the judging rules seem to be adequately defined in the ZCCA Judging Manual for the cars, but there are no guidelines or protocols for the judges themselves. Something, like a Judge's section needs to be added to keep them in line. I can say that myself, because, over the years, at several shows utilizing the ZCCA rules, there were mistakes made by "judges" that were incorrect because they were basically just some guys pulled off the sidewalk at the last minute. One problem/mistake was by a judge who incorrectly tried to operate the vehicle, and deducted points because he didn't get the result he expected. Another was a judge who was not respectful of the car and deducted points because the door was purposely locked. A third mistake was from a judge who made an invasive test on the car's mechanics. By defining what things a judge may do, and how to present himself during a judging will eliminated most, if not all judging problems, and make the event a better experience for all involved. For the first problem mentioned, the judge should have asked the owner to operate the control, and he would have found it working perfectly. the judge hadn't read the car's owner's manual and therefore didn't know how to operate that control. For the second problem, the judge should have asked the owner's permission to enter the car, and he would have gotten it, provided he didn't actually get IN the car. For the third problem, the judge should have just looked from the same distance that any spectator would have used, instead of going up close. these three basic rules (no touching, ask permission, "5 foot rule") would have eliminated all the problems, and made the judging process fair and less time-consuming. I think there might be occasions when you might need to get very picky, such as to break a tie-score, but for 99% of the time, it doesn't need to be that way. It's also a little late to get this section added to the ZCCA Judging Manual for this year's convention, but it is timely enough for next year's and anything else in the future. thxZ