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CarCapsule regularly displays at Bloomington Gold events, and we are intrigued by the judging standards used and certifications awarded at the event. Curious about how it all works, we spoke with Guy Larsen, Bloomington Gold Owner and President, to get the inside scoop on Bloomington Gold Award judging. 

Q: What is your title at Bloomington Gold?
A: I am President of Bloomington Gold, and as the Certification Director I oversee all vehicle judging.

Q: How long have you been a Bloomington Gold Judge?
A: I have been involved for over fifteen years.

Q: How many people are involved in judging a single vehicle?
A: There are two groups of judges that inspect a vehicle. Each group consists of 5-6 judges. One crew inspects engine, exterior, interior, and chassis. Each judge within the group is a specialist in an area. The other crew inspects VIN tags, trim tags, and engine data stamping.

Q: Tell me more about Bloomington Gold judging.
A: There are two types of judging. There is Certification Judging and Survivor Judging. Certification Judging is done for the Certified Awards. It is more of a “nut and bolt” verification that the car has been preserved or restored within 95% of the way it appeared when it left the factory – no better, no worse, no different. The goal is to attain historic perfection, not cosmetic perfection. Survivor Judging is done for the Survivor Awards, which rewards vehicles that are the least restored. The car may be worn, but it isn’t worn out. Basically, how much the car has “never been touched” since it left the factory achieves the highest Survivor awards. The car has great value for historical reference.

The main difference of Bloomington Gold awards and other car show awards is that the cars are judged to a factory standard, and not judged against each other. With Bloomington Gold it is either “black or white”. Either the car conforms to the standard, or it doesn’t.

Q: How many total judges are there at a Bloomington Gold event?
A: There are approximately 80 judges at an event. We judge 120-140 cars and there are those judges are divided up over 9 judging classes.

Q: What are the qualifications needed to become a Bloomington Gold judge?
A: Well, first a judge candidate must have in-depth understanding of Corvettes – they must be a Corvette expert. Usually their background and experience have provided them with this knowledge; perhaps they work for a restoration shop, or worked for GM. Then they need to have what we refer to as the “Four P’s”. The first P is for Product Knowledge – they need to be well versed on the Corvette, and are tested to verify this. The second P is for People Skills. For the owner of the car, the judging process can be a stressful thing. For example, informing them something on their vehicle may not be to factory standard can bring out an emotional reaction. Bloomington Gold judges must have the skills to tactfully handle these situations. The third P is Procedures – the candidate must understand the procedures used to judge a Corvette. The fourth P is for Protocols. They must be familiar with the guidelines and advisories on how the judging is done. For example there are words we never want to use when judging a car; such as “wrong” or “defective” to describe problems. We might say it like “There are deviations in your components to that of what we would normally see on this year Corvette”. We never tell an owner that they erred or that they were wrong, because there is always the possibility of anomalies (something beyond the standard / norm of what we have seen). If in the review of any component we are unclear to how it appeared when it left the factory, then we err to the owners benefit. No errors, no offense. We provide every chance to err on the owner’s side.

Q: What tips would you give someone who is entering their Corvette for Bloomington Gold judging?
A: For someone who is new to Bloomington Gold judging, I recommend they first attend a Bloomington Gold event and observe the judging procedure before entering a vehicle. It’s pretty intense, and there is much to consider. They need to know what to expect before entering.

The biggest tip I can give is to go through every procedure you can to be sure your Corvette is a close as possible to how it left the factory – what we refer to as “Typical Factory Production”. Often it’s not the prettiest car that wins top awards, it’s about how original it is. A twenty thousand dollar car may do better than a car that received a “three million dollar” restoration, just because of originality. If you have any questions about the car being correct, compare it to the factory standards. Get the answers to any questions you may have before entering.

Q: How does one enter their Corvette for Bloomington Gold judging?
A: It starts with filling out our registration form, which asks for preliminary information such VIN number, casting numbers, etc. We review that information for initial qualification, and go from there. More information is available on our website www.bloomingtongold.com.