IPMS West Central Missouri, 20 September 2003
Let me start with the preliminaries. The group has a web site, and all information as well as downloadable flyer and entry forms were on the site. I particularly like this feature as it makes registration a breeze. It also lets you look things over and see what peculiarities you may need to take into consideration. Costs were $5 to enter which included two models and a $1 per entry after that: quite reasonable. Juniors were $1 each.
A few things I noticed that I felt need mentioning. First there were no restrictions on other Regional or Nationals winners that most shows have. I mean, if you win at Nationals, what's the point of entering a lower level of competition? Secondly, there were no 'sweeps' rules. One modeler could win all the awards in a category. The idea, it seems to me, is to make as many modelers want to return as possible. If a single talented trophy hog goes home with most of the awards will others want to return? I think not. This wasn't made obvious by the way the awards ceremony went, much to the organizer's credit. Finally, the entry form has one put their name on a tab that gets folded under. To me, no builder info should be anywhere at all on the form that goes with the model. I've seen and heard judges lift up a tab to see who built what and make judgments on that info. It is simple enough to assign every entrant a number and have that number be the only builder ID that goes with the model.
The event was held at a technical college that is right off the interstate. Very easy to find. Lots of parking was available and the venue was very nice. A large, though rather dim room was used for vendors while the competition areas were a couple of large classrooms. It worked out very well as the classrooms were well lit. Registration went quickly thanks to being able to have forms filled out ahead of time. It was also nice that there were places to sit down and relax, a very important part of these events to many people. Refreshments were available in vending machines.
The first place I head after registration is the vendor's room. To me, this was a real disappointment. Not because of lack of vendors, but because most of them were retail outlets of some sort. There were other individuals with rather high priced offerings as well. I like cheap kits and the ability to haggle over prices. Those do not come from retail stores. They come from individuals who are weeding out their collections. Besides, it is cheap kits that allow me to do previews every day here on MM.
A second major attraction to me after the vendors is a decent raffle. These folks have a very nice raffle with tickets at $1 each. These were broken down into categories so you choose the category you want. Were I to run this raffle, I'd change a few things. First of all, it is held at only one time, and that is late in the day. Secondly, it is a 'winner grab what he wants' so that if you do not have your number called early, little of any desirability is left. I mean, who is going to really want a catalog or a set of True Details wheels for a Fairey Fruitbat? I think that raffles should start about 10 AM and be held every hour. I also think that each item should be assigned a ticket and those tickets put into a bin for the winner to choose from. This will keep all the really desirable items from disappearing early into the raffle. It takes just a bit more work to do this, but, in my opinion, it makes for a much nicer raffle.
Judging went quite quickly. It started at 12:30 and the awards ceremony began before 3PM (raffle started at 2). The event organizers placed 2nd and 3rd place awards with the model, which I really like. Then they did a Powerpoint presentation and showed the 1st place model as the category winners were being announced. I thought this was an excellent way to do things. Not all clubs have the ability to do the Powerpoint presentation, but I do appreciate having the awards ceremony being brief. Awards were very nicely done and are actually something one can hang on a wall. Thanks to the quick ceremony, we were on the road home by 3.30. I should also mention that there were plenty of places to eat lunch within a few miles of the show so no problems there.
I did notice that a majority of awards were given to local club members. Now I seriously doubt if there was any 'home cooking' going on and it was just that there were few out-of-towners present at the show. I'd be interested in finding out what the percentage of club members to non-local entrants there were. Most of the folks that I went with took home something in terms of awards so I'm convinced that the judging was fair and honest. From what I heard, there were over 200 entries, which isn't bad for the second year of a show like this.
Bottom line is would I go again. Well I have to tell you that I liked the contest, but from my standpoint, it wasn't as good as I'd hoped. The contest part was well run, but I was disappointed by the vendors and how the raffle was organized. I realize that the contest folks cannot control who signs up for vendor tables, but for me, I'd like to have seen fewer retail stores and more cheap kits! I know that the organizers did a lot of work to get the show up and operating and they did a superb job in that regard. As to returning, I'm undecided and will have to wait until it comes around next year to see how things are.
OK, so in a nutshell what did I think? Good- Cost, venue, overall show organizing, pre-show materials (internet form availability), awards ceremony, awards. Needs Improving - vendor makeup -raffle organization - registration forms -a few of the rules. The organizers can fix the last three items and I encourage them to look into them by next year's event.