Advice for first time judge ?

[Guest abh3usn]

I will be judging for the first time on Sat. at local meet. I've pratice judged at a national meet as part of the CJE class and have reread the '08 rules. I've really enjoyed it so far. The most important thing I learned from experienced judges is to keep in mind, "Would the car have looked this way from the factory?" Any advice before hitting the show field ?

[Guest windjamer]

Be fair, be honest and remember they where far from perfect when they left the factory

[Shop Rat]

Here are some of the instructions that I have given in the past when I have been a Team Captain.

<span style="color: #FF0000">First and foremost, it is our duty to fairly and equally appraise the authenticity and workmanship of the vehicles the owners have brought to this show. Based on the work we do, awards will be given to worthy vehicles and their owners. We are not here to give awards to vehicles that do not meet the standards set by the AACA.</span>

Please remember, you are never to reveal scores outside of this team. You never know who knows who. Anyone caught revealing scores will be banned from judging at all future shows according to AACA rules.

We have all made friends in this hobby. You may at some point end up judging the vehicle of one of those friends. It is unacceptable to let a friendship sway your judging. Please do not engage in conversations with owners, especially owners that you know personally. Other owners in the class will view this as suspect even if it isn’t.

Please do not nit-pick the cars, but also do no let deductions slide that should be taken. This is where the fairly and equally comes in.

Remember, we are not to take deductions on a hunch that something is wrong. We must be very sure of even a one point deduction. Documentation is the burden of the owner on questioned items.

Be aware of anyone that comes around you when you are judging. Owners are not above bringing friends or relatives to spy on us. Camera phones are now everywhere as are video cameras with sensitive microphones and telephoto lenses. It is best to carry your clipboard against your chest, or put a plain piece of paper over the judging sheets, when not writing on it.

<span style="font-weight: bold">We do not enter vehicles for any reason. Doors should be closed gently with your hand on the handle to guide it if you are the interior judge. Never lean on any part of a vehicle. </span>

The JUDGED sticker is to be placed on the windshield card <span style="font-weight: bold">only</span>. (Believe it or not some judges are still putting them on the headlights or on the windshield itself.)

Please speak in a low voice, facing away from the owner when you report your deductions. That way they cannot read lips or tape what is being said.

[imported_Bob Hill]

Another thing I learned in Judging school back in 95 was that each car stands on it's own merit and is not judged against any other car. Once you finish judging a car, you are done with that car and do not use it as the standard for the next car judged.

BOB

[Jim Bollman]

One that was told me early on that I use often is: If it looks right, it probably is, if it doesn't, ask.

[mrpushbutton]

I might add that as an antique car guy you may own cars similar to those you are judging, or be very aware of the particular ins and outs, authencity points of a particular make/model. When you judge, don't thow the book at a car that happens to be one that you are extremely knowledgable aobut and then go judge another right beside it that you know little about (comparatively) other than to say "they didn't use blue crimp-on connectors in 1947" and so on.

Be fair, treat every car in the class the same, including those where you know a lot. A Cadillac guy could tear apart a Cadillac he is judging and let several things get past on a Packard or Lincoln, not being "the expert". I don't consider that fair. If there is something blatently wrong with the Cadillac, call it what it is, but don't go micro-balistic on the car when you can't for every other car in that class.

treat them all the same.

[Shop Rat]

This is excellent advice.

Twice my husband has judged with two other judges that did exactly what you just warned against. They tore the car apart that they knew so much about. They also basically judged the whole car going from judge to judge telling them all that was wrong with the car and making sure they deducted for everything they told them about.

This is when putting an true expert on a team with cars they know so much about is a bad thing. I fully understand it would be hard for them to be objective when they see incorrect things about a vehicle. They need to be on teams like that at marque shows, not AACA shows, unless it is to certify the cars they know about for the HPOF class. At AACA shows they should be put on teams with cars that they don't know so much about to be fair to all the owners in a class.

[Guest windjamer]

My goodness, comon sence, what will we do next?? Thank you Mr P.

[Jim Bollman]

It's the fairness issue on cars you know versus don't that makes me choose classes I'm not an expert on. After judging the same classes for awhile you develop a general understanding of the vehicles but not like ones you own.

[ex98thdrill]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">A Cadillac guy could tear apart a Cadillac he is judging and let several things get past on a Packard or Lincoln, not being "the expert". I don't consider that fair.</div></div>Yes I know what you're talking about, but I prefer to judge a class that I am familiar with.

What you're saying does happen, but I know in my cases my knowledge has prevented someone from making a deduction that was correct and not wrong. I've seen chassis judges go to make a deduction on a Chrysler product truck because what they thought were stress marks on the bolts were actually the original Mopar bolts that had their 'cloverleaf' type markings on the heads of the bolts. I've judged fire trucks where people have tried to deduct points for a frame painted the body color when they thought that the frame should be black and I've set them straight.

I am somewhat a stickler when judging fire trucks because everyone who gets around fire trucks always thinks that there has to be red lights on the roof, and that is not true. Rotating red lights were not developed until 1949. As a standard rule of thumb, if you see any pre war vehicle (police car, fire engine, ambulance, tow truck, etc.) with rotating lights on the roof, it is not correct.

Another issue that is not specified in the AACA Polcies and Procedures manual concerns vinyl stripes and lettering. On the commercial trucks, professional vehicles and fire engines, you see a lot of people using vinyl stripes and lettering. If it is a pre-war truck, that is wrong without a doubt, if it is a vehicle in the 1970's it is fully correct, but when you get in the 1950's and '60's you start getting into a gray area.