Slipstream - April 2003

National Concours Judges Seminar
by Ron Knight
On Sunday, March 2, untold numbers of Porsche enthusiasts
braved the snowy roads of Denver Colorado to participate in
the PCA National Concours Judges Seminar held at Prestige
Imports in Littleton. It was a true thrill to find other Porsche owners
that are as enthusiastic (okay, fanatical) about clean Porsche motorcars
as I am. As a relative newbie to PCA and the Maverick Region PCA
I was wondering where the concours enthusiasts were. I’ve met plenty
of MR PCA track enthusiasts, but hadn’t yet stumbled onto the MR
PCA concours buffs.
Locating the PCA National Concours Judges Seminar letter on
the web I signed up and made the trek to Denver. It was a wonderful
experience! The event was co-hosted by the Rocky Mountain and
Alpine Regions, with Zone 9 Representative, Kathy Frick, leading the
...it was easy to learn from our three instructor
judges who have many years experience judging...
charge. Kathy and her event staff had ensured that accommodations,
arrangements and seminar were totally first class. As would be
expected, the majority of attendees were seasoned Porsche Concours
d’Elegance participants and judges. While the preponderance of
attendees were from Colorado and neighboring states, there were
attendees from Maryland, Virginia, and two Texans: PCA veteran
Willie Wilson from El Paso and yours truly from MR PCA.
The facility at Prestige Import was ideal for the seminar since
it was able to house 12 Porsches in the enclosed high bay where we
could conduct mock concours judging over the course of the day.
The Porsches brought in for the seminar included a pristine 356, a
914, a 911E, a 912, a 928, a 968 S2, 911 C2 Cab, a 1997 911 Turbo
S (WOW), a 1998 Boxster, and a 911 Targa. It was worth the trip
just to see these beautiful Porsches!
The 6 hour seminar began with a concours tutorial presented
by Dennis Frick (a 20+ year concours veteran from Harrisburg,
PA), followed by a Q&A session where neophytes such as I could
ask questions. I learned of the three groups: Preparation,
Restoration and Preservation and the Divisions, Classes and rules
associated with each. The attendees then divided into the three
groups (Preparation, Restoration and Preservation), for which a
panel of three accredited national judges had been selected as lead
instructors for hands on training. I participated in the Preparation,
or “search for dirt”, group that featured Bob Gale, Willie Wilson
and Paul Gilbreath as the Preparation Group Instructor Judges.
Following instruction on the nuances of Preparation Group
Concours d’Elegance judging, we divided into two teams for actual
concours judging of Porsches that were on site for this event. Our
Group worked with Jerry Medina’s 1998 Boxster and with a 1997
Twin Turbo S. The attached photo shows part of our group around
Jerry’s Boxster. We conducted timed concours judging of the two cars;
it is amazing how swiftly 5 minutes passes when you are judging and
filling out the judging sheets. When our timed judging was over
our instructor judges critiqued our judging sheets, providing feedback
and instruction for improvement of our techniques. It was
easy to learn from our three instructor judges who have many years
experience judging at Porsche Parades and at regional events.
Later, after lunch, we reassembled as Dennis Frick led a review
of judging techniques. At the conclusion of the seminar I and my
fellow attendees were awarded our PCA PORSCHE Concours
d’Elegance National Judge pin, certifying that we had successfully
passed our training. In retrospect it was a great experience,
especially meeting such fine fellow Porsche enthusiasts such as
Jerry Medina, Bob Gale, and Alex Illornete. I can hardly wait for
our 2004 Parade Concours d’Elegance on July 5th in beautiful
Fort Worth as well as the next MR PCA Concours or Shine &
Show event!
Photo by Ron Knight
Some of us gathered around Jerry Medina’s 1998 Boxster
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