Dangerous

This year's show is on November 6th and 7th. I hear a fair few Skyline owners have already entered - apologies if a thread has already been started on this. I don't organise the show, but my team is asked to judge it each year. I've either entered or judged the show every year since the mid 80s - crap, I must be an old fart! Since the Skyline Club turns up in numbers each year - and it's great to see this level of support - I thought I'd jump on your forum and post a 'hello, and if you have any judging questions - fire away'. I'll try to log on every week or so, and answer any questions that people post. Just to give everyone a bit of background, the Riverland show is judged according to the Street Machine Association of SA (SMASA) judging system, which is designed to cater for everything from pre 1948 rods to brand new cars. The judges all have a minimum of 20 years of experience, and they know what they're doing. Initially, here's a few things to keep in mind cars should be unlocked, with bonnet and boot open, and CLEAN. We reward hard work and thought (ie safety, cleanliness and attention to detail) as much as quality of finish. A closed bonnet gets zero points for the engine bay. An open but not so good engine bay at least gets a few points An info board always helps, especially if the car is non standard (not so much engine internals, but body and trim) any modifications should improve the car and make it safer - if you've got an early skyline with silly engine power and standard brakes and suspension, well.............. As mentioned, we reward safety. We like to see cars with fire extinguishers within reach of the drivers, and also first aid kits. Lastly, I need to let everyone know that I am affiliated with the Nissan 300ZX Club, as I own one (I own other makes as well). For this reason, I do not select the overall Club Display trophy. I always discuss this with the show organisers. Nor do I judge any of the vehicles, unless one of my judges cannot attend the show. If I do judge, I can guarantee that my judging, as well as that of all the judges, is impartial and fair. All of the judges contribute their time and efforts on a voluntary basis - we are rev heads, petrol heads and Street Machiners, just like the entrants. We want a successful and fun show, just like the organisers and entrants. Here's to a good show! Dangerous

A separate framed or block mounted display board would be better, placed in front of the car but not obscuring it. If people want to take photos of the car, they don't usually want an info board in the way, or an info sheet on the windscreen.

Hey that's not bad Damo. Just need to keep in mind with the colours and font that it will need to be easy to read in bright sunlight for the oval shows. Also, if it's behind glass, get the non reflective glass frame for it. Have you got a dyno output scan to add to it?

Dohmar, what I mean by serious contenders is that your club obviously wants to put together a good, interesting Club Display. The individual cars in the display don't all (or any) have to be trophy winners, but it's the overall theme, information for the public and general interest for the public that needs to be in a Club display. Re undercariage detailing - usually not judged at all in street class, which 99% of the trophies are for. If two cars are absolutely locked on points though, we might use the undercarriage condition and cleanliness, and any detailing if present, as a tiebreaker. Engine bays are a different matter though. Every car at a car show will have its engine bay judged as one of the three basic areas of the car. Even if a car has a stock engine bay, it's better to present it very clean, neat and tidy than to miss out on any points at all. The judging system we use puts a big emphasis on firstly car safety, then car cleanliness and condition. The reason that we do that is first and foremost the cars should still be safe - they might go a lot harder than a standard car, but they should handle and stop at least as well and preferrably better, or at least to be seen to be capable of that by the way they've been modified. Cleanliness and attention to detail also has a lot of points on offer, as this relies more on good planning and hard work than just throwing cash at a car. A really clean and well thought out 'good' car has a fair chance against an averagely cleaned and sloppy in areas 'excellent' car. Your draft info board is a good start, and yes, the public does like to read about what's in the cars, especially if they own a similar car and/or have similar components used. It could probably do with a few less words and a couple of photos though, eg of parts of the car that are difficult to see while the car is on display - show off a big set of brakes, or a panned shot of the interior, or an action shot of the car on a track - er,, no shots of burnouts on a back street though please

Well, this seems as good a place as any to post a reply to this thread. This is my first post on the SAU forum, and hopefully not the last. Firstly, who am I? My name is David, and I've been into the car scene for a long time - since before many Skylines, and before Zed 32s. I was the Chief Steward at the Riverland Show, basically the head judge on the day. I've done this job for the Riverland show for many years, as have the other judges on the day. We do it on an entirely voluntary basis, as the show is well organised, well run, has heaps of great cars, and it's our way of paying back to the sport for the fun we've got out of it. From reading both this and the 300ZX forum threads, I can see that maybe some clarification of the trophies would benefit the show in the future. Just a point that I need to make up front though - I do own a 300ZX, and I am a some time poster to that forum. I appreciate all tough cars though - when you have to judge a hundred or more cars in a car show in a day, you get to appreciate a car for what the owner has put into it, not what it left the factory as. Also, the judging process isn't meant to be secret - everyone should know what it's all about. I won't bore everyone with all the fine print involved with judging though, except to say that every single judged car is judged in at least three areas - interior, exterior and engine bay. If a car is locked, has the bonnet shut, or is not presentable in any one of these areas, it would be pretty remote for it to win an overall trophy. - I'll stick to a few categories, and if you want me to, I can elaborate on others afterwards. Firstly, Club Display trophy. This category was evolved out of some pretty large shows based in Adelaide, which were getting up to 400 entries, but were also well supported by Clubs, much as the Riverland event is. The SA Hot Rod and Street Machine Spectacular actually offered big prizemoney for Top, second and third Club Display trophies - $500 for first place, if I recall correctly. The Top Club Display trophy is intended to do two things. Firstly, it is intended to give the Club members who don't have potential trophy winning cars an opportunity to participate in organising a Club display that is interesting and informative, and having a part in winning a trophy, and something that promotes the Club and 'street machining' in general. Secondly, it is intended to create some peripheral interest in the members of the public that come along to a car show, but who aren't as passionate as the entrants (read mums, girlfriends, kids and mates here). Top Club Display is judged on the following areas - - display layout - individual car details and information (eg info boards, photos, etc) - a display theme, not necessarily anything to do with the cars themselves. It is not about he overall quality of the cars themselves, although all cars should be at least presentable. On this basis, and despite copping a warning about leaving early, the 300ZX Club won the trophy in 2009. I for one would really like to see some serious competition in the Club Display Trophy in 2010. It looks like SAU are contenders, as are the Falcon FPV/Tickford Club when they attend, as well as the Riverland Motorsport Club. There are two other trophy categories which may be of interest too. One is "Best Displayed Vehicle", which is judged on the way the vehicle is displayed to the public. Items like jacking the car up, displaying undercarriage or detailing with mirrors, an information board about the car including pictures of the build and details of who did what on the car, and generally how well the public can see the car itself are factors in this area. The other is 'best individual vehicle display'. Whereas this might sound similar, it is more like a single car version of the best Club display, judged on the same criteria. The car doesn't have to be trophy winning condition, but the overall theme and presentation does. Sorry, rambled on a bit there, but I hope this helps in the understanding of these trophy categories. Cheers, Dangerous.