What happened to Winning?????

I guess what I'm trying to figure is how we managed to get from structured contest with a set judging standard as with the Revell/Pactra contests of the '60s to "It's what I like". It seems that somewhere along the way we've gone soft on being willing to stand up and telling someone that their build didn't deserve to win. There are ways to tell a builder that your straight from the box unpainted 1974 Vega didn't have what it took to win against a museum quality build and not have confrontation.

Several years ago I took my '37 Ford Club Coupe (different from Revell's Business Coupe), which had won a Best in Show at a judged contest, and entered it in a contest here in the PNW. When I set it down on the table in the Street Rod class I knew full well that there was not a chance that it would even place. I knew what to expect based on the competition and the judges, but at least I was there to support the event. But, when you take a build that consistently wins and enter it into a contest and you size up the competition, like we all do, you don't expect the Best of Show to go to a build with paint so thick that it fills the running boards on a Revell '32 Roadster.

When I judge I break the class down to those that have potential to win and those that don't. The very first criteria is finish, if the paint is smugged, orange peeled, heavy(runs & sags), etc the rest of the build had better be outstanding or it doesn't get a second look. So, the initial breakdown is subjective, when it comes to placement it becomes objective and points com into play. The more work the builds puts into the build the more points are awarded. A detailed engine gets more points then one that isn't, the same goes for the interior and chassis. Finish even though pointed is a mix of being subjective and objective. A build with smooth paint and well painted trim will garner more points then a build that has poorly executed BMF.

I guess it comes down to that when I use to check the contest annuals at the Washoe County Library in Reno in the late '60s I wished I could build like those guys. A blank judging sheet was in the annual so you could see what the points system was and knew in order to win this was the level you had to build to. Now that I can build to those standards we've become a hobby where we don't want to hurt anyone's feeling by telling them that they didn't win.

I guess at the end of the day we should all get our cupcakes and juice box and get big ol' group hug, that way no one looses.

To bad life isn't that way.