods was 1948." He and the owner babbled something about "trying to keep it fair and friendly by letting people choose their own class".....SSDD. Other than the complete lack of knowledge on how to run a carshow shown by the staff, It was a nice venue, the food was reasonably priced, and good weather (A little Muggy)and the usual suspects, making for a good day.
BELGRADE: I totally agree that all the talk about show improvements this year were just that: TALK. Great venue, Decent food at decent prices, a good variety of classes (but no customs) and again, the usual suspects made the day a good time. Now the problems... Absolutly NO class enforcement at the gate, poaching aplenty and inept judges that not only ALLOWED the poach-fest, but in some cases REWARDED it! And the award ceremony being held at the crack of 3:30 in the afternoon and dragged on for what seemed days was a little bit much..... Belgrade DEFINATLY has a long way to go to get it right... if anyone bothers to show up again...