Post by connrock on Oct 11, 2009 8:38:04 GMT -5
I got this from Steve Hart
2009 Contest Administrator this morning.
I CAN NOT urge you all enough to enter this competition next year.
Although I was down on myself about not taking 1st place I've come to my senses after "swallyin" a few "anti-pride" pills and returned from my world wide ego trip.
Third aint to shabby after all!
My many thanks to Steve, Contest Chairperson Lisa Ekdahl and the entire great bunch of people at The Feather River Lapidary and Mineral Society for all their efforts in making this first ever tumbling competition a great success!!!
The Feather River Lapidary and Mineral Society (FRLMS)
First Annual World Rock Tumbling Championships
Results & Questionnaire
Well, the results have been tabulated and the winners of the very first annual World Rock Tumbling Championships are listed below:
First Place: Wayne Snyder ($250.00), Newark, Ohio
Second Place: Elaine Hammer ($100.00), Fruit Heights, Utah
Third Place: Tom Kuzia (Lortone Model 33B), Beacon Falls, Connecticut
Honorable Mention: Ronald Rolfe, Sterling Heights, Michigan
The contest was decided by four judges in a “blind” comparison, where no one knew the identity of the entrants. Batch Weight, Quality of Polish, Freedom from Pitting, Shape and Overall Appearance were evaluated on a) the overall batch, and b) the best 3 rocks in each batch. After judging was complete, the final tallies were verified by the Contest Chairperson, Lisa Ekdahl. Every effort was made to insure that all batches were evaluated fairly and uniformly.
This first contest used river-run Jasper, which had known porosity. Contestants were encouraged to use their own methods of tumble polishing. One way to minimize pitting would have been to remove the pits with the 80-grit wheel and then bring the stones to as rapid a conclusion as possible, so as not to open up additional areas of pitting. Some contestants were more successful than others at this process of pit-reduction. All of you tried mightily to bring these stones to the best possible conclusion and your hard work is obvious. We salute you, the very first rock tumbling contestants we have ever known, and we eagerly look forward to next year’s contest, where we will once again give you a challenge to solve.
Each of you is cordially invited to give us your suggestions for improving next year’s contest. It would be easy to give everyone fine Brazilian Agate rough, but the results would be so uniform, that choosing a winner would be most difficult. It was felt that we needed to give you less than perfect rocks, so you would be forced to troubleshoot to identify the problem, and then demonstrate your skills at solving it. Do you agree that this is a good way to decide who is the very best rock tumbler in the world?
Let us know your thoughts by return E-Mail or by USPS mail (Mail to: Steve Hart, P.O. Box 5654, Oroville, CA 95966). Please respond by November 1, 2009.
And from all of us at the Feather River Lapidary and Mineral Society, we would like each and every contestant to please accept our hearty congratulations for having such a spirit of adventure that it was worth it to you to see what you could do with your tumbling skills…to see where you “stack up” against the best of the best. We would also like to especially thank Tom Kuzia for publicizing his tumbling stages for all to see at www.rocktumblinghobby.com . It was a personal joy to see him working away in such a public manner!
We look forward to crafting an even better and more exciting contest next year—please don’t forget to give us your suggestions for making this contest the “King of the Hill”!
Sincerely,
Steve Hart
2009 Contest Administrator
connrock
2009 Contest Administrator this morning.
I CAN NOT urge you all enough to enter this competition next year.
Although I was down on myself about not taking 1st place I've come to my senses after "swallyin" a few "anti-pride" pills and returned from my world wide ego trip.
Third aint to shabby after all!
My many thanks to Steve, Contest Chairperson Lisa Ekdahl and the entire great bunch of people at The Feather River Lapidary and Mineral Society for all their efforts in making this first ever tumbling competition a great success!!!
The Feather River Lapidary and Mineral Society (FRLMS)
First Annual World Rock Tumbling Championships
Results & Questionnaire
Well, the results have been tabulated and the winners of the very first annual World Rock Tumbling Championships are listed below:
First Place: Wayne Snyder ($250.00), Newark, Ohio
Second Place: Elaine Hammer ($100.00), Fruit Heights, Utah
Third Place: Tom Kuzia (Lortone Model 33B), Beacon Falls, Connecticut
Honorable Mention: Ronald Rolfe, Sterling Heights, Michigan
The contest was decided by four judges in a “blind” comparison, where no one knew the identity of the entrants. Batch Weight, Quality of Polish, Freedom from Pitting, Shape and Overall Appearance were evaluated on a) the overall batch, and b) the best 3 rocks in each batch. After judging was complete, the final tallies were verified by the Contest Chairperson, Lisa Ekdahl. Every effort was made to insure that all batches were evaluated fairly and uniformly.
This first contest used river-run Jasper, which had known porosity. Contestants were encouraged to use their own methods of tumble polishing. One way to minimize pitting would have been to remove the pits with the 80-grit wheel and then bring the stones to as rapid a conclusion as possible, so as not to open up additional areas of pitting. Some contestants were more successful than others at this process of pit-reduction. All of you tried mightily to bring these stones to the best possible conclusion and your hard work is obvious. We salute you, the very first rock tumbling contestants we have ever known, and we eagerly look forward to next year’s contest, where we will once again give you a challenge to solve.
Each of you is cordially invited to give us your suggestions for improving next year’s contest. It would be easy to give everyone fine Brazilian Agate rough, but the results would be so uniform, that choosing a winner would be most difficult. It was felt that we needed to give you less than perfect rocks, so you would be forced to troubleshoot to identify the problem, and then demonstrate your skills at solving it. Do you agree that this is a good way to decide who is the very best rock tumbler in the world?
Let us know your thoughts by return E-Mail or by USPS mail (Mail to: Steve Hart, P.O. Box 5654, Oroville, CA 95966). Please respond by November 1, 2009.
And from all of us at the Feather River Lapidary and Mineral Society, we would like each and every contestant to please accept our hearty congratulations for having such a spirit of adventure that it was worth it to you to see what you could do with your tumbling skills…to see where you “stack up” against the best of the best. We would also like to especially thank Tom Kuzia for publicizing his tumbling stages for all to see at www.rocktumblinghobby.com . It was a personal joy to see him working away in such a public manner!
We look forward to crafting an even better and more exciting contest next year—please don’t forget to give us your suggestions for making this contest the “King of the Hill”!
Sincerely,
Steve Hart
2009 Contest Administrator
connrock
;D
