Michael: I didn't take your comments to be controversial, at all. As Will said, it opens some of the judging areas up to comment and conversation. If some of the national judges are members of this forum, perhaps a thread on Judging may be appropriate. Chris, I knew you'ld chime in on some of this and I appreciate your input. BTW...where is my "special top " award? During the initial judging, I actually opened up my umbrella for the judges to look at(hehe). I realized a few years ago. that you can't lose points for something that isn't there. hence, removal of the entire roof of the car. I didn't lose a single point for headliner, rain gutter trim , roof or quarter windows! I appreciate the difficulty in getting judges for a show and the time the judges spend . I also understand that you can never have the same teams of judges at all the national events. This is all the more reason that the rules of judging and method of judging be refined and/or rewritten to insure that the judges, regardless of the event, be on the same page. Since any judging is both objective and subjective, I think the National Committee should strive to remove as much of the subjective factor as possible.One area thatI have witnessed over and over is the disproportionate deduction of points in a given area. AS an example, in Cleveland , I was deducted 2 pts for "paint discoloration behind bumper". Let's break down the entire Exterior category. The entire exterior is worth 100pts, within that are there are 10 individual areas for judging. It should be safe to assume that each individual area is worth 10pts. Section E3 is PAINT (condition and color). If one were to break down the exterior area of the car there are probably 13 major individual areas to be judged for paint . Hood, hatch, roof, cowl, 2 headlight buckets,2 front fenders, 2 doors , 2 rocker panels, 2 rear quarters. That's 14 areas worth 10pts. 2 pts for discoloration BEHIND a bumper seems excessive. (BTW..I still haven't found that "discoloration"). The same disporoportionate point deductions were taken in another area with "paint discoloration on valance" 2pts. (Can't find that one either) One can't help but wonder how many points would be deducted if the valance was missing. I ,coincidentally, missed The Gold Cup by 4 pts. I agree with others, that a Show is not about the awards, but about the cars. Also , more importantly to me, it's about the people and new friends that we make. But , for myself and those like me who may spend a thousand or more hours in building a car ( I do 99% of the work myself), I not only expect but deserve a fair and equitable set of judging rules and guidelines. Thanks, AL