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Gold, Silver, Bronze Award question for a local contest


Skjohn98

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Our club is going to hold a contest in 2022 for the first time in over ten years, the club is considering going to gold, silver, bronze system for the awards. The question that I have have is if we go to GSB awards how many of each should we get?

1st, 2nd, 3rd I know we would need one for each category.

Any help would be appreciated.

John

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So herein is one of the logistical challenges of the Gold, Silver, Bronze or “open” system for recognizing achievement in a modeling competition. There is no way to know how many of each award will be needed! This is because there is no way to know how good (or bad) the entries are going to be in a category on any given day at any given contest. Since it is possible that every entry reaches a gold level of excellence, you will be handing out a lot of gold medals. Or, conversely, every entry will be so poor that you won’t be giving any level of award. Of course, the usual situation is an unpredictable mix of great, good, so-so and poor models. (All this assumes that you will be judging every entry against a theoretical standard which will be scrupulously, even ruthlessly applied to each entry, even if everyone ends up with a gold or everyone ends up with nothing.)
 

Without getting into the myriad other implications of this situation, this is why many open judging contest organizers use the same undated awards without any location specific details year in and year out. Large quantities can be kept on hand and easily reordered when needed, without any waste.

Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge 

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40 minutes ago, Skjohn98 said:

Our club is going to hold a contest in 2022 for the first time in over ten years, the club is considering going to gold, silver, bronze system for the awards. The question that I have have is if we go to GSB awards how many of each should we get?

1st, 2nd, 3rd I know we would need one for each category.

Any help would be appreciated.

John

Anecdotal information which has been provided to the NCC indicates the number of awards given is somewhere between 50 and 80 percent of the number of entries.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You should consider how much work your group is willing to put into things. Using a GSB system based on points takes a lot of work. Not that the standard free range judging is easy, but establishing a point system and getting everyone on board is tricky.  And as Nick pointed out, you must be willing to have some categories where no one gets gold. Even with a point system, someone still has to check the sheets for confusing things like 4 giving it a five and 1 doing a 2.

The main difference is whether you want to judge the individual model or pick which are the best in a category.

You might consider just doing an "award". Give out three or four in each category, but don't designate a place position. This could speed things up by not requiring the judges to pick a place line up.

Dak

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If going down the Gold, Silver and Bronze route for a club competition I would take a pragmatic approach and have plenty of generic certificates printed up for each.

Paper costs next to nothing whereas trophies could be very expensive to have made for an environment where it will be impossible to ascertain what will be needed for each.

 GSB however has one pitfall in that all the models will have to be judged against a set number of points that would have to be achieved for each to ascertain what GSB recognition will be awarded. Lots more judging time would have to be put into this, and one has to ask how much time would be taken up with this as club shows are generally one day events.

Otherwise going the First, Second and Third route would probably be much easier to administer if awarding actual trophies for the model classes in the competition.

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Winners at model contests see paper certificates as cheap and low budget. They have traditionally been utilized for fourth place, also-ran, “feel good,” honourable mention awards. If you are going to give only chintzy paper certificates to all the winners, you better not charge much for contest registration. Otherwise, people are going to wonder what they are getting for their money. Since the largest budget item in most shows is the awards, you will save a lot of money- and likely have to endure a lot of grumbling! 
 

Good luck. Nick

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In many ways I prefer a small medallion to a big trophy. Easier to carry and display with the model. 
 

Do not charge per entry, but just do a base fee for unlimited entries if you want a good turn out.

If you decide to go for a point based GSB award system, make sure all the entrants understand how it works. Experience has taught me people assume all contests are the same and they aren’t. 
 

Dak

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We've done GSB at Jaxcon for several years now...and with great success! That said, there's certain tricks to doing it as opposed to a 1-2-3 show....

1) GIVE OUT A NICE 2" MEDALLION! Do NOT use certificates or any other lower budget types of awards. GSB CAN involve a higher initial expense for awards, but that evens out over time as you figure out how many of each you need on hand from year to year.

2) DO NOT put a "year" on your medallions. This is so you CAN use the leftovers from year to year. That said, DO buy some sheets of large, white, self-adhesive "dots" that you can give to whoever wants them. Those can be stuck onto the back of any award and the winner can record  whatever info they want to keep track of.

3) GSB IS NOT A WAY TO GIVE EVERYONE AN AWARD! It's a way to try to award more models that are deserving of SOME recognition, instead of limiting it to 3 in any category. when you advertise your show be sure to publicize your judging CRITERIA (see below)

4) IF you get 500 models on average at your show, I suggest ordering 500 medallions...75 Golds, 175 Silvers, and 250 Bronzes. Gold medals should NOT be easy to earn, and you (probably) should NOT be giving out more than 10% in Golds. Think of a gold level build as not just a winner, but a model you'd nominate for a "Best Of" in a genre. Silver level builds are generally those builds that would be in the top running to finish 1, 2, or 3 in that style show....BUT you can recognize as many of those as deserved. Bronze level builds can be thought of as those who "make the cut' in 1-2-3, but that are rather quickly eliminated once looked at closer.

5) DO NOT TRY TO USE ANY SORT OF POINTS OR "SCORING" SYSTEM!!!  There's plenty of experienced judges out there who know what to look for, and there's no need to reinvent the wheel here! Use the regular 3-person teams. They START by taking a vote on what they think the model should get after viewing it for a few minutes. If they all agree, they make that award and move on. If not, they discuss their differences, iron them out, and make a decision then. Golds and "No Awards"  are easy and fast as one is outstanding and the other has easily spotted multiple problems. It's the bronze and silvers that take more time....

Here's a copy of our "pocket judging guide" we give to our judges for GSB....you can make adjustments for your show as you see fit, but this works well at Jaxcon....

JUDGING STANDARDS- a simplified handheld reference

GOLD- VERY impressive, you’d nominate this for a “Best Of” Award,

Flawless finish, superb detailing beyond aftermarket,

Head and shoulders above other entries around it, not an OOTB build,

Have to search hard to find any flaws. This should be a RARE, but not impossible award to achieve!

SILVER- Extremely well done, NO flaws at first glance

(though some small ones are there) Would probably be in

the final cut of a 1-2-3 show, extra but not extensive detailing,

great looking finish with excellent weathering if applied, a “cut above” the majority of entries

BRONZE- Well built, but some very MINOR flaws are easily visible,

                 NO MAJOR BASIC ERRORS, not more than 3 minor flaws

of differing kinds, would “make the initial cut”  in a 1-2-3 show, pretty much blends in with the crowd     

POSSIBLE DISQUALIFIERS- Many flaws immediately visible at a glance, even if small, major alignment problems, easily seen seams, plainly silvered decals in   several places, fogged/glue smeared clear parts, sloppy paint demarcations/details

6) Use "display zones" instead of categories. These LOOK LIKE categories, but can be much more general and broader since no model is competing against any other sitting beside it. The zones merely show where people put their entries AND also allow you to divvy up the judging easier.

7) Keep in mind you'll still need the usual "special" awards....7 Best Ofs for the various genres, Best Junior, Best of Show, Most Popular, etc.; as well as any others your club wants to give away. At Jaxcon we have a Best Camo, Best Gloss, Best Detailed, and Best NMF awards.

8- You CAN limit the number of medallions you need by awarding the BUILDER instead of each individual model. BUT, be aware that this also does NOT encourage people to bring more models, since if they bring 5 planes, they'll only get ONE award in that genre. It also (in my  opinion) defeats the entire purpose of GSB....which is to award MORE DESERVING builds as compared to 1-2-3.

Those are just the highlights. If you email me I can send you more detailed info. Hope this helps!

 

Gil :cool:

 

 

 

Edited by ghodges
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While I agree with Gil on a number for points, I still have to ask---how do you win a gold in out of the box?

I still think it would be better simply to give an award to the best in a category. Don't worry about which of those is THE best. In one category you might only give one and in others multiple awards.

I have been an advocate of the BODY OF WORK award. The more you bring would help towards an award. Of course, if you bring a lot of trash, it could hurt you.

Dak

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Looks like my certificates suggestion went down like a lead balloon judging by the responses, so it looks as though the bling appears just as important to many as well as the recognition.

I have won quite a few trophies in my time and some look good and others just look cheap. My biggest problem is the space they take up, so medals would certainly save space as they could be tucked away in a drawer of not required next to the model. I would much prefer a medal stamped from metal to a gaudy free standing trophy that is predominately made from plated plastic.

Other than what I originally suggested, GSB medals that can be made generic without the year engraved on them so that leftovers could be used the following year would seem the most viable option as suggested in a previous post.

Personally, I would stick with First, Second and Third for each class that would make trophies and the competition a lot easier to administer.

Edited by noelsmith
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We buy medals for $2.85 each from Mission Awards.  Initially, we ordered 100 each, and that lasted us through two "traditional" IPMS-style shows.  We refilled the stock, again with 100 each, and that should last us another three or four years.  They are undated and can be used from year to year.

We buy plaque kits from BestPlaques.com that range between $7 and $19.  We design the artwork (I like Microsoft Publisher, but PowerPoint works, too--even Word will work in a pinch), print it on to card stock, and assemble the plaques ourselves.


Cheers!
Ralph

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Greetings

I am currently President of Three Rivers IPMS, Pittsburgh PA. We have utilized "Open Judging" style for over 15 years. Keeping Short reply..Gil has covered most and Ralph has shown how the Logistics for awards works.

I agree with every thing that Gill has defined with the Exception of the comment on OOTB. ANY Gold standard build may win a Gold award. The scope of effort may enter the judging when the Best of Categories is decided. We also do not utilize a numeric system and we mandate a 3 man judging team. A link to our Contest criteria is   http://tricon.tripms.org/judging.html

Cheers

Bill Dedig

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The biggest advantage to keeping the awards small is that it is easier to transport and place with the model at home. Big awards feed the ego nicely, but they take up a lot of space.

Dak

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55 minutes ago, Dakimbrell said:

The biggest advantage to keeping the awards small is that it is easier to transport and place with the model at home. Big awards feed the ego nicely, but they take up a lot of space.

Dak

And they usually wind up in a box at the bottom of a closet.

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Just to clarify.....

In GSB there is NO "out-of-the-box" division, because there is NO NEED for it. OOTB was created to compare "apples to apples" in 1-2-3 competition. Since NO model is being judged against ANY other model in GSB, there's no need to consider whether it's OOTB or not. The degree of craftsmanship determines an individual model's award; and degree of difficulty and/or scope of effort CAN affect the overall judgement on craftsmanship.

 

The idea of OOTB not getting a GOLD at Jaxcon is not a rule but a GUIDELINE, and it reflects MY personal philosophy and experience in judging.

I totally agree that a model CAN be built "flawlessly" OOTB. But then the question becomes: does THAT level of craftsmanship (making no mistakes) command the awarding of the HIGHEST award? I tell my judges that IF they REALLY think it does, then award a GOLD.

BUT...stop and think...have you EVER seen an OOTB build go on to be nominated for a Best Of award? I haven't.....Sure, OOTB MAY win in a 1-2-3 category simply because it has less flaws than the others...but what does that mean overall, especially compared to other models in its genre with much higher levels of craftsmanship that may or may not have won their category?

This also gets to the very HEART of why I prefer GSB. In 1-2-3 it's very possible, especially in the biggest categories, for an extremely well built model to get NOTHING, simply because 3 or 4 "labors of love" with 1-2yrs of effort put into them to show up that year and ace it out of placing. In GSB ALL of them get recognized according to their merits, and no one model keeps another from getting an award.

If you're planning on trying GSB at your show, you can set your criteria accordingly. My only caveat is to keep in mind 2 things: First, the usual criticism of GSB is that they're "soccer awards" so everyone goes home feeling good about getting something. You have to set the bar higher than that. Second, while you do not want a GOLD to be nearly impossible to get, it needs to represent the EXCEPTION, and not the "norm". Think about the level of work you see at IPMS shows overall....there's a LOT of very well built models on the tables....and that's the norm.....so you want to recognize the builds that are better than that as Golds.

In my mind, a perfect OOTB build is the "norm" we ALL strive for.....but Golds involve more than that. But then again,that's just MY personal opinion, and is not only debatable, but carries NO weight at any other GSB show!

 

Gil :cool:

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I have seen an OOTB nominated for a best of award. It may have won, too. It was some years back, and I’ve slept since then.

The problem with Gil’s GSB is that it requires judges to use a standard and that can be hard for some to grasp. Many can never see the flaws in their own work and resent having reality explained to them.

While I find OOTB to be an archaic concept in this day and time, it is quite clear many want and expect it at a show.

Dak

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  • 2 months later...
On 7/26/2021 at 4:32 PM, ghodges said:

We've done GSB at Jaxcon for several years now...and with great success! That said, there's certain tricks to doing it as opposed to a 1-2-3 show....

1) GIVE OUT A NICE 2" MEDALLION! Do NOT use certificates or any other lower budget types of awards. GSB CAN involve a higher initial expense for awards, but that evens out over time as you figure out how many of each you need on hand from year to year.

2) DO NOT put a "year" on your medallions. This is so you CAN use the leftovers from year to year. That said, DO buy some sheets of large, white, self-adhesive "dots" that you can give to whoever wants them. Those can be stuck onto the back of any award and the winner can record  whatever info they want to keep track of.

3) GSB IS NOT A WAY TO GIVE EVERYONE AN AWARD! It's a way to try to award more models that are deserving of SOME recognition, instead of limiting it to 3 in any category. when you advertise your show be sure to publicize your judging CRITERIA (see below)

4) IF you get 500 models on average at your show, I suggest ordering 500 medallions...75 Golds, 175 Silvers, and 250 Bronzes. Gold medals should NOT be easy to earn, and you (probably) should NOT be giving out more than 10% in Golds. Think of a gold level build as not just a winner, but a model you'd nominate for a "Best Of" in a genre. Silver level builds are generally those builds that would be in the top running to finish 1, 2, or 3 in that style show....BUT you can recognize as many of those as deserved. Bronze level builds can be thought of as those who "make the cut' in 1-2-3, but that are rather quickly eliminated once looked at closer.

5) DO NOT TRY TO USE ANY SORT OF POINTS OR "SCORING" SYSTEM!!!  There's plenty of experienced judges out there who know what to look for, and there's no need to reinvent the wheel here! Use the regular 3-person teams. They START by taking a vote on what they think the model should get after viewing it for a few minutes. If they all agree, they make that award and move on. If not, they discuss their differences, iron them out, and make a decision then. Golds and "No Awards"  are easy and fast as one is outstanding and the other has easily spotted multiple problems. It's the bronze and silvers that take more time....

Here's a copy of our "pocket judging guide" we give to our judges for GSB....you can make adjustments for your show as you see fit, but this works well at Jaxcon....

JUDGING STANDARDS- a simplified handheld reference

GOLD- VERY impressive, you’d nominate this for a “Best Of” Award,

Flawless finish, superb detailing beyond aftermarket,

Head and shoulders above other entries around it, not an OOTB build,

Have to search hard to find any flaws. This should be a RARE, but not impossible award to achieve!

SILVER- Extremely well done, NO flaws at first glance

(though some small ones are there) Would probably be in

the final cut of a 1-2-3 show, extra but not extensive detailing,

great looking finish with excellent weathering if applied, a “cut above” the majority of entries

BRONZE- Well built, but some very MINOR flaws are easily visible,

                 NO MAJOR BASIC ERRORS, not more than 3 minor flaws

of differing kinds, would “make the initial cut”  in a 1-2-3 show, pretty much blends in with the crowd     

POSSIBLE DISQUALIFIERS- Many flaws immediately visible at a glance, even if small, major alignment problems, easily seen seams, plainly silvered decals in   several places, fogged/glue smeared clear parts, sloppy paint demarcations/details

6) Use "display zones" instead of categories. These LOOK LIKE categories, but can be much more general and broader since no model is competing against any other sitting beside it. The zones merely show where people put their entries AND also allow you to divvy up the judging easier.

7) Keep in mind you'll still need the usual "special" awards....7 Best Ofs for the various genres, Best Junior, Best of Show, Most Popular, etc.; as well as any others your club wants to give away. At Jaxcon we have a Best Camo, Best Gloss, Best Detailed, and Best NMF awards.

8- You CAN limit the number of medallions you need by awarding the BUILDER instead of each individual model. BUT, be aware that this also does NOT encourage people to bring more models, since if they bring 5 planes, they'll only get ONE award in that genre. It also (in my  opinion) defeats the entire purpose of GSB....which is to award MORE DESERVING builds as compared to 1-2-3.

Those are just the highlights. If you email me I can send you more detailed info. Hope this helps!

 

Gil :cool:

 

 

 

This is great advice. Thinking of trying out one of these. 

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On 7/28/2021 at 8:31 PM, ghodges said:

Just to clarify.....

In GSB there is NO "out-of-the-box" division, because there is NO NEED for it. OOTB was created to compare "apples to apples" in 1-2-3 competition. Since NO model is being judged against ANY other model in GSB, there's no need to consider whether it's OOTB or not. The degree of craftsmanship determines an individual model's award; and degree of difficulty and/or scope of effort CAN affect the overall judgement on craftsmanship.

 

The idea of OOTB not getting a GOLD at Jaxcon is not a rule but a GUIDELINE, and it reflects MY personal philosophy and experience in judging.

I totally agree that a model CAN be built "flawlessly" OOTB. But then the question becomes: does THAT level of craftsmanship (making no mistakes) command the awarding of the HIGHEST award? I tell my judges that IF they REALLY think it does, then award a GOLD.

BUT...stop and think...have you EVER seen an OOTB build go on to be nominated for a Best Of award? I haven't.....Sure, OOTB MAY win in a 1-2-3 category simply because it has less flaws than the others...but what does that mean overall, especially compared to other models in its genre with much higher levels of craftsmanship that may or may not have won their category?

This also gets to the very HEART of why I prefer GSB. In 1-2-3 it's very possible, especially in the biggest categories, for an extremely well built model to get NOTHING, simply because 3 or 4 "labors of love" with 1-2yrs of effort put into them to show up that year and ace it out of placing. In GSB ALL of them get recognized according to their merits, and no one model keeps another from getting an award.

If you're planning on trying GSB at your show, you can set your criteria accordingly. My only caveat is to keep in mind 2 things: First, the usual criticism of GSB is that they're "soccer awards" so everyone goes home feeling good about getting something. You have to set the bar higher than that. Second, while you do not want a GOLD to be nearly impossible to get, it needs to represent the EXCEPTION, and not the "norm". Think about the level of work you see at IPMS shows overall....there's a LOT of very well built models on the tables....and that's the norm.....so you want to recognize the builds that are better than that as Golds.

In my mind, a perfect OOTB build is the "norm" we ALL strive for.....but Golds involve more than that. But then again,that's just MY personal opinion, and is not only debatable, but carries NO weight at any other GSB show!

 

Gil :cool:

This^^^^^^^^^

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1 hour ago, Dakimbrell said:

OOTB is obsolescent. If you want to do a real OOTB, then make it OOTB only, including kit decals. 
 

Dak

My understanding is that henceforth, OOTB will be single media (plastic) only. That is, if a model built from a kit includes resin and/or photoetch in addition to plastic, it must be entered in the regular category and NOT OOTB. This is something of a return to the original concept of OOTB. The change will be implemented by IPMS NCT at next year’s ScaleFest, which is returning after a 2-year hiatus.

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I think OOTB should be held to the strictest terms possible including the kit supplied decals. In the old days there was some justification for it. Not so now.

I was one of those people hated to compete against because I detailed my models very heavily. Now days I don’t need to do that much extra work. Rarely do I do more than change a piece of string to a piece of wire  

Today, anyone can buy a WNW airplane or a Takom Panther and have an OOTB  model with a full interior.

Dak

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Decals are the only addition for mt OOB models, most of my purchases have been older kits with iffy decals.  Kit decals or aftermarket decals still go on the same with the same potential problems.

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