whats required

[bkb]

any enteries from you all with the SSIA comp ?

[hibsjo(SCO)]

sour grapes none from my end!

i would be asking these questions with sour grapes IF i had entered.

Its the fact that after spending about an hour with one of the judges on the monday of cutting edge show and him pointing out to me the rights and wrongs of all shoes on show he was restrained by the fact that the sponsors logo was of NO RELEVANCE to the competition?

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??

I think the information given to me would be of benefit if i were to enter in the future.

carry on!

[k4mrc]

i would be asking these questions with sour grapes IF i had entered.

Its the fact that after spending about an hour with one of the judges on the monday of cutting edge show and him pointing out to me the rights and wrongs of all shoes on show he was restrained by the fact that the sponsors logo was of NO RELEVANCE to the competition?

HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE??

I think the information given to me would be of benefit if i were to enter in the future.

 

=D> =D> =D>

[Lee]

Interesting that the picture Ken took for the publicity of his win (page 11, winter cutting edge) didn't feature his winning entry. I do hope the competitions organisers add a new criteria to their judging next time!

[robinh]

The reason for the photo showing the wrong shoes was because the correct shoes were in the post being returned to him but the local paper turned up to do his story before they did. My fault I was a bit late returning them.

 

On the assumption that there will be a competition in 2014 we will review the comments made and if required amend the criteria to suit.

 

As always, the future of any competition depends on the support of the trade as a whole and we hope that we can depend on plenty of entries from all, especially the independent craftsmen who are members of the forum. It's just a thought but if the forum ran a similar competition would many members enter?

 

Robin

[kobblers]

The reason for the photo showing the wrong shoes was because the correct shoes were in the post being returned to him but the local paper turned up to do his story before they did. My fault I was a bit late returning them.

 

On the assumption that there will be a competition in 2014 we will review the comments made and if required amend the criteria to suit.

 

As always, the future of any competition depends on the support of the trade as a whole and we hope that we can depend on plenty of entries from all, especially the independent craftsmen who are members of the forum. It's just a thought but if the forum ran a similar competition would many members enter?

 

Robin

 

It would depend Robin. I would enter if it was a competition that allowed you to enter work that wasn't just a long or half leather the sole and heel. I contacted the organisers a few years back with what I thought was a good idea and they rejected it outright - no debate - no asking me what my full intention was.

 

There are people in our trade who do some fantastic work that doesn't involve replacing leather and they would never get recognised because of the criteria constrictions.

 

What about those who repair only walking or climbing footwear? Is their ability to be able to perfectly replace randing, a ripped, foma filled back lining and fit a new unit not worthy of recognition? Do shoe repairers only ever work with leather? Times have changed, the industry has changed, materials have changed and most of the work we do now involves more than making a pair of leather soles look pretty.

 

If you want to see who really is the Repairer Of The Year then maybe you should be asking people to show up on the day and do the work there and then - you'd soon find out who really is good at their job under the time constraints we have to face on a daily basis.

 

In my honest opinion, and some will disagree, the competition is outdated.

 

Rick.

[grahamparker]

I hate shoe repairs, but agree with everything you have said Rick.

[robinh]

In 2002 we ( Edward Healy & Sons ) did our own competition which required a gents leather half sole and heel and a ladies SOS and heel to be submitted as a joint entry. The event was in my opinion very succesful but..... it was quite an expensive project to undertake .You need sponsors and to get suppliers to contribute is not easy. Joh Rendenbach have been very generous in their sponsorship and should be commended for this.

 

Another problem is in the judging. If the competition is for any type of repair it woud be hard to judge an entry for a climbing boot repair against another entry for an SOS. What would the criteria be? How can you compare one against the other ? This is why the requirements for the JR comp are the same for all entrants. It creates a level playing field.

 

Ideally it would be a better way of judging craftsmanship by doing a "mystery shopper" type of contest but the logistics of doing so would be difficult to say the least. Who would pay for a mystery person to visit shops the length and breadth of the country, once to take a pair of shoes in and again to collect them? . Competitions are created to provide a showcase for individuals to display their capabilities and skills , why knock the organisers/sponsors for doing their best to give this opportunity? Most of the past winners will tell you that their business was enhanced by winning and that their pride in their work also increased.

 

I am quite happy to put any reasonable proposals to both Rendenbach and Cutting Edge (who jointly sponsored the 2013 competition) if anyone cares to make them but please remember that it is only possible to please a few people some of the time. You just can't please everyone.

 

Robin

[kobblers]

I'm not knocking anyone for giving us a showcase - I'm just laying out my own thoughts on the subject.

 

I do take your points re the judging, costs, logistics etc and I honestly don't know the answer but the fact is that hardly anyone (compared to how many repairers there are in the UK) enters the competition except for a hardcore few and the question should be asked: Why?

 

I don't think my proposal to the organisers was unreasonable in any way, shape or form but it was summarily dismissed without any consideration.

 

What is wrong with entering the competition and doing the repair on the day? That would actually be cheaper for all concerned; judges , organisers and entrants alike. I don't see any problem with judging a Vibram repair against a leather repair. EG, If you rate the leather repair at fulfilling 87% of the judging crtiteria and the Vibram 92% then the Vibram wins.

 

I know you can't please everyone but surely the fact that only a small minority enter should tell the organisers that the competition is no longer motivating people the way that it used to and that this issue needs addressing or in ten years' time it won't be worth even holding a competition.

 

Thank you for your considered input Robin. My post was not intended to decry the good work that the organisers do or to detract from the entrants'.

 

Rick.

[kobblers]

Maybe the competition should be renamed to 'Leather Sole Repairer Of The Year'

 

Rick.

[robinh]

Cheers Rick,

 

I do appreciate your comments and input. I mainly boils down to who is prepared to sponsor and who is willing to enter. Unfortunately whilst we would dearly love more people to join in it sometimes can be quite soul destroying trying to improve numbers. . The double competition that we ran this year came about for three reasons, to encourage those who thought they didn't have sufficient time, to allow others than the "hard core " to have a chance and finally as a result of a suggestion by an entrant who complained that the original version had become "elitist ". So we listened and took action. We did stipulate that an entrant could only enter either one or the other not both and I think this format has its merits. Without Rendenbach I don't think we could find sufficient sponsorship to offer a competition of this type at all and as the saying goes " he who pays the piper etc. ...."

 

It would be gratifying to see more people having a go though. I appreciate your comment about being a little outdated but we are promoting traditional craftsmanship with traditional materials so the format has to reflect the history and heritage of the industry.

 

Regards

 

Robin

[theshoeman9]

What about having the entered shoes on show on the day of the exhibition & every repairer who turns up gets to vote on the the shoes in a ballot style . And repairers that do enter cannot vote their own shoes ?

Maybe a fairer option ?

The pair with the most votes wins & 2nd,3rd etc.

Or if that's too much then maybe the judges narrow it down to say 10 pairs for the visiting repairers to vote on ???

[Lee]

I didn't read this topic as knocking the competition or the organising off it, it was a question from Joe about the judging criteria regarding the JR logo wasn't it?

 

The Moderators on here came up with some credible competition ideas a few seasons ago, but will not be perusing the ideas whilst we have such a worthy well executed competition already, this years was already watered down by having 2 which I've already voiced on another topic. there is no need for 2-3 competitions all running simultaneously imo.

 

The JR competition is superb & its value can not be under estimated but this year many voiced an opinion, if this is tackled appropriately then next years will be AWESOME.

 

Lee

[hibsjo(SCO)]

yip

carry on!