Normally, I wouldn't complain about not winning an award at a car show because
there are always so many nice cars, and the competition is stiff. I've had
judges come up to me afterward and tell me that I came within a hair's breadth
of winning, and that can be pretty satisfying. I've come home with a few awards.
But what the heck:
Now then, it's one thing to lose on your car's merits, but it's another thing
to lose due to the sloppy and unprofessional management of the judging. And
yes, I'm going to name names, but only because the organizer was Moss Motors,
and one would think they'd know better.
Last year at the Moss British Extravaganza at Buttonwillow, I attended with my
TR, and participated in the car show. All the owners voted on their favorite in
each particular class. Half way through the judging, the management decided one
car was in the wrong class, so it was moved into mine. I can't say for sure
what effect this had on the votes, but it gets better. When the judging period
was nearly complete, someone asked me "Do you know another car has the same
number?" I went to look, and sure enough, it was true.
Of course, I was sure that the judges would want to know about this right away,
so that they could rectify the situation. Their answer was, "Here's a pen,
change the number." I thought maybe they'd make announcement about the number
change, and suggest people check their ballot sheets one more time before they
turn them in. No such luck.
I can understand mistakes happen. The woman passing out the numbers that
morning clearly had never done anything like that before. What sticks in my
craw is how completely unapologetic the Moss people were, almost to the point
of rudeness. I know that "judges decisions are final," but they're not
infallible. They acted like it was my fault. They could have earned my trust
and respect if they had simply taken me aside, admitted their mistake,
apologized, and invited me to try again next year.
I know what you're thinking: "Boo-hoo-hoo! Sore Loser!" Well, yeah, I admit
that. I was just going to forget about it until this thread brought it back up.
Sorry to be such a downer.
Bryan "Bitter, table for one..." Reese
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