CORSA 2012: Convention Concours schedule

[Vairtec Corporation]

I could be convinced that the Friday-concours compromise is worthwhile, 
especially if the concours committee agrees to the idea of doing the 
awards during the Saturday show.  This will permit us to preserve our 
big Saturday show.

However, looking further at Brian's original message, the concours 
committee continues to hold the entire convention hostage to their 
event.  They ask that we end Thursday's rally by 4 PM and set aside time 
afterward for classification and ops checks.  So now our road rally's 
available time frame is tightened and more importantly, our planned 
times for the evening activities, including the CORSA annual meeting, 
are now encroached upon by the concours.

Remember the CORSA annual meeting?  One of the elements of the 
convention that is actually REQUIRED?  One of the elements that we 
sought to make more appealing by combining it with a social event?

In truth, the road rally should be concluded by 4 PM anyway, so that is 
no hardship.  What IS a hardship is that concours participants will now 
have to go through the classification and ops check process instead of 
enjoying some downtime before the evening's events.

Given CORSA's track record for conducting the classification and ops 
check process in a timely manner, the concours participants will like 
miss dinner, the CPF meeting, the annual meeting, or all three.  And 
when will the road rally participants find time the clean their cars for 
the concours?  Originally we gave them all of Friday for that.  Now they 
must fit it in where they can.  Midnight, perhaps.

Oh -- and the casual enthusiast?  He now must commit to being there 
Thursday and Friday.  Y'know, some people work for a living.  Our 
overall concours participation just shrank.

Again, I could accept the Friday concours compromise, especially with 
the innovative idea of doing the concours awards as part of the big 
Saturday car show.  But fer crissakes do the classification and ops 
checks as just another part of the process on Friday.  Add a team of 
judges who do ops checks.  Add a team of judges who do classification.  
There is no reason -- NO REASON -- that cars have to be classified 
before the judging begins.  There is no reason -- NO REASON -- for the 
concours to consume multiple days.

CORSA's concours process is totally, totally absurd, and it's death grip 
on convention planning is toxic.

--Bob Marlow