Bringing back the Concourse Competition
#1
Bringing back the Concourse Competition
My favorite part of big R/C Race Events in the past was the Concourse Competition. Recently however the Concourse has all but gone away. Even the world's largest on-road race event, the Snowbirds, had a minuscule showing for the Concourse. With well over 400 participants at the Snowbirds, there were only 14 entries in the Concourse Competition.
I am doing my part to bring back the Concourse by emphasizing this competition in the upcoming U.T.A.C. race. To start with, we are going to follow the most recent set of rules from section 13 of the ROAR Rule Book. See quote below...
I am doing my part to bring back the Concourse by emphasizing this competition in the upcoming U.T.A.C. race. To start with, we are going to follow the most recent set of rules from section 13 of the ROAR Rule Book. See quote below...
13 CONCOURS RULES
... 13.1 GENERAL
...... 13.1.1 These rules establish a consistent basis for judging cars entered in a Concours d’Elegance competition.
...... 13.1.2 Concours may be divided into two divisions; Best Appearing and Most Authentic. The Best Appearing category is for original designs and workmanship, not copies of full-size cars. The Most Authentic category is for scale representation of full-size racecars. The number of categories and awards is at the discretion of the Race Director.
...... 13.1.3 A committee of three judges should be used to determine the winners. A judge may not have a vehicle entered in the Concours. Each judge shall independently score each vehicle. Each category shall be awarded a maximum of ten points. A perfect vehicle would receive ten points in each category. The cars are scored based upon comparative judging from among all the cars entered. Judges should take into consideration the difficulty of hand painted and hand crafted parts versus store bought decals, stickers, tape, or other items. The highest scoring entry will be the winner, the second highest scoring entry will be awarded second place and so on.
...... 13.1.4 To qualify for an award, trophy winners in the Best Appearing category must race their cars in a main or qualifier following the judging. Any item attached to the body, and used in the determination of a score, must remain on the vehicle. Wings, drivers, and bodies cannot be changed. Motors, tires, rims, and batteries can be changed.
...... 13.1.5 Winning cars are not allowed to compete in another ROAR Concourse event regardless of event level. To ensure this, winning cars should be marked or otherwise identified by the judging Committee and this identification included in the race results of the event.
...... 13.1.6 Suggested Concours scoring sheets are included in Appendix C, on pages C-1 and C-2.
...... 13.1.7 Ties should be broken by choosing the vehicle with the highest point total in a category. The order of selection is: (1) Overall Effect; (2) Detail; (3) Paint; and (4) Body Preparation. For the Most Authentic division, authenticity should be the first tiebreaker, ahead of overall effect.
... 13.2 CATEGORIES FOR BEST APPEARING
...... 13.2.1 Overall Effect::
......... * Does the package blend together well?
......... * Is it visually appealing or gaudy?
......... * Does the paint scheme fit the body style?
...... 13.2.2 Detail:
......... * Are decals neatly trimmed?
......... * Are decals hand painted?
......... * Are decals on straight?
......... * Are decals appropriate to the class?
......... * Is the driver's cockpit fully detailed?
......... * Is the interior painted?
...... 13.2.3 Paint:
......... * Does the paint bleed through in any areas?
......... * Are multiple colors used?
......... * Is it a simple or complicated paint scheme?
......... * Is striping straight?
...... 13.2.4 Body Preparation:
......... * Is it neatly trimmed?
......... * Are the edges sanded and radiused?
......... * Are the wheel openings centered?
......... * Are the modifications made to the body inventive and well done?
... 13.3 CATEGORIES FOR MOST AUTHENTIC
...... 13.3.1 These are the same as the Best Appearing criteria with the addition of one element - authenticity. Entrants in this category must provide photographic evidence of the full-sized vehicle being replicated.
...... 13.3.2 Authenticity:
......... * Are photographic documents included?
......... * How does the entry compare to the documents?
......... * Does the overall package blend well together?
......... * Are there items included, such as wheels, motor, mirrors, antennas, driver, lights, etc., that add to the authenticity?
...... 13.3.3 Vehicles entered in this category must be operational, but do not have to be raced. Operational is defined as being able to operate under its own power and in full control from the transmitter, without direct connection or outside aid.
... 13.1 GENERAL
...... 13.1.1 These rules establish a consistent basis for judging cars entered in a Concours d’Elegance competition.
...... 13.1.2 Concours may be divided into two divisions; Best Appearing and Most Authentic. The Best Appearing category is for original designs and workmanship, not copies of full-size cars. The Most Authentic category is for scale representation of full-size racecars. The number of categories and awards is at the discretion of the Race Director.
...... 13.1.3 A committee of three judges should be used to determine the winners. A judge may not have a vehicle entered in the Concours. Each judge shall independently score each vehicle. Each category shall be awarded a maximum of ten points. A perfect vehicle would receive ten points in each category. The cars are scored based upon comparative judging from among all the cars entered. Judges should take into consideration the difficulty of hand painted and hand crafted parts versus store bought decals, stickers, tape, or other items. The highest scoring entry will be the winner, the second highest scoring entry will be awarded second place and so on.
...... 13.1.4 To qualify for an award, trophy winners in the Best Appearing category must race their cars in a main or qualifier following the judging. Any item attached to the body, and used in the determination of a score, must remain on the vehicle. Wings, drivers, and bodies cannot be changed. Motors, tires, rims, and batteries can be changed.
...... 13.1.5 Winning cars are not allowed to compete in another ROAR Concourse event regardless of event level. To ensure this, winning cars should be marked or otherwise identified by the judging Committee and this identification included in the race results of the event.
...... 13.1.6 Suggested Concours scoring sheets are included in Appendix C, on pages C-1 and C-2.
...... 13.1.7 Ties should be broken by choosing the vehicle with the highest point total in a category. The order of selection is: (1) Overall Effect; (2) Detail; (3) Paint; and (4) Body Preparation. For the Most Authentic division, authenticity should be the first tiebreaker, ahead of overall effect.
... 13.2 CATEGORIES FOR BEST APPEARING
...... 13.2.1 Overall Effect::
......... * Does the package blend together well?
......... * Is it visually appealing or gaudy?
......... * Does the paint scheme fit the body style?
...... 13.2.2 Detail:
......... * Are decals neatly trimmed?
......... * Are decals hand painted?
......... * Are decals on straight?
......... * Are decals appropriate to the class?
......... * Is the driver's cockpit fully detailed?
......... * Is the interior painted?
...... 13.2.3 Paint:
......... * Does the paint bleed through in any areas?
......... * Are multiple colors used?
......... * Is it a simple or complicated paint scheme?
......... * Is striping straight?
...... 13.2.4 Body Preparation:
......... * Is it neatly trimmed?
......... * Are the edges sanded and radiused?
......... * Are the wheel openings centered?
......... * Are the modifications made to the body inventive and well done?
... 13.3 CATEGORIES FOR MOST AUTHENTIC
...... 13.3.1 These are the same as the Best Appearing criteria with the addition of one element - authenticity. Entrants in this category must provide photographic evidence of the full-sized vehicle being replicated.
...... 13.3.2 Authenticity:
......... * Are photographic documents included?
......... * How does the entry compare to the documents?
......... * Does the overall package blend well together?
......... * Are there items included, such as wheels, motor, mirrors, antennas, driver, lights, etc., that add to the authenticity?
...... 13.3.3 Vehicles entered in this category must be operational, but do not have to be raced. Operational is defined as being able to operate under its own power and in full control from the transmitter, without direct connection or outside aid.
#2
Problem is there are too many true Professionals.......I know several who do awesome work and make a living painting everything from hockey and F1 helmets to commissioned pieces. What you end up with last is 30 entries in your concourse done by 3 or 4 guys and the 'average racer' painting his own stuff doesn't waste his time entering his
#3
The best is when "pro" painters show up to a big event, enter a couple of bodies, and they're not even registered to race at that event. That shouldn't be allowed.
#5
Tech Apprentice
iTrader: (1)
I don't know if there is a good solution and see how people could be frustrated..
It would be nice to see 2 different classes. One for the hobbyist, "Owner Painted" and another for the "pro's". Guess one differentiating factor would be if the owner ever painted a body for $, they are considered "Pro". But this would be extremely hard to police and there would always be someone willing to bend the rules. Only in a perfect world.
It would be nice to see 2 different classes. One for the hobbyist, "Owner Painted" and another for the "pro's". Guess one differentiating factor would be if the owner ever painted a body for $, they are considered "Pro". But this would be extremely hard to police and there would always be someone willing to bend the rules. Only in a perfect world.
#8
Tech Apprentice
iTrader: (1)
#9
Tech Master
iTrader: (1)
I like looking at nice paint jobs, but I despise all judged competition. In my opinion, opinion should have no place in determining winners. Anything that is judged with abstract ideas like "artistic merit", should be considered a demonstration or entertainment only, but not a true competition.
#10
Tech Regular
Another way to do it would be to have fellow racers rank them, instead of individually judging them. Trying to decide if some aspect is a 7 or an 8 is alot more tedious and time consuming than weighing one whole car directly against another. You could have concourse standing give a small points boost to season totals or something too, to encourage more people to enter.
#11
This year I attended my first IIC in Las Vegas and I competed in the Spec GT Concourse Competition. My entry was a Bilstein Audi R8 which won 'Best of Show'. Here are some pics of my winning entry:
The competition was tough. There were 14 entries and 5 of them had LED lights. Here's a panoramic pic of all 14 entries:
The competition was tough. There were 14 entries and 5 of them had LED lights. Here's a panoramic pic of all 14 entries:
#13
This is what we are doing with our new series the Alberta Touring Series in Canada. Concourse is on the best chassis layout. Average Joe can build a really nice chassis, with neat wiring. The first event is in November I will let you know how it goes.
#14
Thanks Proffesor. That is my spare Serpent Eryx 2.0 chassis. I ran the body during my 3rd qualifier on my Serpent Eryx 3.0 for it to count. You see there were no posted rules that said you must display your concourse body on a running chassis. There is a rule that says you must run your concourse body at least 1 lap during a race.