Hey guys,

I Know the show opens on the 28th, but is the actual armour competition on the first or second day?

Thanks!

Hey David...
you can find out much more here
Hope to see ya there!
Gunny

I already checked the site, but I'm not sure if the 28th or 29th. I think it is the 29th, but I'm not totally sure, and just want to know which day to come to avoid showing up after a 6 hour drive on the wrong date. :-)

OK Bro,
This is the 411 from the AMPS Flyer...

On Friday, show opens at 11 a.m., closes at 8 p.m.

On Saturday, show opens at 8:30 a.m., registration closes at 1:00 p.m., awards ceremony at 5:00 p.m., show closes at 6:30 p.m.

Gunny

So, it is the 29th?

The show is both days, but I guess the judging will be done after registration closes...so to answer you, my man, in essence, the final judging is on the 29th...but I bet the judges will be watching both days.
Gunny

Would it still be possible to enter on the second day though, and still have a fair running in the competition?

AMPS runs an open judging system. Your models will be judged by teams of judges who rate your work against a standard. Get the requisite number of points and get the level of award you have earned. There are no set number of gold, silver or bronze awards available. You have exactly the same likelihood of getting a gold if you arrive at 11:00 AM on Friday or 1:00 PM on Saturday.

From the AMPS site :
Method of Judging and Operation

Judging will be conducted with an "open" room (show in progress). Judges will attempt to be as inconspicuous as possible but will take all necessary steps to ensure complete and fair judging of entries. If possible, judging should commence with the beginning of model registration, and models should be taken to the judges first before being placed on display. This will entail competent runners to carry the models to the judges and place the models on the display tables in the proper areas.

Judges will read all accompanying materials to ensure the entrant receives due consideration as to desired effect, achievement, level of skill displayed, and any unique characteristics of the entry.

Each judge will award points to an entry according to show standards (see Section 7 Paragraph b for specific points and areas of consideration). After judging an entry, the judge will mark the entry as judged with his mark and present his results to the Table Captain. Judges should make constructive notes on the score sheet of all models and be prepared to discuss those results with the entrant after the competition is over. These notes will be handed to the scorer for later return to the entrants.

The Table Captain will look over the field judges’ tally sheets and drop the low score (or the low and high scores if a system using five judges per team is employed). He will then tally up the total of the remaining three scores and mark it down on the entry form. The Table Captain shall also ensure that constructive comments are left for the entrant and that these comments provide useful feedback to the modeler.

Once scoring is complete, the scorer will enter the results on a tally sheet or in the computer for each entry by number. Once all scores are received, he/she will print out the preliminary awards list for the use of the Chief Judge in assessing possible “Best of” and “Best Theme” awards. Scores to be used are as follows:

For the JUNIOR Level:

Gold Medal -- a score of 26.0 to 30.0

Silver Medal -- a score of 21.0 to 25.5

Bronze Medal -- a score of 16.0 to 20.5

For the BASIC Level:

Gold Medal – a score of 26.0 to 30.0

Silver Medal -- a score of 21.0 to 25.5

Bronze Medal -- a score of 16.0 to 20.5

For the INTERMEDIATE Level:

Gold Medal -- a score of 27.0 to 30.0

Silver Medal -- a score of 23.0 to 26.5

Bronze Medal -- a score of 19.0 to 22.5.

For the ADVANCED Level:

Gold Medal -- a score of 28.0 to 30.0

Silver Medal -- a score of 25.0 to 27.5

Bronze Medal -- a score of 22.0 to 24.5.

For the MASTERS Level:

Gold Medal -- a score of 29.0 and above

Thanks for the responses guys!

I know how the AMPS system works, I didn't know if that they didn't have enough time to judge they might rush the judging, or just go a little harder and score tougher to get as many models finished as possible.

Thanks for posting the judging rules, Al. However, it looks like the rules you posted are out of date. Judging is not done in the open room. The process is that when you arrive at the show with your model, you hand your model off directly to the judging area. The model is placed in queue, and is judged by a group of 4 judges located at one of the tables in the judges' pit. After being judged, it is (carefully) moved out to the display tables.

David, just to be clear, the AMPS judging system has evolved over the past 12 years into something that is very comprehensive and well thought out. Judging takes place over entire course of show, not for just two or three hours before the awards are given. In some years, judges stayed late on the Friday night to ensure that there would not be a backlog on Saturday.

As of today, we have 104 models already pre-registered. That's about 1/4 of all the models we had at the show last year. Everything is leaning towards having over 500 models this year. The judging committee is well aware of the enthusiasm, and has been planning for an onslaught. There are provisions to have six concurrent judging teams throughout the two days in each session (we normally have four, and rarely introduce a fifth for one or two 2-hour sessions).

Of course, it will all depend on how many judges we have. Everyone who attends an AMPS show is welcomed, and encouraged to judge. It doesn't matter if you're a novice or a master, an experienced AMPS judge or this is your first time. Judging in the AMPS system is a learning experience. I guarantee you will learn something in the 2 hours you spend going over models.

If you have any questions about judging, I suggest you contact the Chief Judge for this year's show, Bill Schmidt, through the AMPS website at http://www.amps-armor.org/ampssite/Contact.aspx

Chuck Rothman
AMPS 2006 Co-Assistant Chair

I pulled those directly form the website...time for the webmater to earn his keep. :-) In my pre-edited post, I indicated the process as you described, having seen this done at AMPS-East each of the three times I attended.

Chuck:

Does one have to attend the "AMPS' Judge Certification Class" on Thursday night to judge? Your post and others make it sound like it's not mandatory. I've judged at the AMPS MIdwest Regional for a few years and wouldn't mind joining a team for a few hours. But I won't arrive until sometime Friday ...

First of all, no you don't have to attend the judges' meeting to judge, but if you haven't judged at the national level, it would be a good introduction.

There will be three judges' meetings this year:

1. Thursday night, for previous judges, as a refresher
2. Friday morning, for prior and new judges (afterwhich, you get into the vendors an hour early!)
3. Saturday morning, for those who can't make the Friday morning.

Although the regional shows use the same rules, from what I've seen, things are done somewhat different at the national level, primarily because the national show needs to handle about 5 to 10 times as many models as a regional.

It's not my fault (as webmaster). The rules you posted are the most up to date. The rules committee haven't updated them to reflect the purely procedural change that was made either in 1999 or 2000 for the National convention. It doesn't affect the rules, only a singel aspect of the procedure.

The method describe would work fine at a local or small regional show. It's just that the national show has to review 5-10 times as many models as a regional.